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Where to Buy Wine
It may seem an unusual topic for discussion, but where you buy your wine can have a significant influence on the enjoyment it will give you. The majority of wine purchased in the UK is sold by supermarkets, although this has not always been the case. This method of buying wine does have its advantages, but there are naturally disadvantages too.
The Supermarket
Now completely dominating the market, the big supermarket chains have a strangle hold on both the British consumer and also on many of their winemakers. Yet we do have something to thank the British supermarket chains for. It was only a few decades ago that wine first appeared on their shelves, causing a revolution in the way wine was sold in the UK. Hitherto wine was sold by specialist merchants, and was the preserve of the professional or middle classes.
The presence of wine next to the teabags and baked beans made it accessible to millions of consumers who were previously entirely unfamiliar with it. Even today, it is probably through the supermarket that many of us purchase our first few bottles of wine. And many of us continue to use supermarkets as our main source, attracted by low prices, special offers, and familiar labels. Indeed, I still drink the occasional supermarket bottle, as evidenced by my monthly wine recommendations, which almost never fail to feature at least one bottle available from one of the UK supermarket giants. These are carefully selected bottles, however, and they constitute just a tiny proportion of the wine I buy.
I have several concerns with supermarket wine.
Firstly, a regular wine drinker looking for interest in his or her glass
will soon tire of the relentless onslaught of international varieties
such as Chardonnay and Shiraz. The country of origin may be different,
the labels may be different, the vintages may be different, even the
prices may be slightly different, but the wines rapidly begin to all
taste the same. This is because they are the result not of small scale
agriculture or viticulture, but rather they are industrial products,
made in the winery, not the vineyard, to a recipe. This is the main
reason I gave up using my local supermarket as a regular source of wine
so many years ago. Not because of absolute quality - there are almost
always one or two good bottles to be found. Rather, I just got bored. In
addition, I have concerns aboutthe
massive buying power these giants have. They hold a carrot to
the winemaker, with a promise of massive sales should they produce a
satisfactory wine, to a certain recipe, at a certain price. It is this
last point that galls the most. It's not enough that here we have yet
another wine that tastes just the same, but it is bought at a cost which
sees the winemaker scratching to make a living, whilst the
supermarket ensures it has a healthy profit. In a few years the
supermarket moves on, leaving the vigneron with debts from the new
equipment that the supermarket buyers insisted upon him installing, and no customers,
having lost all his old buyers when the supermarket bought up his entire
production.
The Merchants
A significant step-up from the supermarkets are the merchants, whether these are national or regional chains such as Majestic or Oddbins, or small independents. Relying on these for the supply of some of your wine will result in a great deal more pleasure than shopping only at the supermarket.
The big chains have considerable buying power, and can therefore source interesting parcels of wine often at keen prices. They usually also carry smaller parcels of fine wine, of the sort rarely found in the supermarket. The same can be said for the small independent merchants. In this type of outlet you will usually receive excellent and knowledgeable service and advice. The staff will often have tasted the wines that they sell, almost certainly so in the smaller businesses, and will be able to give guidance accordingly. None of this happens in your local supermarket.
Developing a relationship with a local wine merchant can be extremely rewarding. Once the proprietor understands your preferences he may source and keep back wines that he feels may interest you. You may find wines open in store for you to taste. There will be other services available – glass loan, for instance. There may be wine storage facilities, newsletters, special offers and the opportunity to buy small parcels of fine wine, possibly en primeur.
Mail Order and the Internet
Looking beyond your local merchant, many businesses keep in contact with their customers across the country by means of regular mailings of their latest wine list. Getting your name on one of these lists will make available to you buying opportunities that beggar belief. After all, there are tens of thousands of different wines on sale in the UK, why limit yourself to the paltry, familiar range encountered on the weekly shopping trip? These same merchants may also maintain websites, which contain details of their current list and special offers. Many also support e-commerce, so you can order your wine online - email and the internet is an excellent medium for keeping in touch with your favourite merchants as well as a wonderful source of wine information. Delivery charges are usually quite fair, and the wine arrives on your doorstep within a few days. This is a perfect way to buy wine!
One of the most highly respected and reliable mail order businesses is The International Exhibition Co-operative Wine Society, most simply referred to as The Wine Society. This co-operative society was created by a group of professionals in order to purchase barrels of wine that remained unsold following the Great Exhibition in 1851. The society is still going strong, with over 200 000 members at the time of writing, although obviously the founders and early members have now long passed away. It publishes its well chosen list, which contains hundreds of wines ranging in price from just a few quid to several hundred pounds, three times a year. It runs a ‘Wine Without Fuss’ scheme, whereby customers can make direct debit payments and the Society mails out preselected cases of wine – a bit like a lucky dip in my opinion, although it appeals to many. There are storage facilities available to members, as well as frequent en primeur offers. The society has managed to keep abreast of new developments in technology, and now has a functional, user-friendly website - for members only, of course.
En Primeur
Many merchants, not just The Wine Society, make en primeur offers. These are opportunities to buy wine whilst still in barrel at the domaine, before it hits the market and the prices rise. Once you’re buying wine in this way it’s clear that you’re in deep, but it’s the best way to ensure your allocation of certain highly sought after wines. Wines are purchased (exclusive of duty and VAT) within one or two years of the vintage, depending on which region the offer concerns. Bordeaux vintages appear within a year of the harvest, whereas Burgundy and Rhône offers occur six months later than this. Once the wines are bottled they are shipped to the UK, when duty and VAT is liable before they are delivered to your door, or to another storage facility should you have one available. Otherwise they may be held in a bonded warehouse, from where they may be sold on or exported, with no duty or VAT payments liable. See my feature on the en primeur system for more detail.
At the Domaine
Of course, there is no better way to get a feel for a wine than to actually visit the domaine where it is made, to feel the soil from which it sprang, and to shake the hand of the winemaker. Most wine producers, be they in France, Germany, California, Australia or anywhere else, will usually have some facilities to put on a small tasting, often with the hope of selling some wine. This may be in a well equipped and impressive tasting room, such as at many of the top Californian estates, or a small and functional cellar which is the more common scenario throughout much of France. As well as the advantage of tasting a number of cuvées and vintages before choosing whether or not to buy, there is also a financial advantage – the wines will often be for sale for considerably less than is asked in the UK. Remember, however, that the maximum personal allowance for still wine, brought from the continent to the UK for personal consumption is 90L per person, which is exactly 10 cases. If you have bought less than this at the domaine, it makes sense to stock up as much as possible, reaching your limit with a quick dash around the Calais supermarkets if necessary.
