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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/01/2026 (250 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.
In this high stakes game of chicken, Kevin Cheveldayoff, Connor Hellebuyck or any of the potential suitors for the Winnipeg Jets franchise netminder appear ready to blink.
Technology respecting electricity generation, storage and grid management is rapidly advancing and displacing gas-fired peaker plants. New battery storage systems are more efficient and less costly, smooth grid flow and are non-polluting. Texas, California and Australia are replacing gas turbine peaker plants with more effective storage batteries.
Solar and wind energy generation combined with battery storage at both the grid and home/business level is the most efficient way to meet peak demand. Building expensive, outdated, polluting American gas turbines, as Manitoba Hydro is proposing, is not in Manitoba’s interest.
Premier Wab Kinew noted that a final decision to build a new turbine power plant in Brandon has not been made. I hope he’s correct, for if Manitoba Hydro already made the decision and entered binding financial obligations with GE Vernova, the PUB’s role was superfluous.
In 2025/26 Nova Scotia Power installed 3 x 50 MW Lithium-ion grid batteries with the storage capacity of over 600 MWh. Installed by Kitchener/Waterloo based Canadian Solar’s subsidiary e-Storage who have operations around the world, they accomplished this in less than two years from the approval date in June 2024. Two were operational within 18 months, the third in 24. The cost was $237 million. At Nova Scotia’s cost per MW, a 750 MW battery peaker facility would cost Hydro $1.185 billion, just 40 per cent of the proposed $3 billion gas peaker plant.
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.
Tessa Adamski4 minute readYesterday at 2:01 AM CDT
BRANDON — A 29-year-old man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for sexually abusing and impregnating a 14-year-old girl in 2024.
“Sexual abuse of a child is inherently a grave violation of the child’s bodily integrity, dignity, and security, and in this case, the consequences were compounded by the victim’s pregnancy and the need to undergo a termination,” Brandon provincial court Judge Patrick Sullivan said on Tuesday.
The accused had pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual interference and two counts of breaching a court order banning him from contacting anyone under 18.
A publication ban prohibits the publication of information that could identify the 14-year-old, who is from a western Manitoba First Nation, and two other minors with whom he communicated.
Trustee campaign material that condemns rainbow flags is being met with outrage of all kinds, written complaints and, in one case, a cease-and-desist order.
“Parental rights,” including questions about classroom diversity, equity and inclusion policies, are resurfacing heading into school board elections across Manitoba.
“People are trying to advance their politics and their issues while simultaneously calling teachers ideologues and brainwashers,” said Shannon Moore, an associate professor at the University of Manitoba who studies sexual health education. “And I find that rich.”
Moore said parents have a right to choose independent school or homeschool, but they do not have a right to dictate curriculum that is currently developed using research and mainstream morals.
