LCBO / The Beer Store

My local convenience store is open on all holidays. With all the big box stores closed, holidays are one of the few days of the year the store makes decent money, I can imagine the huge profits these convenience stores would make if they could sell beer and wine.

Northern Light said:

Of particular interest is that there is a vast grape glut in the Ontario market this year, and the farmers can't get the wineries to buy all the product!

http://www.greenbeltalliance.ca/

http://petition.environmentaldefence.ca/ontario_grapes/

Time to get this fixed!

Click to expand...

great and informative post! I had wanted to bring up this related problem of locally grown grapes going to waste as well, so glad you mentioned it. I look forward to checking out these links. Part of the issue apparently for wineries who choose the blended juice model is that they claim that otherwise they wouldnt be able to compete in the under $10 bottle range. I'm still amazed to see that Italian wine can be sold for as little as $6.50 a bottle even with trans-Atlantic shipping costs and distributors mark up. Surely there must be some way to make use of the excess Canadian grapes - perhaps selling them at a reduced price (consistent with imported juice) is better than seeing them go to waste. The other ridiculous thing in all of this is that each year there is more and more land being turned over for new vines... quite curious. Hopefully this issue will work itself out in the next few years.

hmmm, all this talk about wine and grapes has made me thirsty. I've currently been enjoying a bottle of Malivoire Pinot Noir - a VQA wine made in Beamsville. $25 a bottle and worth every penny! http://www.malivoire.com/index.php?page=2006-pinot-noir

Cheap Grapes and great wine

On the subject of cheaper imported grapes, I suspect this is exaggerated (as a competitive issue); but particularly for reds there is a grain of truth.

That grain of truth is red grapes ripen very late in the year in our climate. Mid-October and later.

The result is that if the weather is any way uncooperative, the grapes won't turn on time, and there is a loss; that makes for lower yields, which in turn forces prices up a bit.

That said, I still think this is really a non-issue.

*****

On to great Ontario Wines:

White

Cave Spring Riesling - Off Dry (regular or reserve)
Chateau Des Charmes - Alligote
OPEN - Riesling-Gewurtztraminer - ***** (best new Ontario White, says me)

----

Red

Le Clos Jordanne - Pinot Noir (best Ontario Red, says me)
Flat Rock - Pinot Noir (All of them good, but the Gravity one is slightly better)

hey, thanks for the recommendations! I'm a bit embarrassed to say Ive tried none of them. I pretty strictly a red drinker and those ones sound very interesting. love your enthusiasm for Ontario wines!

Henry of Pelham's reserve off-dry Riesling is very good for $15, though I haven't seen it lately.

The LCBO has quite a good sale on at the moment.

My local convenience store is open on all holidays. With all the big box stores closed, holidays are one of the few days of the year the store makes decent money, I can imagine the huge profits these convenience stores would make if they could sell beer and wine.

Click to expand...

As a small business owner, Holidays are great...

Its like having 3 Saturday's in a Row!!!

^^^Shocker, finally something we can partially agree on. Henry of Pelham is a regular stop atleast once a year on my wanderings around the peninsula, though as I mentioned above I am quite strictly a red wine drinker. Their 2005 Reserve Baco Noir is a top selection imo(not counting ice wines).

Yes, I like that one too. My favourite foreign red's the Muga Reserva Rioja ( 177345 ), a bit pricey at $24.95 but worth it ... but that's only because they haven't stocked the Château de Gourgazaud Minervois Reserve ( 986083 - it used to be about $18 ) for ages; there's a cheaper version that's quite nice but it's no substitute.

Still waitin' for the Two Buck Chuck.

Application: Building Additions/Alterations Status: Not Started

Location: 200 BAY ST
TORONTO ON

Ward 28: Toronto Centre-Rosedale

Application#: 09 190547 BLD 00 BA Accepted Date: Nov 23, 2009

Project: Retail Store Interior Demolition

Description: Interior demolition of interior partition walls for future tenant "LCBO" on the upper concourse/ground level. This proposal includes mechanical work.

bar1967 said:

Application: Building Additions/Alterations Status: Not Started

Location: 200 BAY ST
TORONTO ON

Ward 28: Toronto Centre-Rosedale

Application#: 09 190547 BLD 00 BA Accepted Date: Nov 23, 2009

Project: Retail Store Interior Demolition

Description: Interior demolition of interior partition walls for future tenant "LCBO" on the upper concourse/ground level. This proposal includes mechanical work.

Click to expand...

Royal Bank Plaza?

Yes it is. Not sure how they are going to incorporate this into the current ground floor!

http://www.torontolife.com/daily/da...-prefers-that-only-rich-people-abuse-alcohol/

LCBO prefers that only rich people abuse alcohol

When the HST comes into effect on July 1, dry cleaning and plumber calls will be more expensive, while books and diapers will cost the same. But one of the few items that was expected to drop in price—booze—is actually going up. According to the Star, the price hike is a reality, despite the fact that alcohol taxes are falling from their present 17 per cent to the HST’s 13.

For example, a 750 millilitre bottle of Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon, a popular Australian red wine that currently retails for $16.35, should be dropping in price to $15.80 thanks to the HST.

However, sources say the retail price will jump to $16.45—only a dime more than it is now, but 65 cents higher than it needs to be.

Similarly, the HST should lower the price of a 750 millilitre bottle of Pelee Island VQA Chardonnay, an Ontario white, from $17.95 to $17.35. Instead, it will go up to $18.05. That’s 70 cents in lost savings to wine drinkers.

The LCBO justifies the increase by saying that it has to keep prices high because of its “social responsibility”—in other words, so that Ontarians don’t all become alcoholics when liquor becomes five per cent cheaper.

Who knew that we were that close?

The LCBO justifies the increase by saying that it has to keep prices high because of its “social responsibility”—in other words, so that Ontarians don’t all become alcoholics when liquor becomes five per cent cheaper.

Click to expand...

How then do they justify having sales and specials?

Right. The reality is probably due to minimum wage going up.