One Stop Two Till Shopping

It is going to be much more complicated than that. It is B.C., and liquor sales in government stores, private wine and beer stores, wineries or restaurants has long operated under a byzantine set of rules. The latest proposed modifications seem no less complex.

It's anyone's guess how and when some of the changes will occur but let's take a minute to suggest why they should take place. Let's start with one issue that has beenmissing from the review since its inception. The sale of wine in grocery storesalongside its rightful partner food is a step toward civility. In the tumult surrounding the modernization of B.C. liquor laws I'm not aware of anyone suggesting the reason we need to modify our regulations is to effect culturalchange in the way we all interact with alcohol.

Umpteenspecial interest groups have given us a plethora of reasons why they require changes but most of that derives from a personal agenda relating to business and income and that includes government. Do we really need happy hours to change the culture of wine? Symbolically removing the beer garden fences mightbe the single best idea of the 73 recommendations put forth by government if only because segregating beer and wine drinkers from the rest of society surelyhas a negative effect on both sides of the fence.

After a hundred years of government control regarding the sale and regulation of alcohol, it's easy to blame the folks in charge for all the woes of alcohol. Perhaps we could consider another course of action. Maybe together we could find a better way to buy and sell wine, beer and spirits and in the course of that, we could all take responsibility for our actions.

I'm not a fan of banning alcohol until the age of 19, then, with no particular education or training turn every 19-year-old loose in bars and pubs. I wish we could fast-forward to 2035 and see if 19-year-olds, who will be exposed to wine and beer ingrocery stores from birth have a different outlook on alcohol when they arefinally confronted with making their own decisions.

Maybe watching and listening to their parents discussing food and wine in a grocery storewould make them less likely to want to binge-drink the moment they turn 19. My real hope is they be given moderate amounts of wine when appropriate at home intheir mid-teens to sip with food in a family setting. They may even discuss theflavour of the wine, how it effects the food and or the producer and the placethe wine was made. Maybe someone at the dinner will have visited the winery and knows the geography or the language spoken in that country. Perhaps a conversationabout history and politics will ensue; you know, a civilized discussion about life.

When I think back to the start of Parliamentary Secretary Jon Yap's investigation into modernizing B.C. liquor laws, I wonder what the final outcome would be had the mandate had been something Robert Mondavi would investigate; namely, how couldwe create an atmosphere that would raise the art of living well? Maybe a quote about how the Greeks and the Romans claimed wine, food and art was a way of enhancing life. You understand. We need to change the drinking culture as much as need to change the drinking laws.

Sound crazy? I don't think so. What's crazy is a liquor store within a grocery store and separate cash registers to somehow stamp out sales to minors, as if Save-On, or Costco, or Whole Foods are currently scheming to find a way to sell beer wine and liquor to underage kids. For the last time we all need to grow up and consider the bigger picture about what kind of society we want to live in.

Three Winds Viognier 2012, Vin de Paysd'Oc, Languedoc, South of France, France

Price      $14.00

Score    87/100

UPC       3760143270629

Remarks              Super fresh nutty honey, floralnose with apricot and orange aromas. The attack is soft, the palate with an off-dry baked apple flavours with flecks of ginger. Fresh, food-friendly style. Excellent value.

Norton Malbec Barrel Select 2010, Mendoza,Argentina

Price      $15

Score    87/100

UPC       7792319677792

Remarks              Classic savoury, meaty, peppery notes missed with black cherry, liquorice and light smoky tobacco aromas. Expect round, full, fresh palate with earthy, peppery, smoky, chocolate and blackcherry flavours flecked with game. A bit short and chunky but solid intensity. Best with grilled meats.

Torre del Falasco Valpolicella Ripasso2011, Pedemonte Valpolicella, Verona, Veneto, Italy

Price      $18

Score    87/100

UPC       008030625000279

Remarks              Clean peppery, chocolate/cherryaromas. On the palate the attack is soft and smooth with more ripe/sweetpeppery, black cherry fruit with a touch of cedar and black liquorice in thefinish. Excellent balance and length makes this food friendly. Serve with mushroom or meaty pasta dishes. Good value.

Galil Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2011,Upper Galilee, Galilee, Israel

Price      $19

Score    87/100

UPC       00736040014270

Remarks              Open aromatic cherry cedar nosewith tobacco, black olive, pepper and earthy notes. The attack is soft and sweet with a fair bit of alcohol ripe cassis, tobacco, sweet dark plums mintand olives. Serve this with your favourite hamburger or lamb chops but it will improve in bottle over the next two years.

Viticcio Bere 2011, Tuscany, Italy

Price      $20

Score    88/100

UPC       00751095112139

Remarks              Meaty, cassis, mushroom, peppery, compost nose mixed with black berry, tobacco and coriander aromas. Round, fresh, juicy palate with smoky, peppery, savoury, meaty, black cherry, resin and compost flavours. A bit rustic but otherwise solid effort. Grilled chickenor mushroom pasta dishes would be a fit.

Barone Ricasoli Brolio Chianti Classico2011, Tuscany, Italy

Price      $29

Score    89/100

UPC       00618109027516

Remarks              The best yet from the continuing revamp at Ricasoli. Respect for the floral, red fruit characters of sangiovesegive this wine an instant likeabilty. The textures are supple with perfecttension between acidity and tannin. Elegant but with substance and inviting smoky, black liquorice with cedar, forest floor and plums. A super food wine for chicken, mushrooms, pastas and cheese.