It's Not Just About Price - Part Two

Bon Appetit magazine recommended 20 favourite wines for $10 or less.

Great - I love a good wine, cheap. So I checked the LCBO shelves and was surprised by two things: price and availability. First off, only five of the twenty recommendations could even be purchased in this province.

Here is a great white wine available at the under $10 price:

• Fish Eye 2007 Pinot Grigio (California) US price $8, LCBO price $8.95

Then came the sticker shock:

• Goats Do Roam Red (South Africa): Rhone style blend US price $10, LCBO price $12.95
• Brancott 2008 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand) US price $10, LCBO price $14.95
• Banrock Station (Australia) Shiraz: US price $5, LCBO price $11.95
• Archeo Nero D'Avola (Italy) Italian Red: US price $4, LCBO price $12.95

I thought one of the advantages of being the largest purchaser of wines IN THE WORLD was to pass savings on to customers? Or maybe Italy and Australia just have a "special price" for Ontarians.

I read somewhere that most of the wine selected at the LCBO was about $13-$15. Maybe it's just because they price most of the wine in that category because they know the price point sells.

Well, I'm going to send a note off to InfoLine at the LCBO, we'll see how long it takes to get a response and if and when it comes, I'll share it.