Wine Rack – Queen and Bathurst

Considering the strip of Queen St. West that this Wine Rack is located on, I am always impressed by the staff and their positive attitude presented upon entering the store. More times than not, there is a sampling offered, which helps to relax the customers and promote local products, a win-​win situation. Saying I’m a fan of Wine Rack could be a stretch, but the combination of an upbeat staff perspective, a well-​lit and clean store, and LCBO-​slaying hours makes me a fan of this place.

Every once in a while I’ll get invited to a dinner party on a sunday and miss the LCBO by a few minutes or decide that I want to stay in on a Friday and watch ‘Hunt for the Red October’ with a bottle of wine after 9pm. The wine rack is fantastic because it gives you an extra hour or two over the LCBO to fuel your alcohol related activities (open until 11pm on weekdays and saturday, 6pm on sundays.)
No, you won’t find that bold chianti that will impress all the ladies at dinner and allow you to awkwardly segue to that one time you went to Europe — but you will find a fair selection of Ontario wines. Note that it seems like the wines here are slightly pricer than the LCBO but it seems like the wine rack offers wines that the LCBO doesn’t (there’s one in particular that I enjoy that I can’t find at my local LCBO.)
Of course, if you are broke and desperate there is always the lone two litre pop bottle of sparkling wine available. Who knows, if you are dining with hipsters you can even claim that you are drinking it ironically.
What I like most about this location is that you’ll see the same people working — and if you tell them what you like/don’t like they’ll usually be able to recommend something you’ll enjoy.

For wine purchases outside of LCBO, this is the place to go. You know you are supporting local (Niagara region) wineries Jackston Triggs is as good as any California wines. The higher priced wines are significantly better than the «cheap» wines that run about $ 12/​bottle. We can’t all live in California and drink excellent $ 5 wines…