The SAQ carries a variety of good wines at a variety of prices, but sometimes it can be hard to know which wines fit with your budget and style. Luckily, I think I’ve hit on the ultimate SAQ list of hidden gems that the LCBO doesn’t carry.
I’m starting with Beaujolais Nouveau, the more-flavoured and a bit sweeter wines from Bordeaux. One of my top picks, however, is Trocadero. It’s a much more structured wine that shows brilliant wild, ripe flavours from great fruit. The minerality shows right through the wine, and while not as complex or attractive as Beaujolais, it still showed amazing balance and great richness at £2.65 a bottle.
Le Cigare Volant is a great alternative to Beaujolais, even if you can’t take advantage of the SAQ only. It’s an oaky Beaujolais that has the fruit, but mostly oak in place of fruit. It is a very different wine, but that makes it even more interesting. All these wines are rated in the 90s, but a perfect wine for a summer sipping.
Here are a few of my favourites
Spritzé Trocadero
£2.65 | 10 per cent alcohol
Judith Joseph Beaujolais de Bordeaux
£9.95 | 14.5 per cent alcohol
The Food Girl’s Top Ten Sauvignon Blancs
Le Cigare Volant
£5.99 | 12.5 per cent alcohol
Trocadero
£2.65 | 13.5 per cent alcohol
Portugal’s Sexy Sauvignon Blancs
Pinot d’Auvergne cuvée Monnouvezire
£14.95 | 14.5 per cent alcohol
Jerez Cabernet Sauvignon aux Alyscamps Grande Cru
£6.50 | 13.5 per cent alcohol
Sauvignon Blanc from the Rest of France
Flatiron Rosé de Montepulciano D’Abruzzo
£5.29 | 12.5 per cent alcohol