The sale of the vast majority of wine in Québec is through a government agency called the SAQ (Société d’Alcool de Québec). Only supermarkets, dépanneurs, restaurants and vineyards can sell wine too.
For wine growers this makes selling their wares complicated. The SAQ is willing to sell Québec wines, but for a $20 bottle of wine the SAQ will pay the vineyard around $5. Given that the costs of the bottle are around $3, this doesn’t leave an awful lot for the vineyard to pay for the costs of growing the fruit and creating the wine.
Hence, most vineyards sell first to restaurants and then directly to consumers. You can expect to pay between $15 and $20 for a bottle of wine, although some are more expensive.
The SAQ could certainly assist local growers who are still mainly small family owned businesses by reducing their tariff for local wines and help grow the market. After all, Québec wines are a craft wine and are increasingly part of the local gastronomy.
As a wine buyer, you can by-pass the SAQ and go direct to the vineyard. Check out the Route des vins (Wine route) in the Eastern Townships for more information.
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