New York City is a wine connoisseur's treasure chest - all the best wines in the world, often at the best prices. Several dozen top shops in the NYC area vie for the connoisseur business. Buffalo's Prime Wines and Spirits is another great taste of the free market just a stone's throw from Niagara - well worth a visit, btw, ideally with three or four non-drinking friends whose import allotment you can use...

However, unlike in California, Washington or Michigan, New York's grocery and convenience stores are not allowed to sell wine, though they can sell beer. Wine can only be sold at the wineries of Long Island or the Finger Lakes, or at liquor stores. While this provides New Yorkers with excellent choice, it definitely limits availability.

The Wall Street meltdown has left New York State's government with a huge hole in its budget - no more fat taxes to levy on the big banks and brokerages, who either aren't making money or just plain aren't, and lower income tax revenue from the lower bonuses and lower employment levels.

The new governor David Paterson, who replaced disgraced-by-high-class-hookers Eliot Spitzer, has had a look at the state's books and figures it could be a case of wine to the rescue.

Hey Dalton, isn't Ontario facing a budget shortfall too?