(NP) - It’s an oenophile’s playground, given pride of place inside what would otherwise seem an ordinary supermarket. In a large, open space at the front of this suburban grocery, shelves are stocked with locally crafted wines. Every offering — from among a staggering 800 different labels — is made from B.C. grapes.

Buying a nice pinot with a slab of cheese and a loaf of bread isn’t a big deal in most regions of the world. That includes Quebec, where wine and beer have been available for decades inside grocery and convenience stores. But this is B.C., which, like other provinces, has for decades endured strict liquor laws.

Not so much any more. At least not in Tsawwassen and several other communities in B.C.’s lower mainland, where the Overwaitea Food Group, a grocery-store chain owned by billionaire businessman Jimmy Pattison, has taken advantage of provincial liquor reforms that came into effect last year, allowing locations to offer what many consider the best — certainly the largest — selection of locally-made wine anywhere.

Tsawwassen’s Save On Foods is one of four Pattison-owned, suburban supermarkets selling B.C. wine alongside groceries. Products range from a humble $13 chardonnay to a succulent, $87 merlot.