The SAQ Is Officially Raising The Price Of Bottles Of Wine

The Canadian dollar is to blame?

This is probably the worst time of the year to do this to us!

It's summertime, and picnic season in Montreal is at a high!

Honestly, I don't know about you but there isn't anything better than kicking back in the sun at whatever park you like best with some good friends, good tunes and a nice bottle of wine (or beers, I don't discriminate).

As of today, SAQ will be raising the prices on almost all their wines. 1200 bottles, in fact, will see a price increase - many of which are some of SAQ's best sellers.

The Crown Corporation has issued this increase due to the fluctuation of the Euro and U.S. dollar, a "request from its suppliers", and an increase in the federal excise rate - issued on April 1.

Now, in most cases, this isn't really much of an increase. Many bottles will see a price hike of about .20 cents.

Some of the bottles out of these roughly 1200 on the menu will raise their prices over $2, though! Now, this may not seem like much but it will add up.

Anyone moving up the price on my wine bottles is gonna grab my attention! I call shenanigans!

I'm sure many of us will hardly notice the increase or even think about it really - cause $2.20 extra on a nice bottle of wine isn't going to break the bank, per say, but where the increases start they will continue.

Here are some of the increases so far:

La Moussière, Sancerre 2017 - 32,60$ (+2,75$)
Thema Blanc 2016 - 22,40$ (+1,30$)
L'Oeuvre de Perraud, Chardonnay, Mâcon Villages 2016 - 19,70$ (+1$)
Savoie, Apremont, Cuvée gastronomique, Jean Perrier 2016 - 17,20$(+0,70$)
Cuvée des Conti 2016 - 17,80$ (+1$)
Château de Chamirey rouge 2014 - 29,85$ (+2,20$)
Crognolo 2015 - 31,10$ (+2$)
Cerro Añon, Rioja, Crianza 2014 - 18,20$ (+0,95$)
Lalande Bellevue, Merlot 2015 - 14,45$ (+0,85$)
La Vieille Mule rouge 2016 - 17,10$ (+0,80$)

Hopefully, this isn't the beginning of a higher taxation on our alcohol as a whole! Only some of you will know this, or truly understand it the way I and other locals who did not grow up here do.

Alcohol prices in Quebec are the best, and cheapest than anywhere else in the country! The reason? The rest of Canadian provinces have regulated selling points - we can't buy wines or beers at the dep and grocery stores. Our taxes on alcohol, in full, are much higher.

This worries me not cause of the extra $2, but because of the start of a continued increase over the years.

Hopefully, this will not be the case. Don't mess with my wine!

Source 1 | Source 2