Wonders of Wine and Food

Buying Wines in a Grocery Store

When it comes to buying wines in British Columbia where I live my wife and I never think about buying our wines at the Grocery store. It has happened but its a rare occasion.

I do like the idea. We have done it quite often in the USA. In fact that when we "think " about buying wines in us we look at Costco or Fred Meyers.

Back home we are more likely to buy our wines directly from the winery. I love visiting our local wineries. Great hospitality great wines.

In British Columbia, only a handful of grocery stores have obtained a license. Most obtained their licence by buying one from the now-defunct VQA stores. The store is restricted to selling only wines produced in BC and VQA certified.  Not all provincial wineries are willing to pay the fees required to get VQA certification, but that is another story

When it comes to our local grocery stores I am more of the observer than a buyer.   Although it is not a grocery store I often browse through the wines at various independent liquor stores such as Everything Wine. Here the number one observation is that most people are buying the lower priced wines from Europe. New Zealand or Chile.  Very few people venture into the BC wine section.

I also wander through the grocery store wine shelves, sometimes doing a tasting. Here too I like to observe what people are purchasing.

On a recent visit, a woman went up to a display sign pushed it aside and reached down to the very bottom corner to obtain two bottles of her desired wine. She knew exactly where the wine she wanted was stored. Funny the wine was a major producer  Inniskillin. My first thought was how did such a major brand get such a poor shelf location.

My observations told me that most people know what wine they want and where it is located.  Although you can find two to three people working the wine section they seldom offer assistance or even acknowledge the customer.

I also observed the wine tasting table often has no one there to pour the wine.   What!! Why!!

As for the staffs' knowledge of wine and ability to help  I give the grocery stores a D

What the grocery story offers is convenience. You're there to buy groceries first wine second.
My wife belongs to the Red Hats,  this club requires you bring flowers for the birthday events So if we are short wine at home my wife buys the flowers and purchases wine for the event at the grocery store.

Here where I some times it annoyed. They have to call someone to wrap the flowers and may have to call some someone who is illegal able to ring in the wine.