The Opimian Society is a Canadian nonprofit wine purchasing cooperative

Cooperative

A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...

 based in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

. Established in 1973, the wine club was created by a quartet of British-born Canadians who felt that the selection of wines available in Canada was a poor representation of the quality of wines available worldwide.

Marketed as “Canada’s largest wine club,” Opimian has grown since its inception, now acting as Canada’s largest buying group with 20,000 members (and growing).

About Opimian

The name “Opimian” derives from the Roman consul, Lucius Opimius

Lucius Opimius

Lucius Opimius was Roman consul in 121 BC, known for ordering the execution of 3,000 supporters of popular leader Gaius Gracchus without trial, using as pretext the state of emergency declared after Gracchus's recent and turbulent death....

, who discovered the famous 121 BC vintage and gave it only to discriminating wine connoisseurs. Like Lucius Opimius, Opimian sources premium wines on behalf of their members. A purchasing co-operative, they access the diversity of the world’s wines within the constraints of the government monopolies and controls.

In the Community

Opimian is divided into 27 regions, called Opimian Chapters, across Canada, each with a volunteer representative called an Area Representative. The volunteers organize local tastings and create a “social dimension to membership.”

Opimian’s mandate is to provide wine education. In March 2008, the Board of Directors voted to make a donation to the Niagara College

Niagara College

Niagara College is a College of Applied Arts and Technology within the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. The College has four campuses: the Welland Campus in Welland, the Niagara-on-the-Lake Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake, the Maid of the Mist Campus in Niagara Falls, home of the Tourism Industry...

 Foundation. The donation was made in two parts – a $20,000 Scholarship, titled “The Opimian Society Scholarship” and a $30,000 donation toward the building of the Wine Education Center. The Opimian Society Scholarship was received by one person in 2009 and two people in 2010 and 2011.

Impact on Canada

Liquor boards and consumers have used Opimian as a de facto test market for new brands. Spain’s Freixenet

Freixenet

Freixenet is a Cava producer in Spain, located west of Barcelona in Catalonia. Cava is a sparkling wine produced in Spain.Freixenet was started after the union of two Spanish families with a lengthy history in winemaking: the Ferrers, owners of La Freixeneda, a 12th-century farming estate in Sant...

, Australia’s Rosemount

Rosemount

-Place names:in Australia* Rosemount, Queensland* Rosemount, New South Wales* Rosemount , an Australian brandname owned by Treasury Wine Estatesin Canada* Rosemount No. 378, Saskatchewan, a rural municipality in Saskatchewan, Canadain Ireland...

 Estate and Scotland’s The Macallan

The Macallan

The Macallan is a brand of single malt Scotch whisky first distilled in 1824 at The Macallan Distillery near Easter Elchies House, at Craigellachie, in Moray...

 all started out as Opimian selections before becoming mainstays in the Canadian market. Opimian is a quietly influential national wine-buying club that has aided in sophisticating the adult-drink trade in Canada.

Wine

Eight times a year, members receive catalogues of the wines offered by Opimian. The catalogues are referred to as “Cellar Offerings” and feature different regions.

Cellar Offering

This is marketed as an educational guide that will provide members with information on wine regions, grapes, vineyards and winemakers; the vehicle for their tasting notes, food pairing tips and cellaring advice. Graphic charts instruct the reader on proper serving temperatures and storage life for the wine. All Opimian wines are sourced by a Master of Wine, Opimian’s wine consultant. The Master of Wine is responsible for selecting each of the wines offered, sourcing new suppliers, providing tasting notes, Maturity & Drinkability ratings and answering any wine related questions from members. The wines offered are not available anywhere else in Canada, thus one does not see mainstream, well-known or documented brands. Foreknowledge of purchases is further constrained by a lack of independent ratings and reviews for the wines.

Working with the Provincial Liquor boards

Opimian has always co-operated with local alcohol monopolies. All Opimian wines are officially imported and cleared by the respective liquor boards in each province, ensuring that all taxes and liquor mark ups are included in the pricing. Members order wine, which is then purchased on their behalf through the liquor boards and distributed through the Liquor Board stores and warehouses.

Membership

Members pay an annual fee of $69 + applicable taxes, depending on their province

Provinces and territories of Canada

The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...

. Benefits include;

• Subscription to Tidings magazine – one of Canada’s three national wine magazines
• 8 Cellar Offerings per year
• Access to local tasting events & tours to wine regions
• Regional benefits
• Annual Maturity and Drinkability status report of all Opimian wines

2010

• Opimian operates in all provinces, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories
• Generates sales in excess of $20 million per year
• Opimian provided Tidings magazine with almost 19,500 subscriptions
• Calgary Chapter: 2,000 + members