How other countries handle wine sales

ROME: Wine is sold in specialty wine stores, supermarkets and smaller food stores. Not surprisingly, Italians are partial to their own world-famous wines although most imports are from France, Spain, the United States, Australia and Portugal. But what goes better with pasta than some homegrown vino? And don’t forget wine fuelled Roman legions in their conquests back in the day.

LONDON: Not only is wine sold in supermarkets, so is beer and liquor. Vino is also available from wine stores and smaller convenience stores. Given that the United Kingdom has a very small domestic wine industry, it’s not surprising that the country imports a sizeable 14 per cent of the world’s wine production, much of it from Europe.

SYDNEY: Ever heard of a bottle shop? Sydney has plenty and they’re one place to buy wine, along with supermarkets, where house-label wines are increasingly taking up space on shelves. Given that Australia is a major world producer of wines, and in a remote corner of the world, Aussies are known for favouring their world-famous reds in particular. And, they like beer, too. G’day mate!

JOHANNESBERG: Supermarkets sell wine — but that’s the only alcohol they sell. Beer and spirits must be sold in stand-alone stores. To capture that business, supermarket chains often have subsidiary stores next door with a full line of brew and liquor. South Africa, which has its own well-known wine industry, does not import much foreign vino but exports plenty now that apartheid-era boycotts are history.

QUEBEC: The province allows sales of beer and wine in supermarkets and corner stores called dépanneurs, and it’s not unusual to see Ottawa residents across the river loading up on Costco runs to Hull. Craft beers and ciders are popular in the sense that Quebec does not have much of a wine industry. Anyone wanting liquor in Quebec has to buy it at an SAQ store, similar to Ontario’s LCBO outlets. Rob Ferguson