Why you should not buy cheap wine from the LCBO (or any place)


I’ve blogged about good / cheap wine under $10 at the LCBO. You can find that article here.

There are lots of reasons to go with wine at this price, but it doesn ‘t mean you should only buy wine at low prices. For example here are some good reasons why you should not buy cheap wine:

You won’t get the same flavours you will get from a better bottle of wine. On average, more expensive wines will have more flavour, either now or in the future. Not always of course, but most of the time. If you want a good glass of everyday wine, something under $10 will do nicely. But to experience what wine can be, you will want to spend more.

You only occasionally drink wine, if at all. If you only have a glass / bottle of wine on rare occasions, why not drink something better? If I only drank wine from time to time, I would drink champagne or Californian chardonnays or Australian shiraz or New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. Pick a price point you feel comfortable with and ask the good folks at LCBO for help.

You are going to a special event. In that case, make the wine indicate you appreciate you are going to a special event. A bottle of wine under $7 doesn’t really say that.

You don’t like wine (taste, alcohol, cost) or prefer other beverages (beer, tea, soda, water) instead. If you like other beverages better, why not stick to them? You don’t have to drink wine! 🙂

(Image from Henry of Pelham, who make fine wines, include a truly delicious Baco Noir that I find is great year after year. Nice people who work there, too.)

9 thoughts on “Why you should not buy cheap wine from the LCBO (or any place)”

  1. Hi Bernie

    Thanks for the very nice comments about Henry of Pelham and our staff — I’ll pass your comments along to everyone including the winemaking team! More importantly I’m glad you like the Baco Noir. Always a solid wine the currently available 2005 is on the shelves now, a smokin’ year! But if I can carry the sentiment of your blog a bit further, check out our new Vintages Essential, the 2005 Reserve Baco Noir ($24.95 in Ontario, about the same in the US if you buy through http://www.thecuvee.com). This is perhaps the best Baco Noir we’ve ever made.

    Cheers!

    Daniel Speck
    Co-owner
    Henry of Pelham Family Estate Winery

  2. Daniel, please do pass on my remarks! You and your team produce great wine and you should be proud of the work you do.

    I love the Baco Noir you produce for general distribution, but if you have a Reserve at that price…well, I think that is going to be a Christmas present for myself!

    Keep up the great work, Daniel, and all the best to you and yours over the holidays. And for anyone else reading this: go buy lots of Henry of Pelham wine. You’ll be glad you did.

  7. Hey Bernie, thanks for your very valuable advice! I think thatyou can get very good wines for moderate prices but if wine is something you really enjoy then you should invest a little bit more on it don’t you think? and a nice bottle of wine is always a great gift, I personally recommend this website http://www.serenatawines.com/ it has worked every time for me!

  8. The only decent reason is the first one.

    Wine is over priced in Canada.

    There is a $2 bottle of wine at Trader Joes in the US. A close friend of mine said that it is actually fine, and he is a picky person.

    1. Wine is highly priced in Canada. And wine sold in the LCBO has to go for a minimum price.

      It would bug me when I would see everyday wine from California go so cheaply in the U.S. corner stores and cost almost $10 up here. It’s sad. And I have heard that $2 is fine.

      Thanks for the comment.

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