Shaoxing wine in Canada - west coast

[MaryIsobel]

Although I'm about 50 minutes away from Vancouver's very large Chinatown, I'm not about to venture there for one thing. I'm looking for Shaoxing wine. Three local liquor stores don't carry it. Walmart online has some but it is salted so I suspect that it might be like grocery store "cooking wine."  We have H-Mart and T&T not too far away, but when I asked at H-Mart, the reply was a shrug. Knowing that I'm sure I wouldn't pronounce it correctly, I did write it out and show it to them. I don't find the employees there to be very helpful; a couple of times I have had a similar response to a query and ended up wandering around and finding it myself. Anyway...is there a good sub or do I need to bite the bullet and head into the big city? (We do have Colin James tickets downtown for March so could probably talk my husband into a Chinatown trip at the same time.)

[FauxPas]

Did you search the BC Liquor Store website? I see two Shaoxing wines, each available at over 40 stores. The 3 stores closest to you don't have it but there might be others not too far away? Or you can ask a local store to bring it in for you from another location, they used to do that and it could be quite fast. 

 

https://www.bcliquorstores.com/product-catalogue?search=shaoxing wine&sort=_score:desc&page=1

[MaryIsobel]

26 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

Did you search the BC Liquor Store website? I see two Shaoxing wines, each available at over 40 stores. The 3 stores closest to you don't have it but there might be others not too far away? Or you can ask a local store to bring it in for you from another location, they used to do that and it could be quite fast. 

 

https://www.bcliquorstores.com/product-catalogue?search=shaoxing wine&sort=_score:desc&page=1

 

Thank you - I don't know why I didn't think to search the LCB website! Apparently it is available about 20 minutes from here, in the direction I go when visiting my daughter. Thank you!

 

[weinoo]

Back in the old days, with Chinese cookbooks here in U.S., most of them subbed what they called "pale dry sherry." I always had a bottle of that in the fridge - probably Gallo or some such.

 

Now I actually (probably) spend too much on the real thing at liquor stores in Chinatown...not grocery stores. Some of the Chinatown liquor stores have quite the selection.

[MaryIsobel]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

Back in the old days, with Chinese cookbooks here in U.S., most of them subbed what they called "pale dry sherry." I always had a bottle of that in the fridge - probably Gallo or some such.

 

Now I actually (probably) spend too much on the real thing at liquor stores in Chinatown...not grocery stores. Some of the Chinatown liquor stores have quite the selection.

Interesting. I don't frequent Chinatown much but don't recall seeing liquor stores there. Canadian liquor laws are definitely archaic. I usually have dry sherry in the cupboard, along with vermouth for when I just need a splash of something.

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by MaryIsobel (log)

[Anna N]

I suspect you will have much trouble finding it. Since it has an alcohol content it cannot be sold in grocery stores whether they be Canadian or otherwise. They can sell the salted variety.
 

The last time I checked the LCBO  did not carry it either. I searched for years when I was doing a lot of cooking.  Good luck

[liuzhou]

6 hours ago, Anna N said:

Since it has an alcohol content it cannot be sold in grocery stores whether they be Canadian or otherwise. They can sell the salted variety.

 

Damn!

 

I knew about the salting in the USA, but didn't realise it extended into Canada, too. It's simple vandalism!

 

I'm going to have to set up a secret eG underground pipeline!

 

[Anna N]

4 hours ago, liuzhou said:

 

Damn!

 

I knew about the salting in the USA, but didn't realise it extended into Canada, too. It's simple vandalism!

 

I'm going to have to set up a secret eG underground pipeline!

 

On the brighter side – – sake is now readily available in Ontario from the LCBO. Quite a selection even. There was a time when sake was just as scarce. 

[liuzhou]

2 minutes ago, Anna N said:

On the brighter side – – sake is now readily available in Ontario from the LCBO. Quite a selection even. There was a time when sake was just as scarce. 

 

Sake is actually pretty rare here (although I can find it online if I dig), but I've never seen it in a liquor store. China and Japan don't exactly get on well.

[FauxPas]

17 hours ago, MaryIsobel said:

I don't frequent Chinatown much but don't recall seeing liquor stores there.

 

For a lot of Chinese products, depending on where in greater Vancouver I was living/working, I would go to Richmond stores before I would go to Chinatown. That's where the largest group of ethnic Chinese are located. Richmond is almost 75% Asian and 55% ethnic Chinese. I think it's the largest ethnic Chinese community in North America. 

 

Here's a cooking wine search for T&T supermarket in Richmond, I think these might be salted wines listed as Shaohsing or Shaoxing, though. It may be that only liquor stores can carry the non-salted wines. But they have 3 stores in Richmond. 

https://www.tntsupermarket.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=cooking+wine

 

 

[FauxPas]

16 hours ago, Anna N said:

I suspect you will have much trouble finding it. Since it has an alcohol content it cannot be sold in grocery stores whether they be Canadian or otherwise. They can sell the salted variety.
 

The last time I checked the LCBO  did not carry it either. I searched for years when I was doing a lot of cooking.  Good luck

 

I'm pretty sure you are right about only the salted version being available in grocery stores.

 

BC does also have private liquor stores and I wonder if the Richmond stores carry more Asian products. 

 

Check the BC liquor store link though. It shows the amount of stock availability in each of the stores and even places like Vanderhoof, Dawson Creek and Queen Charlotte City on Haida Gwai show it as being in stock. From my (admittedly limited) previous experience, I've found the stock searches on the website to be fairly accurate. 

[MaryIsobel]

12 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

For a lot of Chinese products, depending on where in greater Vancouver I was living/working, I would go to Richmond stores before I would go to Chinatown. That's where the largest group of ethnic Chinese are located. Richmond is almost 75% Asian and 55% ethnic Chinese. I think it's the largest ethnic Chinese community in North America. 

 

Here's a cooking wine search for T&T supermarket in Richmond, I think these might be salted wines listed as Shaohsing or Shaoxing, though. It may be that only liquor stores can carry the non-salted wines. But they have 3 stores in Richmond. 

https://www.tntsupermarket.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=cooking+wine

 

 

Thanks - I am certain that as Anna said, BC grocery stores can't sell liquor products except for the select few that can sell BC wines. Richmond is a possibility but one of my least favourite places to drive. As I mentioned there is a government liquor store about 20 minutes away that shows shaoxing wine in stock, so I'll try there first.

[FauxPas]

34 minutes ago, MaryIsobel said:

Richmond is a possibility but one of my least favourite places to drive.

 

I hear ya! It's been a while but I remember it as being painful.  🙂

 

[Dr. Teeth]

I usually buy at liquor stores, but Amazon will deliver it around here (Washington DC)