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Alberta wine culture fuelled by provincial rules that set its selection apart
Leslie Echino, director of Calgary's Blink Restaurant and Bar.

Leslie Echino, director of Calgary’s Blink Restaurant and Bar.

Chris Bolin/For The Globe and Mail

Liberal alcohol taxes and an entirely privatized market have given Alberta's wine culture an edge, writes Dan Clapson

DAN CLAPSON
Calgary
Special to The Globe and Mail

This article was published more than 8 years ago. Some information may no longer be current.

After settling into into a small window-side table at a downtown eatery, while waiting for my lunch date, I crack open the wine menu. Here at Blink, the collection of vintages reads more like a book than a restaurant fresh sheet: red, white and rosé blends by the glass or bottle as far as the eye can see.

"I'll take the Celler Pinol Mather Teresina Red, please."

Naturally, it wasn't an easy decision opting for this particular varietal as my eyes had spent the past 10 minutes gazing over the extensive wine list. The decision was made all the more difficult because I'd be unlikely to find this wine, and many like it, in other cities such as Vancouver or Toronto.

As it turns out, Albertans have a pretty good thing going in terms of wine culture – and they can thank differences in how wines are taxed across the country.

"All wines a buyer can import in this province are taxed equally and not dependent on where it comes from, which enables us to have an open market," explains Blink's owner, Leslie Echino.

"When you look somewhere like British Columbia, many imports are taxed over 100 per cent of their original costs, making it much less practical for a restaurant to bring in interesting and unique wines."

That's not to say great wines can't be enjoyed in other parts of Canada. Of course, you can find a restaurant's cellar stocked to the brim with Okanagan wines anywhere in B.C., or bottles from the Niagara region and Prince Edward County will line the shelves at any LCBO in Ontario. But finding an eclectic mix of Canadian-made and internationally produced wines in a single stop in either of those parts of our country is next to impossible.

Walking into a boutique liquor store in Calgary or Edmonton offers quite a different experience for consumers in terms of price, variety and staff knowledge, says Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts wine director Brad Royale.

"[This province] is rich with extremely talented wine retail staff," he says.

"Often, you'll find each boutique will have its own collection of areas where they specialize, be it Burgundy, Germany, Italy … so it's easy to get firsthand, insightful knowledge."

Mr. Royale says another advantage is the amount of wine sampling that goes on in boutique shops in Alberta, where, unlike B.C. and Ontario, liquor stores are entirely private.

"For a budding wine enthusiast, any Saturday afternoon tour around town will yield a good amount of sampling," he says.

At the same time, the downturn in the province's economy, combined with the low Canadian dollar, is causing problems for wine shops and bars.

"We have had numerous exclusive wines on our menu in the past, but right now our only exclusive is the Cristom Syrah," explains Avec Bistro owner Jackie Cooke. "Hopefully, our dollar rebounds, as product from outside Canada is continually going up in price and makes these exclusive deals much more prohibitive."

Compare the advantage restaurants and wine retailers have with the world of beer.

This past fall, the provincial government announced legislation related to the New West Partnership, which imposes a hefty tax on all beer imports coming from outside of B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan. That's restricted Albertans' access to Canadian beer.

Muskoka Brewery has since pulled its products from Alberta entirely, while Steam Whistle Brewing was recently granted an injunction protecting it from the tax changes.

Ms. Echino of Blink describes the taxes on beer as "really scary," especially as she thinks about how the rules around wine might change in the future.

"It's unethical and goes against healthy business practices," she says. "Competition is a good thing in this industry."

In the meantime, restaurants in Alberta – and their customers – continue to enjoy their competitive wine edge.

"Food and wine certainly go hand-in-hand," says Ms. Cooke as she noses her glass of champagne and a plate of beef tartare lands in front of her on the bar at Avec Bistro. "You can't have a top-notch restaurant in this province without those two things being intertwined."

Nicole Lyclamd and Rene Alamijah enjoy a glass of wine at Blink Restaurant and Bar

Nicole Lyclamd and Rene Alamijah enjoy a glass of wine at Blink Restaurant and Bar

Chris Bolin/For The Globe and Mail

Looking for a spot with an exceptional wine selection? Check out these five restaurants in Calgary and Edmonton