Are cheap wines really made from grapes?

[GigiBronz]

Found myself yesterday in front of an ASDA wine shelf contemplating this deep question...

Based on my experience with this forum I thought there is no better place to find knowledgable people.

So... considering a £8 bottle of wine, 20% is corporation tax so you are left with £6.4. Duties for a 0.75l bottle should be £2.23 (£297.57 per hectolitre for 5.5%-15% alcohol content). That drops to £4.17.
From which you have to account for transportation, shelf tax, profit margin, marketing bottle etc.
My gut feeling says no... but what do people think?

[AtW]

Loss Leader

HTH

[NotAllThere]

Wine is very cheap. An £8 bottle of wine will probably be twice as good as a £5 bottle. The cheapest wines are nonetheless sold at a profit for all concerned.

[malvolio]

According to a mate in the trade (albeit in New Zealand) putting a new bottle on a shelf in a UK supermarket costs about £3 regardless of quality. So a £7 wine will have £4 of wine in it and a £20 bottle will have £17 in it. QED.

Seriously cheap wines ae made from grape concentrate, itself made in part from the leftovers of the harvest and the proper wine making remainders. Stick to £5 and up - barring special offers - as the baseline.

[BlasterBates]

You can pick up a decent wine in Germany for £3, all local. I've never drunk a good wine in the UK.

[Paddy]

You can pick up a decent wine in Germany for £3, all local. I've never drunk a good wine in the UK.

There is a surprisingly reasonable red wine at Aldi for £2.99. There is also very smooth Merlot at Sainsbury's for £5.00

[DealorNoDeal]

Wine made in France, Italy, Spain etc from grapes is really cheap to produce. In Italy you can even go and fill up your own containers at what looks exactly like a petrol filling station.

I doubt wine produces could save much money by making it from anything other than grapes.

[Gibbon]

I find with Italian wines you need a baseline of £10.00 in this country (UK). If you can get this then do so it is superb but they don't export much of it.
Zenato Villa Flora Lugana 2018 - Olly Smith

I drink loads of it when in the lakes especially this one

Perla del Garda Lugana Perla 2019 · Buy it for £14.00 at Vinissimus

My fave red is Primitivo from Puglia, but that's probably cos I drunk barrels of it when stationed there in the RAF.

[mallisarealperson]

Found myself yesterday in front of an ASDA wine shelf contemplating this deep question...

Based on my experience with this forum I thought there is no better place to find knowledgable people.

So... considering a £8 bottle of wine, 20% is corporation tax so you are left with £6.4. Duties for a 0.75l bottle should be £2.23 (£297.57 per hectolitre for 5.5%-15% alcohol content). That drops to £4.17.
From which you have to account for transportation, shelf tax, profit margin, marketing bottle etc.
My gut feeling says no... but what do people think?

Grapes are cheap in France, Spain,Italy.

Used to play a game on holiday. How cheap could I find drinkable wine. Stopped at €1 for a litre in Limoges France. Nice red. Crazy really.

However there is evidence that cheap spirts are counterfeit in UK. Remember reading an article a year or so ago. Some Vodka is not really 100% Vodka.
https://news.sky.com/story/drinkers-...tions-11593768

[Lance]

Lambrini/babycham and other very cheap sparkling "wines" are perry.
So yes if you take the definition of wine quite far. I don't think they can legally call it wine any more though due to EU regs


Hartlepool council think it is..... but they think monkeys are French, and Brexit will save their jerbs...
09.03.10_-_Health_Scrutiny_Forum_Agenda.pdf

Taken from wikipedia

Lambrini is available in Original (6.8% ABV) which is a recent change of around 2018, Luci (3.5% ABV), Cherry, Peach and Strawberry (all 5% ABV). A 2009 study on alcohol sold in supermarkets and off licences in North East England identified Lambrini as the cheapest alcohol in the wine category, measured on the price of a unit of alcohol.^[2]