Re: Groceries
 

As for 'drinkable' - is the 'Chilean' plonk really that good or comparable to a VGA Canadian wine?

Re: Groceries
 

I'd say yes, as long as you stick to the merlots, and relative to the $7: $11 delta. There's a lot of utter crap under $10 mind.

Re: Groceries
 

Your Sawmill Creek may contain Chilean wine too. Half the fun in drinking wine (for me anyway) is the adventure of trying new products, new wineries, and learning as I go. Last summer in Oliver the government store had a close-out sale on a chianti I'd never heard of and it was fantastic, I went through quite a few bottles of it. The Desert something liquor store by the mall near our place has a far better wine selection than the BC Gov store but I usually stay away from the vqa shelves unless there is a real good sale on something. I got class but I ain't rich.

Re: Groceries
 

I've just googled Oliver- isn't that where Growers Cider comes from too? Now a question- when I've been to BC I've really enjoyed growers. The stuff we get in ON though seems to be fruit flavoured swill. Is there a difference or is it rose tinted glasses?

Agree with you on the adventure of wine, in the UK I used to buy from majestic- minimum purchase 12 bottles but you could mix as you will. That was great. Then down in Botswana I was sampling all of the saffer stuff. Here due to costs and an unpredictable schedule the wineboxes work.

I think I'll chance a white over the weekend and report back.

Re: Groceries
 

:blink: $7?
$13.99 for my Chilean wine

You're not comparing like with like.

On NB Liquor price list, Sawmill Creek Chardonnay is $44.48 for 4l which converts to $8.34 a bottle, while a bottle is actually $9.99. Surprisingly it's the same for their Merlot.

I don't think that's much of a saving for buying that quantity, to be honest. But I wouldn't risk buying a white for a tenner, let alone a red, unless there was a big reduction.

Hardys wines are about the cheapest I can manage.

I see from Sainsburys they have a Merlot at £6.62 a bottle but the equivalent of £4.17 by the box. Now that's a saving. :thumbup:

Re: Groceries
 

I guess it depends on the definition of plonk. Personally, I wouldn't say a $14 bottle was plonk. No doubt others might disagree, but compared to $7 it's not.

Canadian wine? Jackson Triggs Rosé aside I've not found one I managed half a glass before consigning it to cooking use. :(

Re: Groceries
 

I tried wine a few times, I haven't found one I can drink yet, suppose its an acquired taste like beer.

I think my taste buds have an aversion to alcohol....lol

Re: Groceries
 

could it be down to 'dollars & cents';)

Re: Groceries
 

In Canada yes, the amount they want for booze here is enough to keep me from buying it.

When I was in California living and booze is basically cheaper then food a lot of the time, I still didn't care for alcohol.

Best I can do is vodka mixed with 7-up and cranberry juice so I can't tell their is any boose in it...lol

Re: Groceries
 

Growers acts like it's some kind of secret but ratebeer.com says they make it in Kelowna. A few of the Jackson Triggs labels used to say Kelowna too but the addresses were storefronts in strip malls. The Vincor winery (Jackson Triggs) is the biggest but not necessarily the best. If you look at google street view about a mile north of Oliver hwy 97 turns east, then north toward Gallagher Lake; at that curve just over the bridge on the east side of the road is Vincor. It's the place that looks like a miniature oil refinery. There are literally hundreds of small independant producers that make up in character what they lack in volume. JT owns vinyards and wineries in the Okanagan, the Niagara Penninsula and Chile so if bad weather wipes out the grapes in one area they're still in business and the shelves are full. One very pleasant wine I found from a new local vintner last year was Forty Nine North; they had 2 kinds ( red and white) and it was 2 bottles for $20. Easy to drink and very pairable, if a little on the sweet side. For new offerings like that you almost need to be in the valley to see it.

Re: Groceries
 

When I lived in the US Trader Joe's used to do a wine weekly special for $1.99 a bottle. They were a bit hit and miss but still, for $1.99 and no sales tax as it was in Oregon. :thumbup:

Re: Groceries
 

We definitely have a different definition for our daily plonk.

I dallied with a hand on the Sawmill Chardonnay- and picked up a JT Vidal. Insipid doesn't begin to describe it, very disappointing.

Re: Groceries
 

My definition of plonk is not too expensive not too cheap. House grade wine and above. In UK prices £5-10 bottle.

Re: Groceries
 

Got a glass of JT rose' and looked in the fridge door; my chardonnay is Peller Estates.

Re: Groceries
 

Our local Metro was just a shade over $20 per kilo for chicken breasts when I was in last week. Arkansas' most famous company was $12 per kilo.

Re: Groceries
 

"Two Buck Chuck" I'd imagine.

Re: Groceries
 

chicken for some reason is less costly stateside, yet ground beef, pork, ribs & bacon is way more expensive stateside than in Ontario.

When we do the cross border we load up with close to 10kg/22 Ibs worth with fresh skinless, boneless chicken breasts, priced at around $1.99/Ib ($4.44/kg) from either Aldi or Walmart in Niagara Falls NY. For the two of us it last us up to 6 months, divided, seal bagged & frozen.

Re: Groceries
 

My Superstore flyer starting Thursday (I see Loblaws starts on Fridays) has Boneless Lamb Leg for $6.99 lb.

I had one of these a couple of weeks ago and it was lovely. About $12 and was more than enough for three.

Re: Groceries
 

Oooo, that's a bit tempting as we otherwise don't really make lamb anymore! I may look into that, thanks for the heads up! :)

Re: Groceries
 

We always pick up lamb (then put it back down) - just so we can be horrified at the price. :eek: :rofl:

But we did manage to get some shanks a few weeks ago. Then a few days later she picked up a piece expecting to read $30 odd and it said $18. There was one smaller piece for $12-$13 and as she's not keen we thought it enough for three and it was.

It didn't shrink or anything. I was convinced they'd priced it wrong as I remember the best price I ever noticed for lamb before was $6.99 lb and that was on the bone.

It wasn't frozen either so easy enough to cut up and freeze if the piece is too big.

Lamb may be back on the menu :)

Re: Groceries
 

I love lamb, one of the stores does sell it, always frozen though, and never on sale for a good price.

They have started to just sell chicken by a flat price for whatever reason, so hard to know the true price per pound when they are all marked 12 dollars, I don't feel like doing the math to figure it all out.

That is for 4 chicken breasts, sometimes 3 if they are large.

Ground chicken is $7 and priced flat as well, all the weight are basically the same, they seem to have perfected packaging ground meat.

Not sure why they have decided to price chicken this way.

Chicken is a tad cheaper then beef, pork is becoming pricey so chicken is becoming the better value meat wise if you don't want fish.

Fish for the non-fancy stuff like trout and salmon is pretty cheap for what you get and the amount of meals you can get from them.

This weeks flyer meat options:

4 pack of beef patties $8

Pork side ribs 4.99/lb

Outside round roast 4.99/lb

Marinated pork sirloin chops 5.49/lb

Sirloin Grilling steak 9.99/lb

Chicken breast kabobs 6.99/lb

Sole, wild caught 1.49 per 100grams

Pork chops boneless, 5.99/lb

Whole frying chicken 2.49/lb

Above is Save On Foods.

Nesters

Buy one get one free chicken thighs, no price or weight listed.

Prime Rib steak 9.99/lb

Pork Loin Roast 3.48/lb

Ahi Tuna 4.48 per 100 grams

Spring Lamb, New Zealand shoulder chops 5.48/lb

Lamb Legs 7.98 pound

Twin pack frying chicken 2.48/lb

Re: Groceries
 

The best deal was when I'd help my friend slaughter and process 5 - 7 lambs in 5 hours or so and get half a lamb as pay. Those were real spring lambs weighing 33 - 35 lb cut and wrapped and it cost $3.50 lb or sometimes he'd offer carcasses @ $100 and that was easy to sell too. Customers would arrive @ half hour intervals and get their lamb.

Re: Groceries
 

Maybe best deal, but worst job. Don't know how people do that.

Re: Groceries
 

I interviewed once at a chicken processing plant once, didn't make it past the interview, got sick to the stomach standing in the kill room.

I guess I am too far removed from where meat comes from to handle it.

Re: Groceries
 

Living in Little Persia on the North Shore we're spoilt choice for cheap veg, fruit and their own butchers in most of the shops. Just discovered I'm about 1 minutes walk from where they make the huge Naans and flat/pita breads on W17th. Gawd bless em.

Mind you this time next week I'll be in a Fullers pub in Clapham Junction with a Dhansak on the horizon. Ah back home. :rofl:

Re: Groceries
 

Re: Groceries
 

Hey everyone I'm a newbie on here, I'm looking to move soon and have been doing a bit of browsing about shopping...any good tips for saving cash? I know shopping in the UK is expensive but I was surprised at how expensive it was to shop in Canada! Buying directly from farms...do many do that? What about beer...to keep the hubby happy?? I need squash and really couldn't find any last time in Canada...my three year old will cry if he can never have apple and blackcurrant again!! 😀 Thanks xx

Re: Groceries
 

I think it's your husband that will be crying when he sees the price of booze...

They don't really have squash here, they use drink crystals (which are cheap and nasty) though recently these concentrated flavourings have appeared- Mio and the like- which are quite good. I think a lot more pop is drunk.

Re: Groceries
 

Frozen squash too, like Minute Maid.

Re: Groceries
 

I thought that stuff was frozen concentrated juice?

Cutting juice with water is a great Canadian tradition.

Re: Groceries
 

It is, but isn't that what squash is - some kind of concentrate?

Re: Groceries
 

Nah! Squash in my mind is a delicious blend of artificial flavourants and colourings. Only that exotic ones actually contained juice, or more likely, some crushed part of the plant vaguely related to the fruit.

Those little mio things are the same by much more concentrated so you only need a drop.

Re: Groceries
 

Have to make do with Rose's Lime Cordial or Ribena.

Re: Groceries
 

Minute Maid is gross... Too many brands of pure juice to buy to ever buy that concentrated stuff.

Have you seen the new 50% less sugar "juice" it's basically 50% juice and 50% water, so they can reduce the sugar on the label, but it tastes like diluted juice and not actual juice.



I went to a local market today because people in this town always proclaim buy local, its better and not any more money which is BS on the money part.

Every meat they had was double or more the price of a normal grocery store, canned pickles were 14 dollars, yep will stick with grocery store pickles at 3 or 4 dollars.

They might be local and very well might be better, however they are no price friendly for those who don't have excess income that allows for such discretionary spending.

Re: Groceries
 

I know what you mean - I really do! :thumbsup:

Re: Groceries
 

Too many cookies $15. I'm not buying it.

Re: Groceries
 

The Belgian selection at Loblaws/Superstore is a better deal I believe. More biscuits and lower price. But maybe not always available.

Re: Groceries
 

When they sell about 2/3 of these Cadburys and mark the rest down to $10 it will be tempting. My chef friend (a Londoner in Calgary) comes out for the carp fishing each summer and enjoys a proper biccie.

Re: Groceries
 

I'm mildly surprised that no one has mentioned that "squash"refers to various members of the vegetable family in Canada ...

Re: Groceries
 

We were waiting (politely) for a cradle to come along and tell us that.