Liquor store in Vancouver

[tulsacubfan]

Wanting to get a couple bottles of wine in Vancouver before boarding. Any recommendations on where? We will not have a car.

[scottbee]

Wanting to get a couple bottles of wine in Vancouver before boarding. Any recommendations on where? We will not have a car.

 

Where are you arriving from? And be fore-warned, booze is expensive in Canada

 

Options are;

• There's a private liquor store at the airport (lowest level by domestic baggage claim, next to the 7-11)
  
• If you're coming by Skytrain from the airport, get off at Oakridge Station (you can get back on with the same ticket if it's within 90 minutes of buying it), and the largest liquor store in the province is one block north of the Oakridge Station on Cambie
  
• There's a govt liquor store about 3 blocks from Canada Place in Harbour Centre, @ W.Cordova&Seymour (although it's a pretty small selection)
  

[Langley Cruisers]

...And be fore-warned, booze is expensive in Canada...

 

 

Scott, I think there are some very reasonably priced wines for sale here. Not sure of OP's taste but IMO, not all wine is expensive. :)

[Putterdude]

If staying in the downtown core there is a new "Signature" (or super store) BC Liquor Store at Alberini & Bute Sts. which is convenient to a number of downtown hotels.

A typical BC Liquor Store is about 4,000 to 5,000 sq. ft of which about 17% to 20% is dedicated to wine. The store at Harbour Centre, which is about 3 blocks from Canada Place, falls within that range and most people find the selection to be more than adequate. The store in Harbour Centre is not open on Sundays whereas the "Signature" stores are 11 am to 6 pm on Sundays.

In BC a typical bottle of California or Australian wine is about double or more than the price you would expect to pay in US states that I am familiar with. Most BC wines of the same quality are priced at the same level as imported wines.

[aohkay]

There's the St. Regis Beer & Wine store in the Granville Street Skytrain, one at the Sutton Hotel on Burrard Street (expensive) and another one at The Sheraton Wall Center on Hornby Street.

[scottbee]

Scott, I think there are some very reasonably priced wines for sale here. Not sure of OP's taste but IMO, not all wine is expensive. :)

 

A $15 bottle of wine here is typically 9.99 in WA state. While I agree that we have some excellent Canadian wines, they're a lot more expensive in BC than a comparative bottle of WA state wine in WA state.

[Langley Cruisers]

A $15 bottle of wine here is typically 9.99 in WA state. While I agree that we have some excellent Canadian wines, they're a lot more expensive in BC than a comparative bottle of WA state wine in WA state.

 

Point taken, but I just found it a little odd that you would comment on the cost of alcohol when it may not even be an issue to OP. S/he never once mentioned price, and we don't even know where OP is from - maybe not even the U.S., or maybe from a small town with not much choice and they don't mind the cost as long as they have a great selection to choose from?...

 

Anyway, whatever. :D

 

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[tulsacubfan]

We are coming from Oklahoma, flying to Seattle, so not sure bringing from home is an option (although I do have a couple wine bags we could try transfering to and putting in zip locks - something new I found to try that you can open a bottle of wine, pour what is left in it and it will keep more than a day). We get into Seattle late Wednesday night and take Amtrak

early next morning so don't see an opportunity to get in Washington. Staying at Marriot downtown (I think it is the residence inn).

 

Not looking at expensive wine really. A Columbia Valley or Willamette Valley riesling .... which I would assume will be cheaper in Washington than BC! But probably still cheaper than what we could get on ship - even if it is available.

 

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

[tulsacubfan]

A $15 bottle of wine here is typically 9.99 in WA state. While I agree that we have some excellent Canadian wines, they're a lot more expensive in BC than a comparative bottle of WA state wine in WA state.

 

Suggestions on a Canadian wine? My taste is a sweeter wine...the sweet side of rieslings or even a muscato or white zinfandel (I know - I call that my kool aid and if all else fails wine!).

[tulsacubfan]

And I am "assuming" from the responses that wine is not available in grocery stores (it is in some states in the US but not all).

[Putterdude]

And I am "assuming" from the responses that wine is not available in grocery stores (it is in some states in the US but not all).

 

No, wine. beer and spirits are not available in grocery stores. Either of the two liquor stores I have mentioned would be an easy walk from your hotel and both would carry what you likely want. I am not going to make a recommendation re wine as my taste tends to be in the dryer varieties.

[tulsacubfan]

No, wine. beer and spirits are not available in grocery stores. Either of the two liquor stores I have mentioned would be an easy walk from your hotel and both would carry what you likely want. I am not going to make a recommendation re wine as my taste tends to be in the dryer varieties.

 

Thanks so much!

[martincath]

According to the BC Liquor store online listing there might be one product that fits your first preference - Columbia Valley riesling - Chateau Ste. Michelle's Columbia Valley Riesling. It's available all over, and will cost about half-way between WA and Ship pricing ($6.99 in Target at Bellingham + tax, $16.99 here incl. tax, $29 onboard Princess with no tax to pay). It's listed as a code 00 (totally dry) but this is definitely a slightly sweet tasting wine - at 22.3g residual sugars per litre it *should* have a BC Liquor sugar code of 2 if it were listed correctly. For $7 it's insanely good for the price, but even at our inflated $17 it's as good or better than any of our local BC rieslings in the <$20 bracket.

 

However, since you also asked about Canadian wines, and Ch Ste M will set you back $17 here anyway, I thought I'd recommend some local off-dry rieslings that you might want to try - after all, you're on holiday!

G&L Prospect, $12.99, is quite quaffable. I haven't found a cheaper more drinkable local riesling yet.

Gray Monk make some good rieslings - both their Latitude Blend (Gewurtz, M-T & R), $13.99, and their regular Riesling, $16.99, have a little sweetness to them.

See Ya Later Ranch, $16.99, would be my favourite of the sub-$20 locally made rieslings.

There's also a Gehringer Riesling, $14.99, that I haven't tried showing as sugar code 1 with good availability in local stores.

[tulsacubfan]

According to the BC Liquor store online listing there might be one product that fits your first preference - Columbia Valley riesling - Chateau Ste. Michelle's Columbia Valley Riesling. It's available all over, and will cost about half-way between WA and Ship pricing ($6.99 in Target at Bellingham + tax, $16.99 here incl. tax, $29 onboard Princess with no tax to pay). It's listed as a code 00 (totally dry) but this is definitely a slightly sweet tasting wine - at 22.3g residual sugars per litre it *should* have a BC Liquor sugar code of 2 if it were listed correctly. For $7 it's insanely good for the price, but even at our inflated $17 it's as good or better than any of our local BC rieslings in the <$20 bracket.

 

However, since you also asked about Canadian wines, and Ch Ste M will set you back $17 here anyway, I thought I'd recommend some local off-dry rieslings that you might want to try - after all, you're on holiday!

G&L Prospect, $12.99, is quite quaffable. I haven't found a cheaper more drinkable local riesling yet.

Gray Monk make some good rieslings - both their Latitude Blend (Gewurtz, M-T & R), $13.99, and their regular Riesling, $16.99, have a little sweetness to them.

See Ya Later Ranch, $16.99, would be my favourite of the sub-$20 locally made rieslings.

There's also a Gehringer Riesling, $14.99, that I haven't tried showing as sugar code 1 with good availability in local stores.

 

Thanks for researching this! Will give one of the canadians a try! Probably your See Ya Later~

[scottbee]

Thanks for researching this! Will give one of the canadians a try! Probably your See Ya Later~

 

Based on where you're staying, I would be inclined to grab a taxi to the Signature (which generally means larger and staffed with more knowledgable people) store at Alberni Street & Bute Street (it's on the way toward the pier) on the morning of your cruise. They are staffed with knowledgable people, and you should be able to find someone to help you and point you in the right direction in finding a good VQA (which is a Canadian quality alliance) wine in your taste and price range.

[tulsacubfan]

Based on where you're staying, I would be inclined to grab a taxi to the Signature (which generally means larger and staffed with more knowledgable people) store at Alberni Street & Bute Street (it's on the way toward the pier) on the morning of your cruise. They are staffed with knowledgable people, and you should be able to find someone to help you and point you in the right direction in finding a good VQA (which is a Canadian quality alliance) wine in your taste and price range.

 

Thanks so much!

[cruising cockroach]

BC white wines tend to be a lot drier than their counterparts in Oregon and Washington (ABV also tends to be higher a recently-finished bottle of Joie Noble Blend was 12.7%).

[tulsacubfan]

BC white wines tend to be a lot drier than their counterparts in Oregon and Washington (ABV also tends to be higher a recently-finished bottle of Joie Noble Blend was 12.7%).

 

 

Thanks...for those of us who prefer "kool-aid" wine, that is good to know.

[cruising cockroach]

Thanks...for those of us who prefer "kool-aid" wine, that is good to know.

 

The minimum alcohol content in B.C. white wines (other than dessert ones) tend to be 11%, most are in the 12-13% range and I've seen as high as 13.5-14%.