A new, pop-up wine shop lets you order bottles you can’t find at the LCBO

In a province where liquor sales are controlled by the government, two little words have gained cachet among wine lovers: non-LCBO. Unfortunately, purchasing wine outside the usual channels can be tricky. Enter WineWire.ca, a year-old e-commerce site that acts as a middleman, hooking customers up with cases of wine from independent wine agents across Ontario—the same agents who stock the city’s top restaurants with hard-to-find bottles. From November 19 to 22, WineWire is taking its service offline with a pop-up shop at Front and Church. While provincial regulations prevent the temporary store from selling bottles on-site, customers can sample wines and place orders, which will be processed and delivered within a few business days. A masterful workaround, if you ask us.
WineWire.ca Pop-Up Shop, November 19–22, 45 Front St. E., winewire.ca
Sounds great but the selection on the website is extremely poor and what they do feature is out of stock.
I’ve never had an issue, to be honest. I spoke to the owners who were upfront and straight-forward with me and I find the service works very well, plus they arranged for my favourite hard-to-get wine, so I’m quite pleased.