Private Wine Store Update

Not very long ago the Saskatchewan Government announced their bold new initiative. They were allowing the opening of a privately owned specialty wine store.

Let me say, up front, that I am not opposed to the idea of having a good, privately run, specialty wine store here in Regina.

I've now been to the store a couple of times and I am so far not sure it was worth the bother.

A specialty wine store, for me at least, congers up all kinds of images. Staff that are knowledgeable about wines, a selection of interesting vintages, tough to get here in Saskatchewan and an different sort of atmosphere, a bit more sophisticated than Government liquor stores.

What we got was a shop in a fairly low end strip mall, a half stocked store without a really exciting variety in product, much of the stuff you can already get at the liquor store, and a staff who might as well be working in Best Buy.

I asked specifically about B.C. wines. British Columbia is a couple of provinces west. They make some very nice wines both red and white. The store's selection is appallingly bad. The staff don't seem to know much about what they are selling and don't seem to care. They don't know they intend to bring in a better selection and if they are, when.

To top it off of the two clerks it took to process my selection, one was standing behind the counter eating his lunch from a Tupperware container and the other seemed more interested in continuing her cell phone conversation with her boyfriend.

The government store clerks are much more knowledgeable about the wine and are certainly better behaved. They don't have much to worry about, I'd say.