How to Shop at Joe Canal's

Our two stores are among the largest and highest-volume wine, beer and spirits outlets in New Jersey. Because of our low prices and exceptional customer service, many of our shoppers aren't "regulars," and may benefit from this quick tutorial.

How We Save You Money

Our strong purchasing power helps us bring in great products from around the world at reasonable prices. Thanks to your loyalty, we're often offered special opportunities for specific items, which we sell at the lowest possible price. And we have our own shopper's club, called the Bottle Club®, and members enjoy added savings throughout the store (look for the orange price tag). Membership in the Bottle Club® is free! Just sign up as you check out, or join at our website, www.jcanals.com.

How We Organize 

Our wines, beers and spirits are generally kept in separate locations within the stores. Special sale items and displays are the exception to that rule. There are an assortment of signs within each store that will also help you get to where you're going.

Spirits are grouped by type. All vodkas are together, for example. Irish whiskey is separate from, but near, Scotch whisky. International Single Malt whisky (brands like Amrut, for example) can be found closest to Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Of course, our rarities are also kept together, often in a locked case.

We also have an extensive collection of liqueurs that are generally subdivided by style. Our cream liqueurs (Bailey's, etc.) will be together, and will also be close to coffee liqueurs, orange liqueurs, and everything else in that broad category.

Beer is usually divided into two major categories: national brands and craft beer. Big-selling international brands (Stella, Corona, etc.) will usually be grouped with the domestic national brands.

Some of the craft beer selection at Woodbridge

There are, of course, variations to this design, usually because of the space required to display any particular product.

Top 100 Wine Display

We sort our wines in what we consider the most logical way. First, we separate by country, then by state or region. With our domestic wines, we then group by varietal and wine color within each state. In other words, all of California Cabernet's will be on one (large) area, and our Cabernet from Washington will be elsewhere. Our California Red Blends will be together, and our California White Blends will be together, but in a different location.

Generally, our international wines will be grouped together by region, and by wine color. For example, you won't find a Bordeaux in the middle of the Burgundy section. On the other hand, you will find everything from Ribera del Duero in the same area.

Don't forget to look out for our tasting events, for the ultimate try-before-you buy experience.

Other Stuff

Cheese display in Lawrenceville

We do sell mixers (soda and juice, for example), cheese, other snacks, cups and glassware at both of our stores. The ABC does restrict what we can sell (beyond the wine, beer and spirits), but we offer some great choices in those categories.

                  Customer Service

We believe that our exceptional customer service is our most important attribute. You can shop in a lot of different places, but we aim to make you feel comfortable when you shop in our stores.

If you ever have questions while you're shopping, please ask any of our store associates for assistance. Our Managers and Supervisors are generally wearing red shirts, and our stock team and cashiers were various Joe Canal's t-shirts (but they all should have the same style on any particular day).

Each store also has a Customer Service counter, should you have a special request, need to request/return a keg, or need personal assistance for any reason. There may not be someone at the counter at all times, but your wait will be minimal.

We also know that there may be times when you need assistance getting your purchases from the store out to your car. Our associates are happy to help. Simply let the cashier know that you need assistance, and the cashier will call a stock associate to the front.

Shopping From Home

Most of the products in our vast inventory can be found online at www.jcanals.com. We also post money-saving coupons on our website, with new offers posted every Tuesday. And you can also stay current with our Growler menu by looking under the Beer tab on our website.

Thank You

With all of the choices that you have in the marketplace, we do appreciate your patronage at Joe Canal's. Follow this blog, our Facebook pages and Twitter feeds to stay informed about specials, sales, tastings and celebrity appearances.

"Thank You" from Joe Canal's

Customer Appreciation Weekend at Joe Canal's in Lawrenceville and Woodbridge was a great success and a lot of fun. The first and largest "Thank You' is directed to you, our loyal customers. Whether you showed up for the opportunity to dunk an employee, to taste some great wine, or just to do your regular shopping, we're glad that you came to Joe Canal's. Thanks are also extended to our employees, especially the good sports who took a dunking for a great cause. We also thank our industry partners for their help in ensuring the success of the weekend.

In Lawrenceville, some employees made it an early Halloween.

We had unannounced tastings, including Sterling Vineyards wines

And we tasted fine wine, like the Caymus 40th Anniversary vintage

With your help, we also raised money for the Autism Research Institute, by dunking employees like Senior Wine Manager Brandon Bartfalvi

We'll have more pictures and stories as they become available.

Customer Appreciation Weekend Meets the Friday Grab Bag

Today is the start of our three-day Customer Appreciation Weekend. We have special events, extra discounts, free food, raffle prizes and lots of fun scheduled for today, tomorrow and Sunday. Now the format of this blog post is the Friday Grab Bag, but it's really a celebration of our thanks to you, for your continued loyalty.

Customer Appreciation Weekend Events

We offered a full preview of the schedule for both stores in yesterday's blog post. Click here to see that.

To see the schedule for the Lawrenceville location, please click here.

To see the schedule for the Woodbridge location, please click here.

After this weekend, both stores move back to the regular wine tasting schedule. Currently, the only variation from that will be on Saturday, October 18, in Woodbridge. We'll have a tasting of B & G wines that day.

New Products

Contucci Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2009: 94 points from Wine Enthusiast, and an Editor's Choice. Their review: " This is a classically crafted wine made by one of Montepulciano’s most historic estates. It has an alluring bouquet of violet, rose petal, cassis and nutmeg. The palate delivers an intense wild-cherry flavor layered with white pepper and cinnamon, all impeccably balanced by firm tannins and vibrant acidity."

Made from 80% Prugnolo Gentile, 10% Canaiolo Nero, 10% Colorino, aged in oak barrels for 2 years.

Only $22.96 in the Bottle Club®.


Beringer The Waymaker: The Waymaker represents the best of the Paso Robles region. The foundation of the Waymaker is Syrah, a varietal that demonstrates great richness and generosity from Camatta Hills. Cabernet Sauvignon comprises the majority of the balance of the blend, and lends great depth of fruit as well as lifted spice notes. The Waymaker was aged in a combination of seasoned oak barrels with a small amount of new oak for 17 months to both round and soften the tannins and bring in some additional spice notes. The excellent 2012 vintage delivered warm and dry conditions, perfect for the inaugural release of this wine.

Serving suggestion

We invite you to explore this full-bodied wine, which has enticing flavors of blue fruits accented by floral and dusty notes.

At present, we have limited stock in both stores, at $18.99.

Ripped from the Headlines

We recently discussed the troubles at Balcones. Click here and here for updates. Like so much else, part of the battle is on Twitter, where two hashtags are trending, #NoChipNoBalcones and #isupportchiptate. If you want to get your bottle of Balcones before the lawsuits interfere with production or distribution, we have Baby Blue, Brimstone and Rumble in stock.

Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Customer Appreciation Weekend Update

At Joe Canal's, we thank you for your patronage every day of the week. But sometimes, we want to be a little more obvious about it, which brings us to this year's Customer Appreciation Weekend. There will be special events, extra sales, food and fun all weekend, at both the Lawrenceville and Woodbridge stores.

In the last couple of days, we've made some additions to the schedule. These additions include:

-raffle drawing for Philadelphia Eagles tickets (Lawrenceville only)
-tasting and bottle signing, Villa Massa Limoncello (Friday, both stores)
-Free tasting, Dewar's and Highland Honey (Saturday, Lawrenceville only)
-balloon pop discounts (added to Woodbridge; already on the Lawrenceville schedule)
-the dunk tank charity in Lawrenceville is the Autism Research Institute
-the dunk tank charity in Woodbridge is the Woodbridge Domestic Violence Response Team

The following will go on each day in Lawrenceville:

-A 10% discount on purchases of a half-case (6 bottles, 750ML) or more, of wine, non-Bottle Club® wines. Mix & Match or same.
-A 5% discount on the purchase of six bottles of spirits (750ML size), non-Bottle Club® items. Mix & Match or same.
-A 10% discount on the purchase of craft beer in 750ML or 22OZ bottles, non-Bottle Club® items. Mix & Match or same. For the discount to apply, the minimum purchase is 12 bottles.
-Coupon for a Free bag of Crostini with the purchase of a block of cheese (spread purchases are not eligible).
-Raffles and giveaways, including a pair of tickets to a Philadelphia Eagles home game! No purchase necessary to participate.
-Balloon Pop Discounts all weekend. These discounts will exclude any Bottle Club® items and cannot be combined with any other discount.

In Lawrenceville, Friday only: High-end tastings, while supplies last, starting at 2:00pm
--Dom Perignon
--Johnny Walker Blue Label
-Free tasting, Villa Massa Limoncello, 4-6pm; bottle signing by Sara Massa
-Free tasting, Drambuie, 4-6pm
-Free tasting, Stoli Vodka, 6-8pm

Saturday only:
-Free Hot Dogs, 1-3pm, while supplies last
-Charity Dunk Tank. Sink a Joe Canal's employee, at $1 per ball toss,to benefit the Autism Research Institute, 10am-3pm
-Free tasting, Dewar's and Highland Honey, 2-4pm
-High-end tastings, while supplies last, starting at 2:00pm
--Caymus
--Dalmore Cigar Malt




Sunday only:
-High-end tastings, while supplies last, starting at 2:00pm
--Silver Oak, Alexander Valley
--Abelour Abundah

The following will go on each day in Woodbridge:

-A 10% discount on purchases of a half-case (6 bottles, 750ML) of wine, non-Bottle Club® wines. Mix & Match or same.
-A 5% discount on the purchase of six bottles of spirits (750ML size), non-Bottle Club® items. Mix & Match or same.
-A 10% discount on the purchase of craft beer in 750ML or 22OZ bottles, non-Bottle Club® items. Mix & Match or same. For the discount to apply, the minimum purchase is 12 bottles.
-A coupon for a free bag of Crostini with the purchase of a block of cheese (spread purchases are not eligible).
-Raffles! Items being raffled off include a Sam Adams umbrella, a space heater, used Bourbon barrels and coolers. No purchase necessary to participate in the raffles.
-Mixed drink kits for sale.
-"Blind" wine tastings. you won't know what you tasted until the "reveal".
-Balloon Pop Discounts all weekend. These discounts will exclude any Bottle Club® items and cannot be combined with any other discount.

In Woodbridge, Friday only: High-end tastings, while supplies last, starting at 2:00pm
--Dom Perignon
--Johnny Walker Blue Label
-Villa Massa Limoncello tasting, 7-9pm; bottle signing by Sara Massa

Saturday only:
-Hot dog truck, 1-4pm
-Charity Dunk Tank, 1-4pm. Sink a Joe Canal's employee, at $1 per ball toss, to benefit the Woodbridge Domestic Violence Response Team
-High-end tastings, while supplies last, starting at 2:00pm
--Sassicaia
--Don Julio 1942
 Sunday only:
-Growler discounts. Blindly pick a coupon, with discounts ranging from 5% to 30%
-Free soft pretzels, 12-3pm, while supplies last
-High-end tastings, while supplies last, starting at 2:00pm
--Dominus
--Beluga Gold

The above schedule is subject to change without further notice.

Customer Appreciation Weekend Preview

At Joe Canal's, we thank you for your patronage every day of the week. But sometimes, we want to be a little more obvious about it, which brings us to this year's Customer Appreciation Weekend. There will be special events, extra sales, food and fun all weekend, at both the Lawrenceville and Woodbridge stores.

The following will go on each day in Lawrenceville:

-A 10% discount on purchases of a half-case (6 bottles, 750ML) or more, of wine, non-Bottle Club® wines. Mix & Match or same.
-A 5% discount on the purchase of six bottles of spirits (750ML size), non-Bottle Club® items. Mix & Match or same.
-A 10% discount on the purchase of craft beer in 750ML or 22oz bottles, non-Bottle Club® items. Mix & Match or same. For the discount to apply, the minimum purchase is 12 bottles.
-Coupon for a Free bag of Crostini with the purchase of a block of cheese (spread purchases are not eligible).
-Raffles and giveaways! No purchase necessary to participate.
-Balloon Pop Discounts all weekend. These discounts will exclude any Bottle Club® items and cannot be combined with any other discount.

In Lawrenceville, Friday only: High-end tastings, while supplies last, starting at 2:00pm
--Dom Perignon
--Johnny Walker Blue Label

Saturday only:
-Free Hot Dogs, 1-3pm, while supplies last
-Charity Dunk Tank. Sink a Joe Canal's employee, at $1 per ball toss. Charity TBA.
-High-end tastings, while supplies last, starting at 2:00pm
--Caymus
--Dalmore Cigar Malt

Sunday only:
-High-end tastings, while supplies last, starting at 2:00pm
--Silver Oak, Alexander Valley
--Abelour Abundah

The following will go on each day in Woodbridge:

-A 10% discount on purchases of a half-case (6 bottles, 750ML) of wine, non-Bottle Club® wines. Mix & Match or same.
-A 5% discount on the purchase of six bottles of spirits (750ML size), non-Bottle Club® items. Mix & Match or same.
-A 10% discount on the purchase of craft beer in 750ML or 22oz bottles, non-Bottle Club® items. Mix & Match or same. For the discount to apply, the minimum purchase is 12 bottles.
-A coupon for a free bag of Crostini with the purchase of a block of cheese (spread purchases are not eligible).
-Raffles! Items being raffled off include a Sam Adams umbrella, a space heater, used Bourbon barrels and coolers. No purchase necessary to participate in the raffles.
-Mixed drink kits for sale.
-"Blind" wine tastings. you won't know what you tasted until the "reveal".

In Woodbridge, Friday only: High-end tastings, while supplies last, starting at 2:00pm
--Dom Perignon
--Johnny Walker Blue Label

Saturday only:
-Hot dog truck, 1-4pm
-High-end tastings, while supplies last, starting at 2:00pm
--Sassicaia
--Don Julio 1942

Sunday only:
-Growler discounts. Blindly pick a coupon, with discounts ranging from 5% to 30%
-Free soft pretzels, 12-3pm, while supplies last
-High-end tastings, while supplies last, starting at 2:00pm
--Dominus
--Beluga Gold

The above schedule is subject to change without further notice.