Vancouver

We will be going to Vancouver next week for a wedding. Any recommendations for wine shops and good BC whites to look for?

For wine shops, most stores are via the provincial monopoly (i.e., government owned). The biggest selection is the 39th and Cambie store (15-20 minutes from downtown, on a bus route). Downtown, there is a store at Alberni Street near Thurlow. There is also a good private store on Davie Street (Marquis Wine Cellars) which is also downtown.

Not much of a fan of BC wines, so I can't help there. Too hit and miss for my liking.

Just a warning, the wine prices are fairly obsene here due to very high taxes!!!!

Oh, you can look at the selection and prices in the provincial stores at http://www.bcliquorstores.com/en.

OK, let's change the questions. What are some good wine stores along the main route from SEA-TAC to Vancouver? What's been the experience about bringing wine into Canada at the border crossing?

OK, change the questions. What are some good wine stores along the way when driving from SEA-TAC to Vancouver? What's been the experience bringing wine into Canada at the crossing?

Hi Dan,

To echo what John said, the prices are horrible up there, and at most places at least, the selection is dismal. I'd certainly recommend taking your own wine up to Canada if you can. There are many good shops in Seattle, and I'd recommend my place in Capitol Hill, but we won't be open until some time in September. Probably your best bet for selection and ease of access to the freeway is Esquin Wine Merchants, at the corner of 4th and Lander, in the industrial area just south of downtown. It's the biggest place in town, and you'll no doubt find anything you want there. I've taken wine across the border several times with absolutely no problem. I think the duty-free limit is 2 bottles per person, but don't quote me on that.

Dave

I live in Calgary but I'm getting a couple of cases of mixed Rhones from Marquis Wines in Vancouver when I pass thru in a few weeks. Check out their website and download their latest offering (http://www.marquis-wines.com/2007-Burgu ... ering.html). I know BC prices are high but Marquis does have a direct import license and they do import some great wines that end up being cheaper than what I pay in Alberta, which is very unusual. Tempier is a good example. It's cheaper at Marquis than in Alberta by about 20 percent. And Marquis imports some wines that are not available at all where I live. Some pretty rare Rhones. So while other posters stated that the prices are high and selection poor in BC, I'd say thats true in general, but Marquis can be an exception depending on factors such as the costs and selection of wine where you live to begin with.

Bryan

Marquis Wines in Vancouver
Esquin Wine Merchants in Seattle


Ah there is hope! Thank you both.

[Jenise]

OK, let's change the questions. What are some good wine stores along the main route from SEA-TAC to Vancouver? What's been the experience about bringing wine into Canada at the border crossing?

Dan, I probably have more experience than anyone here crossing the border with wine as I do it several times a month, so some hints:

1) The most I've tried to enter Canada with is four bottles, and that's not been a problem. The key to success is how you answer the question about the wine's purpose. The correct answer is "I'm taking them to a wine tasting with other collectors"--of course, that is what I'm always doing, and I've never been sent home. They will often ask if all the wines will be consumed at that event. Again in my case that is always true, and a 'yes' answer has always satisfied them. What would appear to be a problem, the kind that generates like 100% duty, would be saying that you were taking the wine to a host as a "gift". Under no circumstances use the word "gift" to describe anything in your possession.

2) Yes, Esquin's a very good wine store in Seattle, no argument. But it can be tricky getting on and off the freeway there if you're not a local, and end up in Spokane or something. I pick up wine down there at Garagiste (about a block up Ladner--not Lander--from Esquin) and *I* have trouble every time, so I know. Easier would be some stops in Bellingham which is about 20 miles south of the border. Two I would reccomend to you are just a block or two off I-5 with handy off/on ramps right where you need them. Both are in supermarkets, but you have to understand that in Northern Washington there are virtually no independent wine sellers and the wine sections in these markets operate like independent wine stores, with full-time wine consultants who select their own inventory. The two best, which I would reccomend to you, are the Food Pavillion on Old Fairhaven Parkway in Bellingham and Haggens on Main St. about ten miles further north in Ferndale. Both are about one block west of I-5 and the offramps have the same street names I just gave you. The Food Pav is on the right, or north side of the street, where Haggens is on the left/south side.

3) It won't be a bad idea to gas up on the State side before going into Canada, gas is higher up there.

4) Returning to the U.S. with wine: no problem. The Americans are much more easy going about this than the Canadians, and they tend to understand that you've been on vacation and purchased wine as souvenirs. I've brought back cases and never paid duty, although I did have one 'helpful' border agent try to assure me that wine was much cheaper here in the U.S.--why I never needed to pay over $7 again!

Jenise, there's really no specialty wine shop in Bellingham? At all? That seems like an area that's ripe ...

[Jenise]

Jenise, there's really no specialty wine shop in Bellingham? At all? That seems like an area that's ripe ...

Well, there are two. Purple Smile, whose supply is not what I'd call 'extensive' particularly for the kinds of wines I sense Dan to prefer, and The Vines at the Du Jour Bistro on Cornwall which might be a good stop for Dan if he gets this far and feels like a meal. At Du Jour, you pick your wine from 'the store' and pay just $5 corkage if you drink it with your meal. Mike, the owner, is a great guy with a great, very Europeanized palate, and at his store customers don't have to wade around the Yellow Tail and the Ste. Michelles everybody else has to carry. But it's not open 24 hours and just a block off the freeway.

Oh, another good choice in Seattle would be Pete's Market.

We left before seeing the posts by Jenise and MtBakerDave. Didn't try stopping in Seattle for wine but got off I-5 in Bellingham because signs said there was an hour delay at the border. We got off at the right exit too, by chance, and proceeded to the the crossing at Aldergrove which was easy. Wish we had known though about the stores Jenise recommended in Bellingham.

Mapquest says it's 2 hrs 40 min to Vancouver. Does anyone do it in that time? It was more like 4 1/2 hours on the way up (with a stop for lunch) and 4 hours back, both times through Aldergrove. We stayed on the far side of Vancouver at UBC so that added some time.

The wine in Vancouver was costly and unimpressive. There wasn't much for less than $20 and those I bought in that range (mostly Riesling and Gewurztraminer) weren't nearly as good as what goes for $12 - $15 in New York. To top it all off, the wine at the wedding in Whistler was Kendall - Jackson Chardonnay. I've had better trips with respect to wine.