MacDonald's of wines Jacobs Creek, Blossom Hill, Harry's etc

Normal Rob · May 4, 2017

Machiavelli said:
and is full-bodied so might not work on an August afternoon.

Just stick it in the freezer for an hour or drop a couple of ice cubes in surely

Monkey Man · May 4, 2017

edna krabappel said:
These two are never NOT on offer at Tesco. I'm absolutely convinced the "full price" they suggest is heavily discounted has never once existed. I wonder what they pay their suppliers for it?

One of the reasons that the public in this country find it so hard to assess the true value of a wine, and what they need to pay for a decent bottle from any given region or in any given style, is the price mechanics that the supermarkets use.

I know so many people who say they bought a particular wine because it was (for example) down from £12.99 to £7.99, or £9.99 to £4.99 But it's a classic trick. The wine's retail price should generally be £7.99 but it's cranked up temporarily to the inflated price to justify subsequent claims of a "discount". So you aren't buying the wine on promotion at all. You're just lucky enough to be buying it when an extra £5 hasn't been slapped on.

Some big suppliers are happy to play along with the supermarkets as they have vast volumes of low-quality juice that they have to shift, and they'll take a hit on the margin in the process. But the number of serious, quality producers who want to, or are able to, play those games has massively diminished in recent years. They can sell their wines for decent margins in Asia or the USA - or, in the UK, to upmarket independent merchants and the best bits of the on-trade.

Normal Rob · May 4, 2017

Monkey Man said:
One of the reasons that the public in this country find it so hard to assess the true value of a wine, and what they need to pay for a decent bottle from any given region or in any given style, is the price mechanics that the supermarkets use.

I know so many people who say they bought a particular wine because it was (for example) down from £12.99 to £7.99, or £9.99 to £4.99 But it's a classic trick. The wine's retail price should generally be £7.99 but it's cranked up temporarily to the inflated price to justify subsequent claims of a "discount". So you aren't buying the wine on promotion at all. You're just lucky enough to be buying it when an extra £5 hasn't been slapped on.

I may be wrong, but i think most (intelligent) people know that.

Monkey Man · May 4, 2017

Normal Rob said:
I may be wrong, but i think most (intelligent) people know that.

Maybe the people I know aren't that intelligent then!

Machiavelli · May 4, 2017

Monkey Man said:
One of the reasons that the public in this country find it so hard to assess the true value of a wine, and what they need to pay for a decent bottle from any given region or in any given style, is the price mechanics that the supermarkets use.

I know so many people who say they bought a particular wine because it was (for example) down from £12.99 to £7.99, or £9.99 to £4.99 But it's a classic trick. The wine's retail price should generally be £7.99 but it's cranked up temporarily to the inflated price to justify subsequent claims of a "discount". So you aren't buying the wine on promotion at all. You're just lucky enough to be buying it when an extra £5 hasn't been slapped on.

Some big suppliers are happy to play along with the supermarkets as they have vast volumes of low-quality juice that they have to shift, and they'll take a hit on the margin in the process. But the number of serious, quality producers who want to, or are able to, play those games has massively diminished in recent years. They can sell their wines for decent margins in Asia or the USA - or, in the UK, to upmarket independent merchants and the best bits of the on-trade.

Supermarkets like to operate with similar-sized suppliers and the size enables them to get up to these shenanigans. Independents like to work with similar-sized producers, and they have a different business model. The deals you point to are a dreadful con as you say, but the 25% off the entire range offers are more genuine, and the supermarket and supplier are taking a hit to drive sales and volume. But it just means that I refuse to buy wines there when the offer isn't on (barring end of the line reductions).

Triggaaar · May 4, 2017

edna krabappel said:
Actually, while we're on the subject: I have to source wine fairly soon for my wedding.

I must have missed this - congratulations Edna!

Guinness Boy · May 4, 2017

Machiavelli said:
If you can go that high, Sainsbury's TTD Godello and Austrian Riesling (they might not have them at all their branches, so worth checking) are both lovely, would work well at a wedding, and work out at great value on that offer. They also have a great Priorat in the TTD range, but that's a bit more expensive, and is full-bodied so might not work on an August afternoon.

I absolutely love the TTD Priorat. Get a bottle every time I'm in which is probably why the wife's taken to shopping online.

Reagulls · May 4, 2017

edna krabappel said:
These two are never NOT on offer at Tesco. I'm absolutely convinced the "full price" they suggest is heavily discounted has never once existed. I wonder what they pay their suppliers for it?

the Rioja is sometimes on offer in Asda, 6 bottles for £25 making it £4.17 a bottle which is an absolute bargain!

Machiavelli · May 4, 2017

Guinness Boy said:
I absolutely love the TTD Priorat. Get a bottle every time I'm in which is probably why the wife's taken to shopping online.

It's abnormally cheap for Priorat, which normally goes for upwards of £20 and can quite easily get into three-figure territory

McTavish · May 4, 2017

Reagulls said:
the Rioja is sometimes on offer in Asda, 6 bottles for £25 making it £4.17 a bottle which is an absolute bargain!

The economics of a bottle of £4.17 wine:
£0.70 VAT
£2.16 Duty
£1.31 for Asda profit, shipping the wine, the bottle and packaging, production costs, Campo Viejo (part of the Pernod Ricard group) profits and of course the grapes.

Westdene Wonder · May 4, 2017

Raleigh Chopper said:
I just don't like averagely priced Australian white wines, they make nice reds and pudding wine, but I much prefer French Chardonnay, even basic Bourgogne White is superior to any Aussie white below £20.
However, It sounds as if no one has tasted Greek Retsina or most other Greek wine they sell in tavernas, I also had a brown jug of Cretan village wine once, trust me, it is all truly awful and makes cheap Aussie white wine taste like nectar.
A good friend is a wine expert, he has opened some bottles of Aussie white that were very nice, but I guess you have to know what you are doing.

For white wine New Zealand [Malborough region] and Chile are my favourites

Raleigh Chopper · May 4, 2017

Westdene Wonder said:
For white wine New Zealand [Malborough region] and Chile are my favourites

Yes, Malborough is very nice and is sold in some high end restaurants too. Because i do not experiment very much due to my love of Burgundy whites i have never opened a single bottle of Chilean wine.

nicko31 · May 4, 2017

Raleigh Chopper said:
Yes, Malborough is very nice and is sold in some high end restaurants too. Because i do not experiment very much due to my love of Burgundy whites i have never opened a single bottle of Chilean wine.

Marlborough stuff used to be good, but a lot of cheap sweet stuff on the market now, they've gone the cheap plonk route

GoldWithFalmer · May 4, 2017

edna krabappel said:
I've long had a plan of going out somewhere one night purely for the purposes of this experiment: to order the bottle costing a few hundred quid, just so I can see how it tastes by comparison to my usual (not to the local Harvester, obviously). I just haven't got round to doing it yet, this year has been a bit too expensive already But maybe next year, then I shall come back on here and let you know whether it was worth it

Actually, while we're on the subject: I have to source wine fairly soon for my wedding. Anybody got any good suggestions for buying a fairly large volume of wine, at reasonable cost? Currently the options seem to be either going via a supermarket, or hiring a van and doing the day trip to France thing. Is either one a better option than the other??

Congratulations on your forthcoming big day,and the wine search.

wellquickwoody · May 4, 2017

Raleigh Chopper said:
Yes, Malborough is very nice and is sold in some high end restaurants too. Because i do not experiment very much due to my love of Burgundy whites i have never opened a single bottle of Chilean wine.

I too love wines from Burgundy, and in my view the best Chardonnays in the world are grown there. But Marlborough Sauvignons are becoming the everyday wine of choice in my house now.

edna krabappel · May 4, 2017

Triggaaar said:
I must have missed this - congratulations Edna!

Cheers

Doing it (1) on a Thursday and (2) during the international break, thus no chance of it getting in the way of the Albion :thumbsup:

Bry Nylon · May 4, 2017

edna krabappel said:
Actually, while we're on the subject: I have to source wine fairly soon for my wedding.

Many congratulations and all best wishes for future happiness.

:clap2:

Triggaaar · May 4, 2017

edna krabappel said:
Cheers

I've had a weird moment of deja vu - have you previously announced this with me previously saying congrats?

Doing it (1) on a Thursday and (2) during the international break, thus no chance of it getting in the way of the Albion

I wasn't as bright as you, and missed a home game for mine. It was the strangest coincidence though, we played my wife's local team Cheltenham on the day of our wedding. We won

BrightonCottager · May 4, 2017

If this thread appeared on a Fulham messageboard, you'd be slaughtering us. Expect to hear the chant 'Does your sommelier know you're here?' next season. Anyway, as I'm here now, I agree it's difficult to get a decent bottle for around a fiver. I'm a big fan of Portuguese wine (except Mateus rose) and we blessed with 2 branches of Henry Butler (3 if you count Fourth and Church) which has won Portuguese Wine Retailer of the Year and is super friendly.

desprateseagull · May 5, 2017

who spends MORE than a tenner??

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