The verdict in three sentences
For a Quebec wine cooperative, a rebuilt website with a trade portal for restaurants, bars and agencies costs between 20,000 and 35,000 CAD, with roughly 8,000 CAD for the restricted area (price lists, ordering, documents). Realistic timing is 10 weeks, and the most underestimated item is producing tech sheets for every wine. When the restaurant channel and private import orders make up close to a fifth of revenue, halving the time sales reps spend answering price and spec requests pays back the project in under two years.
What restaurants and agencies expect from a cooperative's website
A Montreal sommelier or a representation agency does not need the cooperative's history: they want a wine's tech sheet (grapes, alcohol, pairings, price), an up-to-date trade price, SAQ codes and availability, minimum order and delivery lead time. Most Quebec producers still send these by email, as PDFs that contradict each other from one rep to the next.
A trade portal fixes this: access after validating the business (Quebec enterprise number and liquor permit for restaurants), price lists per customer type, downloadable sheets and visuals, and ordering through the right channel (SAQ, private import or direct from the producer where the permit allows).
| Trade portal feature | Need covered | Indicative 2026 cost |
|---|---|---|
| Sign-up with business and permit check | Keep consumers out | 1,000 to 1,600 CAD |
| Price lists by profile (restaurant, agency, retailer) | Correct prices without email back-and-forth | 1,800 to 3,000 CAD |
| Library of tech sheets and HD visuals | Self-service for sommeliers | 1,200 to 2,200 CAD |
| Order form with SAQ codes and channels | Orders outside sales visits | 2,200 to 4,000 CAD |
| Order history and one-click reorder | Account retention | 800 to 1,400 CAD |
| Order export to the ERP | No re-keying at the winery | 1,500 to 3,500 CAD |
Overall 2026 rebuild budget
The full rebuild covers the public side (ranges, terroir, wine tourism, cellar door shop) and the trade portal. Cost varies mainly with the number of wines and whether an ERP connector is needed. Quebec's Charter of the French Language requires French as the primary language, so bilingual FR/EN is the default.
| Item | 2026 range | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery, sitemap, mock-ups | 3,000 to 5,000 CAD | 2 weeks |
| Bilingual public site development | 6,500 to 11,000 CAD | 4 weeks |
| Trade portal (core) | 7,000 to 9,000 CAD | 3 weeks |
| Tech sheets for all wines (template, entry, auto PDF) | 2,000 to 4,000 CAD | 2 weeks in parallel |
| Bottle and lifestyle photo shoot | 1,800 to 3,500 CAD | 1 week |
| SEO, QA, launch | 1,200 to 2,500 CAD | 1 week |
Add a maintenance plan of 120 to 250 CAD per month for hosting, backups and security updates, and make sure age-gate and responsible drinking notices follow provincial rules.
The three choices that move the bill
The first is how tech sheets are produced: generating PDFs automatically from a database costs a little more up front, but avoids redoing every document each vintage. The second is ordering: a simple order form sent to customer service often suffices in year one, with full ERP integration later. The third is language: French first is a legal requirement, and an English version of tech sheets is expected by Ontario and US importers.
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Isabelle, sales director of a wine cooperative in Quebec (40 grower members, 1.2 million bottles, 9 million CAD revenue), estimates that her 3 trade reps each spend 5 hours a week sending prices and sheets. The chosen project costs 28,500 CAD. With the trade portal, that time falls to 2 hours, freeing 9 hours a week, about 400 hours a year valued at 55 CAD loaded: 22,000 CAD. Orders placed outside sales visits add to it: if they lift the 1.7 million CAD restaurant channel by just 2%, that is 34,000 CAD of extra sales. Payback comes in roughly 12 months.
FAQ
How much does a wine cooperative website rebuild cost in 2026?
Budget 20,000 to 35,000 CAD with a trade portal, against 11,000 to 18,000 CAD for a showcase site without a restricted area. Number of wines and ERP integration make the difference.
Can we sell to consumers online at the same time?
Within Quebec rules, yes for wines sold directly by the producer, for an extra 5,000 to 9,000 CAD. Age verification and provincial shipping rules must be handled.
How do we restrict prices to trade buyers?
Through sign-up with a Quebec enterprise number and permit details, validated manually or semi-automatically. Prices only show after login, with a price list per profile.
How long to produce tech sheets for the whole range?
About 2 weeks if data already sits in a spreadsheet, with a template that generates the PDF automatically. The next vintage only requires updating fields.
Can the site connect to our winery ERP?
Yes, through file export or API depending on the vendor. Budget 1,500 to 3,500 CAD for a simple order export, more for real-time stock sync.
Let's scope your project. Tell us about your ranges, restaurant channels and ERP: we will scope a rebuild with a trade portal for an indicative 20,000 to 35,000 CAD over 10 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
