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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/01/2026 (190 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
January can be a tough time of year financially.
Maybe, despite your best budgeting, you spent a little too much on gifts. Perhaps you hosted a big holiday dinner and sprung for a not-inexpensive 11-kilogram turkey and all the trimmings. Or could it be that one of your cats developed a mystery ailment, and had to undergo tests and stay for a number of days at the emergency veterinarian, setting you back thousands of dollars?
Yes, I experienced all of the above over the last month (and said cat is at home now, hopefully on the mend).
Suffice to say, the purse strings round these parts were quite loose over the holidays and have since been tightened to the point of strangulation. So the focus when it comes to drinks has been the best bottles (and cans) for a frugal budget.
Not all drinks sold for rock-bottom prices are created equal.
Many of the three- or four-litre bag-in-box wines in our market, for example, are bottled and blended in Canada from a blend of bulk domestic and international juices. They’re serviceable but typically not overly interesting — and in writing a weekly drinks column, I like to try a range of products rather than the same wine, over and over.
There are countries and regions that tend to deliver better value than others. Bottles from Chile and Argentina continue to offer great bang for your buck in the quality-to-price ratio, as do many of those hailing from Spain and Portugal.
And lesser-known regions tend to over-deliver for the price — a $16 bottle of red from the more obscure Abruzzo region of Italy, for example, will deliver a better quality-to-price ratio than wines in the same price range from the sprawling, more popular Chianti region.
Beer lovers needn’t settle for low-priced, mass-produced (and generally boring) international brews either. Many local brewers have beers in our market that compete with the big corporate breweries price-wise, and are fresher (and taste better).
Bargain hunters should keep an eye out for limited-time offers and monthly sales, which offer a chance to test drive relatively pricier drinks for a decent deal.
Check around at private wine stores to see what’s on special, or visit the Liquor Marts website (liquormarts.ca), click on “promotions” and then on either “hot buy” or “limited time offers” to see what’s on sale there.
Bargain hunters should also be keeping an eye on bin end/delisted wines, beers and spirits — products that are seasonal, last of their kind or simply didn’t sell well enough to keep around, and which tend to be discounted for quick sale.
Liquor Marts recently delisted a new batch of products; click “last chance” under “promotions” on their website to see what’s being cleared out; once you click on an item you can see what stock levels are like by store.
These products tend to go fast and may not be seen again, so stock up if you can — once they’re gone, they’re likely gone for good.
Drinks of the week
Here are six well-priced drinks to get you through the long month of January without breaking the bank…
Medium straw in appearance, Barn Hammer’s Final Draft lager offers biscuit, bread dough, fresh malt and subtle peppery notes aromatically.
It’s light-bodied and dry, led by flavours of biscuit/crackers/bread dough, a hint of lemon zest that arrives with some chalkiness and underlying malty notes that come with the modest finish (it’s 4.5 per cent alcohol). 3/5
Pale gold in appearance, there’s a subtle nuttiness and some pear notes that come with the cracked wheat and malty notes on the nose.
It’s a light-plus bodied and dry lager, bringing slightly more weight, bigger fruit notes and more complexity than the Final Draft, with the apple notes working well with the dough/biscuit notes, a notable peppery/hoppy edge and a decently lengthy finish (it’s also 4.5 per cent alcohol).
Also available in a 15x355ml can box from from the brewery, beer vendors and Liquor Marts. A beauty indeed. 3.5/5
Astica 2024 Chardonnay Chenin
(Argentina — $13.99, Jones & Company Wine Merchants)
Pale straw in appearance, this unoaked Argentine white, a blend of Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc, brings a fresh fruit salad of apricot, mango and pineapple on the nose along with a citrusy marmalade component and hints of spice.
It’s dry, light-bodied, easy-going and fresh, with the tropical and stone fruit flavours backed by hints of green herbs and spice and a modest finish. 3.5/5
Artisan Wine Co. 2023 & Evermore Chardonnay
(Niagara Peninsula, Ont. — $9.99, Liquor Marts and beyond)
Made by Artisan Wine Co., which has a range of brands in Canada (including Diabolica), there’s not a lot of info out there about this Niagara Chardonnay — although it’s listed on the LCBO website for $16.95, meaning Liquor Marts must have got a one-time deal on this wine (as well as the matching Pinot Noir, also $9.99).
The Chard is medium straw in appearance, with tangerine, ripe red apple, cantaloupe and peachy notes on the nose.
It’s light-plus bodied, dry and seemingly unoaked, bringing ripe peach and red apple flavours, light acidity, a slightly creamy texture and, at 12.7 per cent alcohol, a relatively modest finish. A well-made white, particularly for this rock-bottom price — unheard of when it comes to VQA wines. 3.5/5
Valle Andino 2022 Carmenère
(Maule Valley, Chile — $14.99, Calabria Market)
Bright purple in appearance, this well-priced Chilean Carmenère offers black cherry, dark chocolate, plum, eucalyptus and herbal, minty aromas.
It’s medium-plus bodied and dry but fairly jammy, with blackberry, plum and raspberry flavours coming with dark chocolate and black tea components, medium acidity and light tannins.
Doesn’t likely see time in oak barrels, and the 13 per cent alcohol seems just right. Drink now. 3/5
Finca Flichman 2024 Poncho Criollo Malbec
(Mendoza, Argentina — $15.99/1L bottle, Liquor Marts and beyond)
This Malbec pays tribute to Argentine “gauchos;” it’s inky purple in colour and aromatically brings blackberry, blueberry skin, mocha and plum notes.
On the dry, medium-plus bodied palate the dark fruit flavours shine through, with no discernable oak but with modest tannins, medium acidity and a moderate finish (it’s 13 per cent alcohol).
Not the biggest, grippiest Malbec you’ll try, but landing in the one-litre bottle makes it a solid value. Chill for 15 and enjoy now. 3.5/5
winnipegfreepress.com/bensigurdson
Ben Sigurdson Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Ben Sigurdson Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Maybe, despite your best budgeting, you spent a little too much on gifts. Perhaps you hosted a big holiday dinner and sprung for a not-inexpensive 11-kilogram turkey and all the trimmings. Or could it be that one of your cats developed a mystery ailment, and had to undergo tests and stay for a number of days at the emergency veterinarian, setting you back thousands of dollars?
Yes, I experienced all of the above over the last month (and said cat is at home now, hopefully on the mend).
Suffice to say, the purse strings round these parts were quite loose over the holidays and have since been tightened to the point of strangulation. So the focus when it comes to drinks has been the best bottles (and cans) for a frugal budget.
Scott Billeck7 minute readYesterday at 5:43 PM CDT
Children at an Osborne Village daycare are routinely exposed to discarded needles, human feces and drug use, prompting growing safety concerns from parents, residents and business owners.
The concerns centre on Augustine Centre at River Avenue and Osborne Street, where SPLASH Child Care shares the building with Oak Table, a drop-in operated by 1JustCity that provides meals, wellness and addiction supports, along with programs that help people build skills, and secure housing and employment.
The daycare looks after 132 children, from just a few months old to age 12.
Lesley Massey, executive director of the daycare, said parents fear for their children’s safety.
Joyanne Pursaga3 minute readYesterday at 5:29 PM CDT
The City of Winnipeg’s first chief construction officer is leaving his position, which was created to add oversight to major projects.
Tom Sparrow’s final day will be July 31, about 15 months after he started.
Mayor Scott Gillingham introduced the creation of a chief construction officer as a 2022 campaign pledge. At the time, he said the role would provide expert advice to council and help ensure the city attracts competitive bids for infrastructure projects, including the $3.1-billion upgrade to the North End sewage treatment plant on Main Street.
On Friday, Gillingham said Sparrow proved the value of the role during his time with the city.
Those looking to purchase a distinctive penthouse suite almost always have one issue to contend with: the need to remodel the suite to have it meet their needs and reflect their tastes.
As anyone who’s done that (or any renovation, for that matter) knows, it can be an arduous — and very dusty — process to tear everything out of a sprawling suite and then redo it.
There’s no need to deal with that process with a 2,098 sq. ft. penthouse suite at 390 On The River in the heart of downtown Winnipeg, says Viktoria Fazekas of RE/MAX Executives Realty.
“This is the last penthouse for sale in the complex,” she says. “The best part about it is that it’s in a totally raw state, which means it’s a blank slate. That gives the purchaser the opportunity to have the exact layout and finishes that they want.”
It’s hard to miss the bright yellow balloons on the lawns of many Winnipeg homes this weekend.
Over in St. Vital, those balloons marked the spot of nine-year-old Myla and seven-year-old Elsie’s first-ever lemonade stand, where the sisters are spending a sunny Saturday morning serving cups of lemonade to neighbours and raising money for CancerCare Manitoba.
Their stand is one of more than 300 taking place across the province this summer as part of Lemonade Stands for Hope, a CancerCare Manitoba Foundation campaign supporting local cancer research and patient care.
“It’s summertime, and we thought, why not take advantage of the hot weather and do something good for CancerCare?” said their mom, Monica de Leon.
Nicole Buffie4 minute readYesterday at 7:29 PM CDT
A spring and summer of intense weather has wreaked havoc on southern Manitoba, slamming it with torrential rain, tornadoes, intense heat and, now, wildfire smoke.
The Beer Can, a popular summer patio located next to the Granite Curling Club, had to close early Thursday due to a thunderstorm. Prior to that, customers had to deal with a blanket of smoke that rolled into town from wildfires raging in Ontario.
“We’re just keeping (staff) on standby and adapting to the weather as the days come,” said supervisor Kisis Angeconeb.
Winnipeg has seen its share of “weather whiplash” — the phenomenon of violent swings between extreme conditions in a short period of time.
