Independant wine merchants in Quebec
I am well aware that these don't exist in Quebec outside of what you can buy at a vineyard while visiting, select stores (store?) that offer a selection of local wines, or the illusion of deps or grocery stores offering anything other than the bottom of the barrel wines allowed to them by the SAQ. I would like to open a discussion concerning the reasons for the current wine merchant situation and if something should be done about it and why.
It seems that there might be some good reasons for allowing the province to control alcohol distribution in such a complete way, but would we be better served by a selection of independent boutiques that could bring in a wider selection of foreign wines, increase sales for our growing Quebec wine industry, decrease prices through greater competition, and raise the level of interest in wine in general?
In Manitoba, a movement won the right to sell wine in independent boutiques and it's been a major contributing factor in the increased interest of wine in the Province. I would even wager (see: pray) that less and less people are drinking lucky lager in favor of wine these days.
What are peoples thoughts on this?
Aaron
The Chemist
Sep 22, 2008 05:26AM
People do not seem to see that the selection of the SAQ (and the few private importers (rezin, eonopole, ...) is really, really impressive compared to what (I think) you can find in other provinces in Canada; and from what you can get in larger stores in France and in Spain.
I just returned from Paris and Madrid and while you can find some hidden gem (for new organic and bio-dynamic wines) , the general selection of wines is quite limited for day to day wines.
The Quebec state will never release the gain of the monopole; The only think they could do (but I don't think they can according to some rules on monopoly trade) is to reduce the taxes on local products.
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The problem with the SAQ certainly isn't wine selection, but the dismal selection of hard liquor. I don't see how private shops could improve on the SAQ and private agent's catalogues except for bringing in a bunch crappy popular wines named after cute woodland creatures, and we already have enough of those here.
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The sorry state of grocery and dep wines isn't the SAQ's fault but rather has to do the requirements of the WTO and various trade agreements. Only non-vintage wines bottled in Quebec and not bearing the names of the grape varieties used to make them can be sold; if the rules were changed, Quebec would be forced to allow any producer to sell its wines in grocery and convenience stores, effectively breaking the SAQ's monopoly. That's not going to happen, thanks to political pressure from the SAQ employees' union (which already view the groceries/deps as the thin edge of the wedge of backdoor privatization) and the producer-bottlers of the plonk.
While there are holes in the SAQ's product offering (Plymouth gin, Punt e Mes vermouth and Laphroig scotch, all of which the SAQ has stocked in the past, would at the top of my current list; wines from west coast boutique wineries would be on many others'), I tend to agree with Max. Only the biggest US cities like New York offer more and better choice. As a Montrealer, I'd possibly be happier if the SAQ weren't the only game in town; if I lived in Rimouski, Drummondville or Saguenay, I'd probably feel quite different.
That said, the situation is improving. As of a year or two ago, you can contact any Quebec agent -- see www.rezin.com or www.lesvinsalainbelanger.com for two of many examples -- and order cases of private import wines or spirits they represent, all in all a diverse and fascinating range of products including some that are virtually impossible to get elsewhere in North America and even sometimes in the countries of origin. The cases will be delivered to a designated SAQ outlet within a week or two. When the outlet receives the case, they give you a call. You pick it up and pay for it at the cash like any other product. There are also persistent rumours that the process will soon be centralized through the www.saq.com portal and that agents will soon be able to offer mixed cases. As it is, several agents are beginning to bring in six and even three-bottle cases.
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Excellent news about the improving situation. I would definitely use the service that you described.
I have to agree that the SAQ offers generally a wide selection and more or less fair prices. If there is one thing which I would prefer changed it would be the availability of BC wines.
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Does anyone know if a similar Quebec agent exists for privately imported beer? I have ordered several Belgian beers that are otherwise unavailable through a similar company that delivered to any LCBO outlet in Ontario but I have not heard of such a company in Quebec.
Any ideas?
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sorry for the plug, but when i'm craving for a case of imported beer this is where i go http://www.bieropholie.com/
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I've ordered from this person and he was very helpful; I wanted the champagne they serve by the glass at CCP, Raymond Boulard vineyards, and tracked down the distributor here, it's vinealis.qc.ca
I had to send him a 10% deposit and paid the rest at the saq ; the saq called me when the case was in.
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