It's Whining Time Again (II)

In a previous post, I complained about the outrageous prices of wine in Canada and promised to accumulate more data. More numbers have been gathered and subjected to intensive analysis (the wine tasted good too). A visit to the local BC Liquor Store supplied the final piece of data.

We visited 8 states on this trip south of the 49th. We weren't in Colorado long enough to fully understand what was happening there, but I think wine and beer was generally only available in state stores. More pity them, if that was the case. We did discover something about the liquor laws in Utah. Only a limited selection of beer (low alcohol) is available in supermarkets. It was almost like living in Canada.

However, in Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Montana and Idaho, wine and beer were available in supermarkets. I can't say that I noticed a higher incidence of debauchery in those states than in Utah or Canada, but perhaps I wasn't looking hard enough.

The sample item for comparison was Yellowtail Shiraz, a fine-tasting Australian red widely available. I only bought 1.5 litre bottles, mostly so that one bottle would last more than one night!

San Jose, California - Lucky supermarket - 1.5 litre bottle - $10.00 plus tax.
Parker, Arizona - Safeway - 1.5 litre bottle - $10.88 plus tax
Safford, Arizona - WalMart - 1.5 litre bottle - $11.37
Moab, Utah - State Liquor Store - 1.5 litre bottle - $15.00
Missoula, Montana - WalMart - 1.5 litre bottle - $11.20

BC Liquor store: I wasn't able to find the 1.5 litre quantity. All they had was 750 ml bottles which they were selling for $12.97. So, to get the same amount of fine wine in BC, you'd need to spend about $26.00.

We tried a number of other brands and types of wine, many from Oregon and California and I don't think I had one that wasn't quite drinkable. For example: Banrock Station Merlot - $3.97; Fox Brook California Merlot - $1.99; Little Penguin Riesling - $5.76; Oak Leaf Pinot Grigio - $1.97.

So, there you go. It's only one brand of wine, but in Canada, it will cost you more than double what it's selling for in most places in the USA. I think we know where the huge difference in price is going.

One final observation: We were able to buy a 30 can case of Milwaukee Best Beer for as low as $13.00. You know what beer costs in Canadian liquor stores. You do the math.

I imagine that high prices are partially intended to protect and support the Canadian domestic wine industry. Are they so inefficient and fragile that they need this kind of price premium? The other reason must simply be government gouging Canadian customers. Makes you want to go on vacation more often.