A rant regarding Loonie wine prices!

Time for the inner economist in me to go on a little rant. I have been in the Big Apple (Big Grape?) for a fortnight, and am just dismayed at the differential in wine pricing between the U.S. and Canada--especially given that the currencies are now at par.

Here in NYC, you can get a very good (typically French) bottle of wine at a great restaurant for $80-100. No offense to B.C. wines, but during my last trip to Vancouver, for that price one was getting fair B.C. wines (perhaps an Ossoyos Larosse or something of that inky ilk).

When I arrived in the city, I promptly ordered a half-case of wines from Gotham wines:

-2 bottles of 2006 Jaboulet Parallel-45 rose
-1 bottle 2005 Parallel-45 Red
-1 bottle of a 1995 St. Emillion
-1 bottle of 2003 Chateau La Nerthe Chateauneuf du Pape
-1 bottle of 2005 Perrin Cote du Rhone Reserve

Ticking through this list, you can see that these are all pretty damn nice wines, ranging from "table" to "special occasion". (Incidentally, one of the least expensive, the Perrin, was one of the most oustanding--the Chateau de Beaucastel lineage certainly shines through!)

Now what do you suppose Gotham charged me, delivered right to my apartment? You will no doubt be as shocked as I was: $115!!

Clearly, there is something broken when it comes to wine pricing in Canada. $115 might get you 3 or 4 bottles of a Burrowing Owl--not a terrible wine, but certainly not in the realm of (m)any of the above.

I am not sure whether it is import duties or excessive taxation or excessive retail mark-up (I think we can all agree that restaurant mark-ups in B.C. are criminal!)

Thoughts, fellow bloggers? Corked and Sommelier, as you are about to descend upon Gotham, I urge you to dig--er, drink--into this pricing disparity more deeply!

-Screwtop