Think long and hard about what $2.60 can buy you. Once you have that vivid image in your hand, take a sip of the glass of wine you have by your side. Bet that glass by itself is worth more than two euros. If you are Canadian and reading this, I can guarantee you your bottle of wine is in the nine or more dollar range.
So how is it, in the land of $700 bottles of Haut-Brion or Cheval Blanc, you can find a bottle (or ten) of wine that is cheaper than a single glass in a Country like Canada?
Tough question for sure. Most will point to the taxman; some may point at the producers; while the poor consumer may even have a finger or two waggled in their direction. Fact is all three are to blame.
Let’s look at the 6 million people living within 90 minutes of the Niagara wine region, in what is known as the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). These folks are hard pressed to find a VQA Niagara red for under $12. When they do you can argue there is little point in buying it. But why is that? Niagara reds of any quality will start at $12 and then climb steeply. Part of that is the government taking their fair chunk either through direct taxes or via the LCBO’s shameless monopoly. The next reason are the wine producers themselves, who know well enough how far to push the bottom line. And this of course leads to the average GTA consumer who turns their collective noses up at the low cost Canadian wines.
Why do I say all this and ponder such a silly question? Day 2 in Bordeaux has seen me gasping for air at the prices we pay for bottles priced 1/3rd to 1/4rd their asking back home. We simply are gouged back home and coming here reminds you so much that you are.
See a local shelf and try not to feel violated.
