This week I 'ave been mostly drinking...
Russell Wallace, General Manager
This week I ‘ave been mostly drinking… sensible wine! Ok
bare with me on his one, and I will try my best not to get too grumpy. Came home from the shops on Saturday morning with the Times and my milk, sat
down ready to enjoy a lazy morning read. Sadly, this was spoilt by the
“wine headline” which read simply, “The £5.99 sparkling wine the critics are
raving about”. Well, that just spoilt my day and I didn’t even read the
paper in protest!
I have tried to explain a few times before my issue here, and
many of you do seem to understand and appreciate the principle except, it would
seem, the newspaper wine critics are intent on recommending nothing if it
does not hit a £5-6 price tag. Most of our clients appreciate that there is a minimum value that we must pay for well
made wine that offers sustainability for producers that care about what they
are doing. Each year this price tag sadly grows as the Chancellor
increases alcohol duty rates and indeed fuel duties to transport wine to
the UK and to your home/local wine shop. Currently alcohol duty stands
for a sparkling wine at £2.56 per bottle (plus VAT on the duty and the
wine!). So, maths lesson time again (below figures are approximates):
Wine Cost = £5.99
Less 20% VAT then less £2.56 Duty = £2.44
Less Transport and Non-consumables = £1.84
Less Margin for Retailer = £0.70
£0.70 left in value for your £5.99 sparkling wine, presuming
that the retailer has imported this wine themselves, which in the case of the
multiples is surprisingly rare, but we will give them the benefit of doubt.
Now, that 70 pence also has to cover some kind of profit for the
producer so in reality we would estimate that at most the actual value of what
you are drinking would be 40-50 pence, but probably less!
Consider now that this wine is a Cava, yes I know it is rather
uncool, but my issue is that Cava is a traditional method sparkler so the
method of production is relatively expensive and time consuming. Now, if
it were a charmat method sparkler (like a Prosecco), I might be more able to
grasp this (but still struggling), however I just cannot see how supporting this
type of wine is in any way supporting producers of good value driven wine. I
will allow you to speculate on how many bottles en-mass a vineyard would have
to produce to just cover their costs.
So, why not try the splendid Bodegas
Escudero Cava Seco Benito Escudero, organically farmed with love, labour
and a passion for what they are doing. It is one of a few Cava you will
find produced in Rioja. Yes, it is considerably more expensive than the
Times’ recommendation, but it is worth every penny extra and, I would argue, significantly
better value for money.
Dianne Barrie, Company Administrator
No surprise that this week I’ve been mostly drinking no
wine! It’s safe to say that I have been far too preoccupied with Christmas - in
fact, what with having just moved house, it would seem that I’m going to spend
the last two weekends before Christmas present buying and wrapping, Christmas
card writing and attempting to make the house as festive as possible (amid a
whole bunch of boxes still to unpack!).
I do, however, have a cunning plan to
save myself from standing in endless queues of last-minute shoppers in
department stores and to give my family and friends some very special treats this
Christmas. You see, over the last month or so there have been some great new
product lines arriving in to Exel Wines. Whether you are looking for a gift for
that special someone, such as Henschke
Keyneton Estate Shiraz Cabernet Merlot 2002, a fabulous little stocking
filler, such as Sheep
Dip Harris Tweed Hip Flask With 1 X 5cl or something just a little bit
different like Wines That
Rock Rolling Stones Forty Licks Merlot 2010 or Strathearn
Distillery Heather Rose Gin, all these can be purchased and delivered
straight to your door without even having to leave the comfort of your
armchair…simples!
Perhaps I will have some time next weekend to treat myself to
a pre-Christmas glass or two of wine after all!
Clive Holroyd, Database Manager
Clive Holroyd, Database Manager
Number one son was back from
University for a flying visit at the week-end. I've grumbled before about how
inadequate 75cl is when you find a particularly good wine and given the amount
of dedication he seems to apply to studying alcoholic beverages (if only that
was the course he was doing) I knew that a little extra would be called for. A
chance conversation with him shortly before he came down led to the discovery
that he's quite fond of the products of Innis & Gunn. Now I enjoy a good
real ale or craft beer myself from time to time, so I thought fill him up
on the fizzy stuff and he won't drink so much of the wine. (Am I painting a
terrible picture of today's students?). I'm not so familiar with Innis
& Gunn, so I got both the Original
Oak Aged and the Rum
Finish Oak Aged, both of which were excellent. The Rum Finish is quite
surprising, it reminded me somewhat of a Belgian Dubbel and the Original
is deliciously rounded golden ale; it worked well on a chilly winter afternoon,
but I suspect would be equally appropriate when those warm summer evenings roll
in again.
And the wine? My new second favourite wine, the Cousino Macul
Antiguas Reservas Merlot, yes I raided the bottles I was supposed to be
saving for Christmas. Oh well.
