im basing this off of probably at least 5 wine stores ive gone to. ive bought random stuff off them like a carboy cleaner, chemicals, etc. the main LHBS which is adequate for beer also does wine but i never bought or used any of their wine stuff.
just saying how it is here, but i guess im just describing what ive seen/experienced. as ive said many times i guess, canada feels easily a decade behind the US in terms of homebrewing, and here there is a LOT more price incentive to use DIY wine shops to make cheap booze. there are still several "u brew" only beer shops, where ive gone in and they say they dont sell any grain or even equipment, its just for people to come and add yeast to containers of wort.
next time i go to the states i really should check out a recommended homebrew shop to compare i guess. whitelabs yeast has jumped up in price, going for $11.49 up to $14.99!! now for common strains (wlp004 is $14.99 for some reason).
thats all i guess...