"You get what you pay for"

It is a sad truth that the vast majority of wine, in the UK is bought on price alone - usually in supermarkets and more often than not while 'on promotion'. It is also highly likely that these promotions - half price offers, 25% off, and the like - are nothing more than accountant-speak.

Most of the costs on a bottle of wine are fixed, including packaging, bottling and distribution. The government takes 51% of the cost of the wine in tax and duty. The rest goes on the retailer's margin (approximately 30%). So the more you pay for a bottle of wine, the more is going on actual wine. Recently, Victoria Moore in the Guardian penned a superb article summing up the practice whereby 'wine' buyers are led by price rather than quality. A must read for all wine drinkers.

"One wine importer, who asked to remain nameless for obvious reasons, is more open still: "I often find myself touting a £7.99 wine that will actually sell mainly at £3.99. The idea is that people will believe it might really be worth something in between those two prices - perhaps £5.99. It's not. It's worth £3.99 and not a penny more." In other words, anyone who pays full price for it is being very badly ripped off.

A couple of big retailers have recently been approaching their wine suppliers to invite them to "share in their success" by "supporting" their future investment and business expansion - which must be a bit like getting a call from Tony Soprano asking if you have anything to donate to Carmela's charity auction. Business is business, of course, and it would be naive to think otherwise. But all these tactics effectively discriminate against the smaller producer, who cannot always compete with the huge marketing budgets of the larger brands. It's harder for them to win a listing in the first place, and if they do get there, they may find it's not worth it, not least because too many shoppers are ensnared by the prominently displayed "promotions", ignoring the boutique wine that is never discounted and thus hidden away on the bottom shelf. The result is less choice for you, the wine drinker."