Wine lovers splash out £8 a bottle
THE fact that the finer things in life are supposed to cost a little more is scant consolation when the price of your favourite wine starts creeping up.
But our increasing taste for a more refined tipple has driven the average price of a bottle of wine to a record high.
One of Britain’s biggest drinks retailers said shoppers were paying around £8.02 for their favourite drink.
Majestic Wine, which has 210 out-of-town shops, said this had increased from £7.71 thanks to increased production costs and customers’ desire to splash out more often on something special.
The average bottle price for the wine market as a whole is up from £5.22 to £5.43, but Majestic’s average is higher because it stocks finer wines than those sold in the supermarkets where most of us shop.
Connoisseurs preferring to spend serious amounts to try better wines were behind a 22 per cent increase in sales of bottles priced at £20 or more at Majestic.
Over the past couple of years wine-lovers have been willing to pay more for their wine as supermarkets stock better ranges to reflect the trend for people to save cash by cooking a meal at home rather than dining out.
Many have become more knowledgeable as wine becomes more of a feature of cookery programmes on television and foodie blogs on the internet. The trend for customers to enjoy more refined wines is reflected by the fact that among Majestic Wines’ top-ten bestsellers during the past six months is a Bollinger Special Cuvee Champagne at £33.31 and Veuve Clicquot NV Champagne at £29.98.
Chairman Phil Wrigley said: ‘We remain committed to delivering an exceptional experience for our customers. We have sourced an exciting panel of interesting wines for the peak Christmas trading period.’
The firm has also seen a spike in demand for craft beers from small breweries, with sales up 164 per cent, and so-called craft spirits such as Sipsmith Gin which is distilled in London.
It has sold 148,000 bottles of Curious Brew Lager made from the Chapel Down Winery in Kent and 70,000 bottles of Brooklyn Lager. I can’t live without alcohol – Pages 30 & 31