Good wines with cool style

Can't comment on Ohio's laws, but I'll say something about my adopted states of Oregon and Washington. Both have state-run liquor stores. Not open Sundays or holidays or evenings. They used to as antiseptic as you describe, cjhsa, but that's changing for the better. At least one can buy a full array of beer and wine in the supermarket (any time they're open), but as for booze, we're still back in Puritan times.

(Which, I recently found out, weren't dry at all. LOTS of drinking back then, partly because the water wasn't safe to drink. No lie!)

Another reason, besides the lack of sunshine, not to move to Washington or Oregon.

When I first moved here, there was a place called Liquor Barn. No joke. Typically they occupied former grocery stores. They were huge, aisles and aisles of beer, wine, booze, mixers, specialties, on and on it went. They were purchased by a British conglomorate, run into the ground, and went out of business.

About six years ago they reincarnated as Beverages & More. I sought out the first store that opened and here were all these old Liquor Barn employees that I remembered. I don't think the place is at all affiliated with the old Liquor Barn, but they hired the right people to get the place up and running.

State run liquor stores are all about taxes, taxes, taxes. It has nothing to do with controlling the end use of the product. The fact that they have limited hours is due to the fact they are run by state employees. No good state employee is ever going to work during time periods when it's convenient for a consumer to shop.

Actually, the weather's been pretty decent lately, if you like a hot, dry climate.

Liquor sales are all about taxes everywhere, IMHO. Are there are any states right now that haven't upped the sin taxes lately?

But it did irk me when I'd walk into a state liquor store that had all the charm of a methadone clinic. The mood was, "We'll sell you the stuff, but we don't approve of your vice..."

Hear, hear. That's what it was like the last time I visited one in Ohio.

Maybe if you guys tried buying liquor when you weren't already staggering drunk...

Slappy, what's your point?

Is Slappy a moralist now? Holy crap! Actually, dude behind me at the liquor store was indeed staggering drunk, and buying 40s of malt liquor to boot, but they served him anyway. Ontario has a kinder, gentler approach to selling booze these days.

Used to be, not only could you not shop on Sundays, or after work, or early in the morning, you also had to have no windows if you ran a bar/tavern. Mind you, that was before I was born, but some of these places still exist as a reminder of our puritanical past.

We used to have the LCBO, for wine, liquor and imported beer, and Brewer's Retail for local beer, all government run. Then a few things changed. Niagara started getting accolades for their wines, and demanded the right to open their own stores. The public got pissed off at the LCBO and started a campaign to privatize the whole damn thing. Nobody knew what "Brewer's Retail" meant, apparently.

The wineries got their stores, "Brewer's Retail" became "The Beer Store" and the LCBO launched a huge "no really, we ARE friendly" campaign. Now they are open longer, and on Sundays, and have boutiquey mega-stores all over the place, complete with free magazines on food and wine, relatively friendly, if generally unknowledgeable staff, 'Event Kitchens' for hire, the whole nine yards. Reps come in to sample their wares, and if you play your cards right at some stores, you can get quite buzzed despite the official "two sample minimum" clause.

Speaking of Boone's Farm. Years ago a friend of mine visited us and we went to the wine country. We stopped at Mondavi and took the tour (note: I hate tours - take me directly to the tasting room). Anyway, during the tour, the guide kept looking at my friend (he is, I'm told, very good looking). This went on for awhile, until she finally singled him out and asked him if he worked in the wine industry.

Without flinching, he replied "Well, yeah, do you know my Uncle Boone?".

That shut her up.

Hi all. I grew up in Ohio, and I can tell you, the liquor stores used to be worse. They were just little rooms with mimeographed "catalogs" hung on hooks. You came in, decided what you wanted. There were little pencils and order forms, like at a lottery counter. You filled out your slip, and gave it to a clerk in a window (not a counter), who went back into the back room to get your bottle(s). He would ring them up, you pay, then he hands them over. You never saw or touched a bottle until after you paid for it. California was like a miracle to me !

Other Ohio stupidities (I don't know if they still do this either) -- "high" and "low" beer. 18-21 yr. olds could only drink "low" beer -- supposedly no more than 3.2% alcohol. From 21 up you could drink -- gasp -- WINE! or HIGH BEER (5.8% or less alc.) or ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANTED!!! So if you're 19 and want to get drunk, you have to drink some more beer. Difficult concept, eh?

Only stupider law I know of is one from Oklahoma. 18-yr. old GIRLS can buy anything; the BOYS are stuck with low beer until they're 21... Who among you brilliant people can tell me what the average 19-year old couple does???

Hmm...average 19 yr. old couple...drink and screw? That would be my first guess.

What else? But if they want to drink liquor, he can't buy it, she has to...

Never underestimate Cav's ability to state the obvious.

Massachusetts is hysterical actually. Cant buy liquor on Sundays unless of course you live within the area surrounding NH, then your local 7/11 will have Beer and Wine for Sale...I used to love living up in that area for that alone. Then, you have the whole NO Happy Hour laws, the dry towns (there are a few of them), and the liquor stores staying open till 10pm, unless its Thanksgiving- New Year they are allowed to stay open till 11pm and also allowed ot operate on Sundays, and they all sell the minis which are actually illegal to sell in Massachusetts, oh yeah, and half of them are owned and/or operated by policemen of some sort, where you cannot use a liquor ID to purchase liquor, and even in the bars which, outside of Boston only are allowed to stay open till 1 (I think) and in Boston limits till 2 you also cant use a liquor license.
Its taken me 15 long years to figure this all out but, I think Ive got it all straight now so, Im sure they'll change something.

I liked visiting Florida where on a late Monday evening the grocery store had shelves of beer and wine for sale all the time (well, with some silly restrictions on other alcohols which I was just like---Im confused enough already dangit) And visiting Phoenix where the grocery's included a liquor store where you could buy everything all the time. Interesting really.

LibertyD---banrockstation....very interseting, thanks!

Every grocery store in California sells liquor, with rare exception (where they might be competing with a neighbor, for example).

That does sound arcane, quinn! Things are a lot simpler in Washington. Not the most enlightened state in this regard, but not too bad.

They did change the happy hour rules some years back. Used to be, happy hour meant 2 for 1 drinks, if the bar offered it. Now that was fun! Now, alas, they can only offer a break on the price, say a buck off a pint. Ah, nuts, as my late dad would say...

Banrock Station makes a very nice unoaked Chardonnay, and a very decent Sparkling Chard as well, both very inexpensive. cjhsa, moi state the obvious? Never...

The thing about Happy Hour around here though is that there are so many little pubs and other gathering spots that actually have cheap drinks that you just get the same price all the time unless you decide to splurge on some fancy or uptown place so...you do have a choice and it doesnt add to the whole what time is it, what town am I in situation.

happy hour here roughly 4-8/9pm has domestic beer for $2.00, mixed drinks and shots for about $3.50.

after 8pm most prices go up to $3.00 per beer and $5.00 for the rest.

Sadly, true happy hour in Toronto is non-existant. Only 1/2 price appetizers are offered, not booze.

appetizers here usually are free. friday's (today for us) is the best. bbq ribs, chicken, ham, fish prepared in various ways, salads, etc. all you can eat.