Anyone else fed up with rising alcohol prices?

The cost of everything to deliver you your glass of wine has risen an awful lot.
From the supply of the wine itself to the environment you're sitting in, to the staff serving it to you and clearing up afterwards.
Who should be covering that increase if not the person wanting the wine?
Everyone knows that the cost of everything has risen and yes, you can buy a bottle to drink at home for a fraction of the price, but then you're supplying the labour to get it from the delivery to the glass, the glass, the premises and stock, the fuel to keep the place lit and warm/cool enough and you don't need insurance or a licence to do so. Those things aren't free, they cost more than just buying a bottle of wine, so why would you expect that you'll get the same price as buying it from a shop and drinking it at home?

People seem to really hate the hospitality industry at the moment and want it to subsidise their leisure time by not charging them what it costs to deliver the service they want, because they want the service, they just don't want to pay for it.

My son and his friends rarely drink. They either play pool at the pub and get one pint all evening or every six weeks they go out and get absolutely smashed. Drinking isn't the go to it used to be. They never drink inbetween or at home. They are also really health conscious which is great. Wear earplugs in clubs etc.

Also I get that prices have to increase but if your like me and not well off, you simply cut out that expensive thing. If you can't offord it, you can't afford it.

It's like eating out. We only eat out for a birthday now. It's £140 for pizza express or go to the cinema for £5 each now. There's always something cheaper to do.

It's very sad the high street is dieing but I don't have the money to do these things more than a rare treat.

Ha! There are always placeing like that in London, skilled at extracing the maximumamount of money from people "because London".

DH bought two G&T’s and a small bowl of nuts in a bar in London recently, and the bill came to £48.

They’ve just opened recently. I don’t imagine they will last very long.

I'm sorry what? How have they not been laughed out of business for pulling shit like that.

A pint of bitter shandy is my go to summer drink and I don't think I have ever paid more than a fiver for it, even in London.

A pub near us (not in London or an expensive location) has classified a shandy as a cocktail and is charging £13 for that.

ETA it’s a rural area so people drink shandy because they’re driving, so it does feel a bit irresponsible as well as greedy.

DH and I never drink out any more..it's too much of a rip off,especially here in Scotland. I like gin but now buy it on Amazon as its cheaper than supermarket prices here.
If you like decent wine try the Wine Drops app. I've recouped my membership fee easily and the wine is lovely.

Where are you all drinking? I had a perfectly decent glass of Pino Grigio with my meal last night (pizza place in London) and it was £5.25.

My point was Echo falls is not worth £18, I wouldn’t pay a fiver either.

I don’t agree with your point either, but that’s ok. We don’t need to agree!

Cool story bro

I paid £2.49 for a pint of Thornbridge Jaipur (one of the best beers in the UK, brewed in Bakewell) in Spoons last week. The place was packed on a weeknight, it’s not hard to see why they

Beyond £10 there is no appreciable difference in taste.

A £10 bottle of wine will probably taste a little better than a £5 bottle. But not twice as good. A £30 bottle isn't going to be three times better than the £10 or six times better than the £5

Logic doesn't really suit marketing ....

Yup, was horrified to see my local pub is now charging £15 for a glass of wine. I don’t go anymore! I can buy a bottle for that.

Isn't there a whole backdrop of the coming generations simply not drinking so much ?

Last office I worked in, there were no tales of nights out with traffic cones that would have been a staple of the 80s.

If there is less demand then the cost of servicing the remainder increases ... at some point you need to charge more to cover it. One of the many oddities the free market can throw up.

Lots and lots of restaurants and bars are closing every week across the UK. And shops.

With NI and taxes, utilities and insurances plus food prices all on the increase they have to pass this cost on. Unfortunately it lays with the customer. Reduction in customers then they first reduce nights they are open for food; opening Wednesday/Thursday to Saturday only then it the books still can’t balance they close.

Its an extremely difficult time for everyone in hospitality.

Yup, it’s insane. Our local pub is, I’ve just realised, the same price as a posh bar in town. Eye watering. On the plus side, it’s encouraging me to not drink, so that very good.

I have stopped drinking out. It grates on me paying over the odds for substandard wine.

I would rather not drink than an £18 Echo Falls!

Isla negra is a screw top el cheapo plonk -
toe curling!

I do think that in an ideal world (and in practice this would be mega complicated and probably wouldn’t work) alcohol prices in shops should rise to tackle alcoholism (same as with nicotine products), but in restaurants alcohol should be reduced in cost so that you can enjoy it responsibly with a meal. It’s one of those things that’s nice to enjoy every now and again but I have seen first hand how it affects people and making it a premium product would condition the younger generations to think that it’s just not worth it.

Many years ago I picked up home brewing as a hobby. Cheap booze at home mean you could afford a bit when you were out.

Luckily nobody is interested, so it isn't taxed 😀

To be fair in that situation you are tasting the wine to check it’s not corked… not because you are at a wine tasting.
But if the bottle is a screwtop they don’t really need to offer that rigmarole!

Lidl wine is nice and about £7 a bottle😁

Beer is cheaper, esp at Spoons. I hardly ever buy wine out. Will occasionally have a cocktail after a meal instead of a desert if I know a place has nice ones. Soft drinks are expensive too and don't get me started on coffee!

Agree. All my friends stopped going out past 4pm after covid which has stopped our drinks nights. However if I go out with dh and the kids for dinner or lunch, it stops me ordering drinks 50% of the time. If I do, I get a get a bottle of fruit cider as its nearer £6 v two glasses of wine for £20.

I can enjoy it knowing I could get my kids a pair of Nikes in the Nike outlet for two glasses of wine. I'm not really into drinking since covid. Mixture of loosing smell and taste but mostly just killing off that night socail life for my friends. But I'd rather have a drink before I go out. Or just not drink.

Same with cost of parking puts me off popping to the shops. The things we used to do regularly ten years ago has really changed. We're better off but some things have got disproportionately expensive compared to essential items ( like £3.90 minium parking at the high street)