In Defense of Cheap Wine

In mid-February, a Federal Court judge ruled that, despite Molson Canada’s protestations, the average beer drinker can tell the difference between differently coloured labels. The decision was in response to Molson’s attempts to block the Phillipines’ San Miguel Brewing from trademarking “Red Horse Malt Liquor” in Canada, arguing that it would confuse beer drinkers trying to buy Molson’s Black Horse ale. The case is eerily similar to a 2007 case in which Vancouver’s Red Truck Beer Company took on Victoria’s Phillips Brewery over their Blue Truck Ale.

Haven't you ever wished, while you were drinking wine, that there was some way you might be able to improve its aroma and taste right out of the bottle? Without having to use those aerator attachments that are designed to serve that purpose?

A high-end wine and liquor store in New York City has the only bottle in the United States of the most expensive Cognac in the world. Croizet Cognac Leonie 1858 is currently on display at Financial District Wine and Liquor and can be purchased for the mere price of $156,760.

If the biggest selling point for a new beer is the bottle that it comes in, what does that say about the beer itself? There’s no doubt that the labels on beer, wine, and liquor influence our buying decisions. Vodka is supposedly tasteless, so the main justification for buying a top-shelf brand would appear to be that then you can show off the top-shelf label. If many drinkers were honest, they’d admit that they often pick out wines for no other reason than the bottles feature cute animals or a funny name.

If the biggest selling point for a new beer is the bottle that it comes in, what does that say about the beer itself? There’s no doubt that the labels on beer, wine, and liquor influence our buying decisions. Vodka is supposedly tasteless, so the main justification for buying a top-shelf brand would appear to be that then you can show off the top-shelf label. If many drinkers were honest, they’d admit that they often pick out wines for no other reason than the bottles feature cute animals or a funny name.

MONTREAL — Efforts by successive Quebec governments to find more revenue sources over the years have contributed to an unintended consequence on the store shelves of the province’s liquor monopoly: the near-extinction of cheap wine.

An amateur wine group paid a record 57,000 euros ($77,000) Saturday for a 237-year-old bottle of wine from France's eastern Jura region at a local wine festival auction."Finally, yellow wine has hit the big leagues," said wine festival founder Bernard Badoz of Jura's trademark beverage."To sell a bottle for 57,000 euros is not crazy," he said of the 1773 bottle that came from a Louis XV-era vine and grapes harvested during the reign of Louis XVI.

Fresh on the heels of France's labour minister stating "France is a Totally Bankrupt State" comes news the city of Dijon needs to sell its prized wine collection to help those "appealing for social aid."