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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/01/2026 (244 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.
Pull up a chair, folks, as we address the elephant in the room. Or, to be more precise, the decorated goaltender who is not in the room. Or on the ice. Or even in the city.
Not surprisingly, the Connor Hellebuyck situation took centre stage Tuesday as members of the Winnipeg Jets held their first media session following an informal, pre-training camp skate.
“We’re definitely going to get asked about it. That’s no chirp to anybody. I think that’s just the reality of the situation,” admitted veteran defenceman Dylan DeMelo, who took part in an hour-long practice at Hockey For All Centre that involved nearly every member of the organization.
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.
More than 18,000 free Winnipeg Transit passes have been handed out to Grade 11 and 12 students so far as part of a provincial pilot program, the NDP government announced Thursday.
Schools started distributing annual youth passes (valid until Aug. 31, 2027) to those students this week, with children in grades 6 to 10 next in line as part of a staggered rollout.
“This youth pass can be used to get to school, to get to work, to visit your friends and, really, anything that you want to do,” Education Minister Tracy Schmidt told reporters at Grant Park High School Thursday.
City of Winnipeg spokesman David Driedger said 60,000 passes have been sent to schools. Winnipeg Transit initially planned for about 30,000 passes.
Mark Fedikow hunts for gold. Skilled labour can become a secondary search.
“You can find lots of folks on the reserves that are willing to work and learn, no question about it,” Fedikow, president of Mount Morgan Resources Ltd., said Thursday in Winnipeg.
“They need to get some training, they need to get some education in exploration.”
Fedikow and his team have been surveying roughly 7,400 acres in the Snow Lake area in northern Manitoba. They’re in “early days” of gold exploration. Results over the past two years of work have been promising, Fedikow said.
A two-vehicle crash that killed four teenage friends in the Interlake Sunday night prompted outpourings of grief in several communities and calls for safety improvements at the intersection, which was also the site of a death in July.
Recent high school graduates Maya Borsa and Chloe Vermette, both 18, were identified by their families as victims of the collision at Highway 8 and Provincial Road 229, just west of Winnipeg Beach.
“(Chloe) was a very bubbly, loving personality. Always giving, always caring. Her friends meant the world to her,” said her mother, Veronique Vermette, who struggled to comprehend the tragedy when she went to the scene Monday. “We sat in the rain for hours, and it blew my mind that four lives were taken.”
The teens’ parents are waiting for RCMP to provide more information about the cause of the crash. Chloe, who graduated from Windsor Park Collegiate in Winnipeg in July, was driving one of the vehicles, her mother said.
Dean Pritchard4 minute readUpdated: Yesterday at 6:33 PM CDT
A shortage of judges is forcing Manitoba’s provincial court to slash sittings across the province.
The court announced in a notice to the profession Wednesday that it will be reducing the number of annual court sittings at nine rural circuit locations and St. Boniface provincial court in Winnipeg by 68 sittings, effective April 1, 2027.
The reductions are necessary to balance “access to justice needs with the complement of judicial resources currently insufficient to maintain the current court schedule,” said the notice, signed by provincial court Chief Judge Ryan Rolston.
Affected circuit courts include Altona, Arborg, Beausejour, Easterville, Cranberry Portage, Lundar, Grand Rapids, Moose Lake, and Pine Falls.
