Every year, oenophiles congregate and queue up for the Bordeaux release event held by B.C. Liquor Stores in order to snap up highly coveted wines.

This year, like everything else, will be conducted in a somewhat different manner.

For the health and safety of customers and staff alike, wine connoisseurs won’t have to physically line up for a portion of the event.

A pre-order system enables wine lovers to order bottles online on a first-come, first-served basis until midnight on Sunday (September 13), prior to the release date. Only products with bottle limits or limited SKUs will be available online, and only one order is permitted per person.

Due to a late frost during the 2017 growing season, the overall volume of wine is lower than usual. Nonetheless, B.C. Liquor Stores master of wine and category manager Barb Philip stated in a news release that they were able to acquire “small amounts of our most desirable wines” thanks to relationships with Châteaux and négociants in Bordeaux. 

Philip recommends the Château Lilian Ladouys, St. Estèphe ($55); Château Ferran, Pessac-Léognan ($39); or the Chateau Floridène, Graves ($45).

For those who have some extra pretty pennies, there’s the Duclot Bordeaux Collection Case, which includes 12 of the top Bordeaux chateaux (all 97 points or higher) for $18,000.

Participating B.C. stores will open at 7 a.m. on the release date of September 26. Customers will choose a pickup date in order to help manage store traffic, and the pickup window runs from September 26 to October 4.

In the Lower Mainland, B.C. Liquor Stores participating in the 2017 Bordeaux release include:

• Abbotsford (40–32500 South Fraser Way)

• Burnaby: Solo (4455 Skyline Drive), Highgate Village (235–7155 Kingsway Avenue), and Northgate (103–3433 North Rod)

• Langley (6435 201st Street)

• Pitt Meadows (Meadowtown, 810–19800 Lougheed Highway)

• Port Coquitlam: Nicola Station (140–1097 Nicola Avenue), Westwood Centre (100–2748 Lougheed Highway)

• Richmond: Brighouse (100–8100 Ackroyd Road), Ironwood (3170–11666 Steveston Highway)

• Surrey: Cloverdale (100–5630 176th Street), Fleetwood (8904 152nd Street), Nordel Crossing (116–12080 Nordel Way), Peninsula Village (280–15355 24th Avenue)

• Vancouver: 39th and Cambie (5555 Cambie Street), 8th and Cambie (2395 Cambie Street), Dunbar (3453 Dunbar Street), Alberni and Bute (768 Bute Street), Kerrisdale (2058 West 41st Avenue), UBC Wesbrook Village (101–3313 Shrum Lane)

• West Vancouver: Park Royal (785 Park Royal North), Caulfeild (195–5335 Headland Drive)