To think £10 a bottle for wine isn’t that cheap

[Zinfan]

I went into our local wine shop yesterday to get some wine. I thought I would get something from there instead of from sainsburys or tesco, and support an independent business.

The guy working there asked if he could help. I mentioned I was having friends over for dinner, and I was cooking chicken. So I was after some cheapish wine, say about a tenner a bottle. I’d want three bottles. Did he have any recommendations?

He sighed and muttered something about “not really at that price point ” and then awkwardly pointed to a bottle of chardonnay. This wasn’t a fancy wine shop, they had all sorts, lots around the £12 mark, which if he recommended one I would have been happy to pay.

I got some Italian wine from there for £10 a bottle and it tasted like pi$$, genuinely the same kind of stuff you get in a jug for €3 at a greek taverna. I looked online and it’s cheap stuff, not a tenner’s worth. Wish I’d just gone to sainsbury’s and got something nice enough for a tenner there. Plus I wouldn’t have felt like I was a serf

I hate when that happens.

Not quite the same but sometimes I think oh blow it I will go to Waitrose to buy a special dinner and sod the expense and then inevitably I'm like 'HOW MUCH?!' and don't do it

He sounds like a wine snob/twat

I rarely spend £10 on a bottle of wine unless a special occasion. £15 max for at home. More in a restaurant obviously.
I don't think you need to spend more than £8 a bottle unless you are a real connoisseur
Conversely I avoid £5 wines as I do like something fairly decent.
I tend to get my wine in the supermarket, Lidl are really good for quality and value.

Shops like the one you went to, I wonder how they stay afloat to be honest.

£2-3 will be duty and tax I think, and then there's the logistics etc but I've never understood the mark up on wine

I had exactly the same conversation at Majestic- assistant was more than happy to point me at a white and a red at that price, so I'd definitely go back. £10 is a decent amount to pay for a bottle of wine IMHO.

So £5 is crap but £8 is good

Supermarkets can get away with selling it cheaper. They buy in massive bulk quantities.

Hmm, I wouldn't expect to get nice enough wine for a dinner party for £10 in a wine shop. More like £15-18.

You can get nicer wines cheaper in Tesco because they have larger contracts with wine producers.

You have to spend more in a wine merchant.

Exactly this!

Most Italian wine is plonk/easy drinking- its the market
I would pay £15-20 for a more decent bottle of Italian white if it was for guests.

You cant compare prices in a greek taverna as taxation is different.

M&S and Tesco Finest do decent wines around that price point. I think a combination of good wine buyers and purchasing power helps.

However they're nowhere near as nice as bottles of a similar price from The Wine Society. I'd highly recommend membership if your household drinks wine on a regular basis.

IMO all wine tastes like piss and a £3 bottle is the same as a £30 bottle.

But this is exactly why I struggle to shop independently- huge prices that just can’t compete with the high street and big chains, as much as I want to support local businesses it doesn’t make economical sense to me.

I find you can’t beat M&S for a decent wine for under a tenner.

There is a sweet spot with wine prices. If you're looking for "budget wine" the amount of duty on a bottle of wine is the same regardless of the price then there's the cost of the glass bottle so for a £5 bottle of wine you're only getting around 50p worth of wine quality. Between £8-10 you're getting much more wine quality per £1 you've spent.

Honestly, with a budget of £10 a bottle, I'd have gone to the supermarket as you can get a decent bottle at that price point. In a wine shop £10 will probably be the cheapest they stock.

There are a couple of wines we like and they cost around £10.00. For example, a few from the 19 Crimes range. However, we buy them when they are on offer and cost about £7-£8. The same, if we want to try "something new" we check what's on offer from the same range of prices ( around £10/bottle full price but £7-8 at the time) and most times we get something nice/decent.

I pay €2.50 for a wine I really like (local market). I don't think I have ever spent as much as £10 but I would expect it to be excellent for that price!

We used to see the exact same wine in France for 2 euros, Lidl for £4 & Waitrose for £7. It's all about the cost to transport, buying in volume and prestige. Waitrose know it's cheap wine but as they don't want the cheap image they charge more.

As for a small independent shop....well they are shooting themselves in the foot if they sell awful wine at inflated prices. They want the prestige image but haven't figured out how to afford it. I'd be fine if someone said "well you could get this for £9 but if you are willing to go for something at £11 the difference is more than worth the £2".

But frankly I'm very much a £5 at Lidl person.

I tend to just pick it up for £5-£8 in aldi. I’ve had a few variety boxes from majestic but taste wise nothings made me go ooo I just want that £15 bottle.

I just paid £16 in M&S today but its a gift. I'm strictly a £6 supermarket bottle myself but that's why I always avoid posh wine shops unless it's an event as I find their cheaper stock that I can afford really poor.

Sounds like terrible customer service OP, which is not excusable, and I see why you don't want to go back.

However, you can't compare pricing in an independent wine shop to a supermarket. As other posters have said, big supermarkets have buying power where they can get better prices for buying in bulk and signing up to long term supply contracts. The wineries or brand owners will also fund promotions and extra space, e.g. when wine is placed on the end of an aisle.

The independent shop will also have high running costs to factor in, which is less of a factor with supermarkets which have spent decades investing into customer shopper data, technology to reduce staffing costs, and optimising profitability per square metre. Don't underestimate the economies of scale. Its a highly competitive market and difficult to make a living if you are an independent business owner.

Where you can make money as an independent is offering a point of difference. This will be in quality of product, stocking more niche / unusual wines which can be good quality but not produced at scale which supermarkets would stock, and excellent customer service with personalised recommendations. Shame you didn't get this experience OP because it's left you feeling deflated and like it wasn't worth it.

I find this info graphic useful to sum up why it is better to spend a little more on your wine if you can (obviously OP you were looking to spend £10 anyway so not really directed at you)

We get the Crimes wine too. Have you done the thing with the bottle to make the 'criminal' talk?😂The DC loved that a few years ago.

If you went to a bar then people normally spend £7ish on a large glass. That’s equivalent to £21 a bottle.

Try Majestic for wines with character. They really are professional, and everyone there is knowledgeable. Far better value than Supermarkets.
Read The Saturday Daily Mail Magazine for tips on what is good and easily available.