235 replies to this topic

[carswell]

This just in. On Thursday, September 2, the Signature stores in Montreal and Quebec City will be selling two Cloudy Bay wines as part of their Guigal Lala event (go figure). As only miniscule quantities of the Lalas have been received, sales will be on a line-up, take-a-number and hope-for-the-best basis. The announcement makes it sound like the Cloudy Bay wines won't be sold the same way.

Le jeudi 2 septembre prochain, les vins de Guigal, reçus en très petite quantité, seront mis en vente aux succursales Signature.

Pour cette occasion, la clientèle devra accéder par l’entrée du 677 Ste-Catherine O, à partir de 6 h.  Cependant, la succursale ouvrira à l’heure habituelle, soit à 10 h.  Ainsi, à compter de 9 h nous procéderons à une remise de coupons numérotés afin de vous prévaloir un rang pour l’obtention des produits sélectionnés.  Un stationnement intérieur est disponible au Centre Eaton, rue McGill. 

La journée même, une quantité de vin sera également disponible, à compter de 9 h 30, à la  Signature de Québec,  située  au  Château  Frontenac.  Il  vous  sera possible  de  contacter monsieur Michel Morad au (418) 692-1182 ou sans frais au 1(866)333-0253 pour obtenir des informations supplémentaires.

The prices? More than reasonable for the Cloudy Bay, more than ridiculous for the Lalas.

Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc 2001, Osoyoos Larose, $35
Chardonnay 2001, Cloudy Bay, $33
Sauvignon Blanc 2002, Cloudy Bay, $24.75
Côte-Rôtie 2000, La Mouline, Guigal, $349
Côte-Rôtie 2000, La Turque, Guigal, $349
Côte-Rôtie 2000, La Landonne, Guigal, $349

edit: By the way, the line-up begins at 6 a.m. See you there... not!

Edited by carswell, 30 August 2004 - 11:46 AM.

[carswell]

Just called the Signature store to see if they could put aside a couple of bottles of the Cloudy Bay sauvignon blanc for me. All ten cases were sold within minutes of opening. All the Lalas too. Kraazy.

[carswell]

Heads up! Between Thursday, October 7, and Monday, October 11, 10% off all wines priced $20 and over. According to SAQ.com, the promotion applies to:

Aperitif: Madeira, muscat, Pineau des Charentes, white port, vermouth, and sherry
Dessert wines: red port, ice wine, Sauternes, etc.
Sparkling wine and champagne
Red, white and rosé wine

[ademello]

Also, another quick note - the SAQ seems to have re-priced some of their higher-end American wines. I only checked their Turleys and they seem to be down about 10-15% from their price a few weeks ago. Probably due to the recent strength of the Canadian dollar against the USD, which is pretty generous of them IMHO. Does anyone know how this happened?

[eat2much]

Also, another quick note - the SAQ seems to have re-priced some of their higher-end American wines. I only checked their Turleys and they seem to be down about 10-15% from their price a few weeks ago. Probably due to the recent strength of the Canadian dollar against the USD, which is pretty generous of them IMHO. Does anyone know how this happened?

"Generous" might be too kind a word in that even at the revised $96.00 Cdn price, the 200 Dogtown Zin is still over %50 higher than the average $50 US asking price South of the border......

[carswell]

Boo! Resurfacing momentarily to report that a Halloween scratch 'n' save promotion is on at all SAQ outlets through Sunday, October 31. Purchases over $100 get you a coupon you scratch for an instant rebate of 10%, 15% or 20%. On-line purchases and telephone orders over the $100 threshold are discounted 10%.

[Thesorus]

well, well, well ...

I think there's going to be a big lineup at the Beaubien Store tomorrow ... people will stockpile .

[carswell]

The SAQ's outlet and office employees have rejected the monopoly's latest offer by a vote of 88%. And though bargaining talks are slated to resume today, both sides appear to be digging in for a long fight. Take, for example, the SAQ's recent announcement that it will be opening another Montreal outlet, the SAQ Dépôt, which will specialize in the sale of products by the case. Add to that the government's statement that it has no intention of passing back-to-work legislation and we're looking at restricted access to booze not only during the holidays but also well into the new year.

The LCBO reports a sharp increase in sales at outlets near the Quebec border, especially in Hawkesbury. And dep wine sales are said to be going through the roof.

I confess that I broke down and bought a bottle of dep wine yesterday. Dinner was to be linguini with scallops, olives, fennel, tomatoes and chile pepper, and the only whites I had on hand weren't appropriate (upscale oaky Graves, a full-throttle Savangin, a Mosel auslese and an old sweet Barsac). So I grabbed a bottle of Oro ($13.50 at BoniSoir, $2 above MSRP I see!), a dry Chilean white imported by the Maison des Futailles: non-vintage and, despite the meaningless "vin de cépage" sticker on the bottle, lacking any mention of the actual grape varieties used to make it (my guess is low-end sauvignon blanc with a dollop of something aromatic, like pinot blanc or torrentès). Inoffensive but devoid of complexity, terroir or the ability to provide pleasure is about the best that can be said of it. Anyway, I won't do that again.

Even if my storage is inconveniently located off-site, I've never been happier to have a small wine collection. The downside is that it consists mostly of wines for special occasions; I've always relied on weekly visits to the SAQ for day-to-day drinking. And I'm worried that if the strike stretches on I'm going to deplete my reserve, which includes a number of wines that are, for all intents, irreplacable, since they were semi-affordable when I bought them but are way out of my price range now (J-L Chave's 1990 Hermitage, a treat wine at c. $50 in 1993, now sells for c. $500, and even the latest vintage, the 2001, retails for $200+).

So, how are y'all coping? Have you switched to beer? Do you hold your nose and buy dep wine? Have you crossed the picket lines? (If so, any problems?) Hot-footed it to Ontariariario?

And what about restos and bars? Are their supply lines affected by the strike?

Lastly, what do you think this bodes for the SAQ? Comments on the web are strongly anti-union and pro-privitization. It's almost beyond imagining, but could this be the beginning of the end of the SAQ as we know it?

Edited by carswell, 09 December 2004 - 01:36 PM.

[Lesley C]

I shop at Rockland and I have no problem crossing a picket line (these people have it a hell of a lot better than I do). I have a small cellar and I've been holding back from drinking the good stuff. I buy a case at a time now, but have no problem heading to the open SAQ outlets for my wine. I hear the head buyer is working at the De Maisonneuve store, so you're bound to get some good advice there.
I have been to several restaurants lately that are running low on supplies, but the situation is far from dire.

[identifiler]

same here, what a joke. I cross the line no probs.

One thing that amazes me is just how pleasant and knowledgable the replacement staff is, wow... The fat lazy boy in Saint-Bruno never cared to give me the time of day in the 15 years that I have been there... he sure doesn't gain my respect today. Why is it, that a "cadre" working overtime can deal with customers 3 times better than the best unionised sommelier ?

[eat2much]

Fortunately, I have a wine fridge witha 220 bottle capacity. I only have a few dozen bottles that need a lot of ageing and therefore have more than enough to see me through the strike. What irks me is that I would be hard pressed to make a list of 140 grievances about life in general. If you have more than a dozen complaints about your job, find another one!

[MaeveH]

Although I have crossed the picket line (once, and shamelessly gotten a friend who lives near the beaubien outlet to do so), I've tried to minimize it. I've been hunkering down into my cave-like crawl space to bring up bottles, implored visitors from Ontario to bring stuff, and even bought a grocery store wine (which I still haven't had the heart to crack open). I'm not really up on the grievances, but I've always found the SAQ guys to be at the very least helpful, and often brilliantly so. I hope this ends soon...

[jayt90]

I'm not really up on the grievances, but I've always found the SAQ guys to be at the very least helpful, and often brilliantly so. I hope this ends soon...

You are lucky to have good help available, strike or no strike. In Ontario, the best I can expect is to have someone re-arrange the bottles in front of me while I am pondering what to buy...

[carswell]

You are lucky to have good help available, strike or no strike. In Ontario, the best I can expect is to have someone re-arrange the bottles in front of me while I am pondering what to buy...

Well, we get those here, too. A few years ago I called the Rockland outlet to inquire whether they had a certain Chardonnay in stock. The clerk who took my call said he'd go check. A couple of minutes later he came back with a question: "Chardonnay. That's a white wine, right?"

[Lesley C]

Wow, that's surprising, there are some pretty smart guys at Rockland. They also supply a ton of restaurants.

[francois]

[quote name='jayt90' date='Dec 10 2004, 03:45 PM']
[quote name='MaeveH' date='Dec 10 2004, 09:19 AM']

In Ontario, the best I can expect is to have someone re-arrange the bottles in front of me while I am pondering what to buy...

[/quote]

???? At the Vintage store in Ottawa, the service is usually very good. I have found their advice as sound as any from SAQ stores in Quebec.

[jayt90]

[quote name='francois' date='Dec 10 2004, 07:46 PM']
[quote name='jayt90' date='Dec 10 2004, 03:45 PM']
[quote name='MaeveH' date='Dec 10 2004, 09:19 AM']



???? At the Vintage store in Ottawa, the service is usually very good. I have found their advice as sound as any from SAQ stores in Quebec.

[/quote]
I know, I took a cheap shot (irresistable) at the LCBO, but the truth is 90% of their clerks never bother to upgrade their wine knowledge, and provide poor service, protected by a powerful union. Is it any different at SAQ?

[Lesley C]

Was at the Rockland SAQ today. Things are getting ugly. You now have to stand in line to get in and they only let a few people in at a time and there's a cop at the door. This is Dec. 15th. I figure by the 24th that lineup will be crazy. My advice: buy your booze NOW.

[Ayanna]

I've also noticed that three fewer stores are now open in the Montreal area. We're down from 11 to 8.

[maxanon]

I have no problems crossing the picket lines, since they are a monopoly and its my only source. The fact that people want their booze keeps them employed. Public sentiment never runs really high when you're trying to deny a vice (indulgence?).

I find the line-ups a hassle but generally the staff is more friendly than normal. The fact that they're able still make over 75% of normal revenues tell the SAQ that they really don't need to negotiate. Once the holiday season ends they won't need as much staff and they can wait the union out.

However, there are some wines only at certain stores that are closed that I would like to get my hands on, but I guess I can wait until the new year.

[carswell]

Wow, that's surprising, there are some pretty smart guys at Rockland. They also supply a ton of restaurants.

Well, as I said, this was a few years ago, specifically in the pre-Sélection days, back when they were in the basement. The new store's staff is more on the ball.

But you can still run across a clueless clerk, especially in the Classique outlets. A while back, not long after the SAQ expanded their selection of Canadian wines from downright pitiful to just plain pitiful, I ran across a bottle of a Bordeaux-style blend (cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc, IIRC) from the Niagara Peninsula in my neighbourhood outlet. Never having tried an Ontario red, I was intrigued and thought, hey, for once I'll earn some brownie points by asking the wine advisor what he thinks. When I did, he looked at the bottle, snorted and dismissed me with a, "Moi, je ne bois que des vins faits des cépages nobles." Yeah, like cabernet and merlot ain't noble... In other words, not only was he an ignoramus, he was a snob too. Fortunately, he was transferred and the guy who replaced him is great.

[carswell]

I find the line-ups a hassle but generally the staff is more friendly than normal.  The fact that they're able still make over 75% of normal revenues tell the SAQ that they really don't need to negotiate.  Once the holiday season ends they won't need as much staff and they can wait the union out.

Yeah, you gotta wonder if the union isn't digging it's own grave.

However, there are some wines only at certain stores that are closed that I would like to get my hands on, but I guess I can wait until the new year.

Same here, though some of those are bottles I'll only buy during the Boxing Day sale and it looks like that's not happening this year...

[sf&m]

Maybe time to re-calibrate your taste buds?

A Quebec Marecheal Foch? DeChaunac? Ice Cider - but of course!!

Saturday The Marche des Saveurs' wine store was jammed! And folks were not buying the regular one or two bottles.... the cashier line up was filled with people carrying 6+ bottles. The Madam in front of me peeled off to add a Clos des Brume Solidago to her cart full of wine. "I use it instead of sherry" she informed me, and right she was.

Certainly you can stand a holiday bottle of Ice Cider, or how about a few bottles of Mousse des Pins for New Years? Try a bottle of Trubador (also from Vignoble des Pins) - a blend of Foch and Frontenac in what Gilles Benoit calls "Amarone" Style.

Most QC wineries are represented at Marche des Saveurs, and instead of standing in line in the deadly mall air at Rockland you get a brazing walk around JTM in fresh air and see lots of HAPPY faces. And there is always a tasting going on...

Now if only the french cheese importers would go on strike, he, he....

[carswell]

A union spokesperson recently encouraged Quebec consumers not to buy wine and spirits in Ontario. It's exactly the same as crossing a picket line, he said.

A Quebec government spokesperson recently mentioned that buying wine and spirits in another province and bringing it into Quebec is illegal. However, it would be impractical and not cost-effective for the government to enforce the law, she said. Instead, she encouraged Quebecers who purchased wine and spirits from the LCBO to ask for the provincial sales tax to be refunded and then to remit the tax to Revenu Québec.

Who says union and government officials don't have a sense of humour?

[maxanon]

I passed by a few SAQ's this week and the picketers look like a sorry bunch. My heart is going out to them as they must realise that their most important bargaining chip, the holidays, are gone. I think that the SAQ may be able to get concessions from the unions now.

I've been to the LCBO and one needs to know what they want because getting suggestions are not an option. Prices are slightly lower and in some cases it was faster for me to drive out there than to wait in lines.

I wonder if the SAQ will pull back some of the supermarket stock once the strike is over.

[carswell]

I passed by a few SAQ's this week and the picketers look like a sorry bunch.  My heart is going out to them as they must realise that their most important bargaining chip, the holidays, are gone.  I think that the SAQ may be able to get concessions from the unions now.

I feel for them too, max, and wonder how some of the employees I know and like are holding up. Christmas must have been very subdued for them and their kids this year. On the other hand, the union showed zero sympathy for us and other consumers when they deprived us of access to decent wine and all spirits at the time of year when those libations are central to our celebrations and most in demand. I also resent their telling Quebecers they shouldn't buy booze in Ontario (Why shouldn't we? We should suffer more out of solidarity?), and I really resent their harassment of people standing in line to get into a store. (For the record, I have yet to cross a picket line or bop over to Ontariariario.)

I've been to the LCBO and one needs to know what they want because getting suggestions are not an option.  Prices are slightly lower and in some cases it was faster for me to drive out there than to wait in lines.

To some extent, it depends on the store. The staff at the Vintages outlets is quite knowledgeable. Hawkesbury is another story, though in their defence they've hired a lot of people off the street just to handle the increased volume. And the culture in Ontario is different: sales of spirts are higher and of wines proportionally lower than in Quebec, so LCBO employees are not as wine-focused as their SAQ counterparts.

I wonder if the SAQ will pull back some of the supermarket stock once the strike is over.

Why would it do that? As a concession to the union?

Actually, I'd been wondering whether the strike wouldn't push the monoply to expand its line of supermarket/dep wines. However, when I advanced that theory at a holiday dinner, another guest, an HEC prof, said he thought it was unlikely. He claimed that trade agreements are the reason why dep wines are so crappy. As I understand his argument, it is only by selling generic (even the wines labelled "vin de cépage" come with no information about the grape varieties used), non-vintage wines bottled in Quebec that the SAQ can get away with controlling the show. As soon as they sell a single wine that doesn't fit that paradigm in a dep or supermarket, they'll be forced to open the flood gates and make a wide selection of imported wines available through the dep/supermarket network, failing which they'll face sanctions. And then they'd really incur the wrath of the union (indeed, of the entire union movement in Quebec), which is already paranoid about supermarket sales since it considers them a form of backdoor privatization. Can anyone here vouch for the accuracy of this prof's propos?

Edited by carswell, 05 January 2005 - 05:11 PM.

[maxanon]

I would assume that its not the unions that are worried but the gov't themselves. If they loosen their stranglehold (a lot of people want drinkable table wine and there are some varieties in the deps) and the masses realise that the booze at the deps are okay (it would be one of those "don't ask, don't tell") then they'll be in trouble. They would lose their competitive advantage.

[Natalie MacLean]

I'm not really up on the grievances, but I've always found the SAQ guys to be at the very least helpful, and often brilliantly so. I hope this ends soon...

You are lucky to have good help available, strike or no strike. In Ontario, the best I can expect is to have someone re-arrange the bottles in front of me while I am pondering what to buy...

I've found some excellent product consultants in several LCBO stores... and living in Ottawa, where I can visit both the LCBO and SAQ stores, it sure helps given the differences in their selections, especially when I'm trying to find some new stuff to taste and recommend.

[Lesley C]

Hi Natalie, Welcome to Quebec!

Can you be more specific about the differences in style of wine in each store?
I was at a Languedoc and Rousillon wine tasting here in Montreal hosted by Sopexa. The TO journalists were flown in to the city because of the SARS situation. I'll tell you, is was FASCINATING to see the differences of opinion between the wine writers from Quebec and those from Ontario. The anglos tended to favour the oaky reds.
Do you see any differences between the Quebec and Canadian palates?

[carswell]

This just in. SAQ outlet and office employees have voted to ditch their former union, the SEMB, in favour of the CSN. The workers have gone without strike pay for two weeks now. Joining the CSN means strike pay will resume. However, full-time employees will receive only $150 a week, compared with the $200 a week they received from the SEMB; part-time employees will receive proportionally less. For background, see SAQ workers beef up forces, strike goes on (CBC Montreal) and SAQ staff ready to raise a glass to new union (the Gazette).

I wonder what this means for the future. The CSN has deep pockets. On the other hand, the employees sound increasingly desperate.