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What's it sell for in your town?

Craig Camp

By Craig Camp
in Wine

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Craig Camp

Craig Camp

Posted
Posted

This is the first of what I hope will be an active new series of consumer oriented threads on the Wine Forum at eGullet. By posting pricing in many different markets members can get a better idea which wines are bad values. The format is simple - just post the price, the town and the merchant. Don't use close-out pricing - just normal sales and everyday prices. Please feel free to start your own threads on brands that interest you - just put "What's it sell for in your town" in the Topic title and then put the brand in the topic description. Let's start with Santa Margherita because it is a very large brand, sold in every market with varied pricing.

I'll start

Euro 5.50, Il Gigante, Gallarate Lombardia

Craig Camp

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Brad Ballinger

Brad Ballinger

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A disclaimer. I've never looked for this wine, so my figures may be off a bit. But in recent enough I've seen it advertised on sale in the Twin Cities for $18. So regular retail may push it into the $20+ range.

We cannot employ the mind to advantage when we are filled with excessive food and drink - Cicero

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Echezeaux

Echezeaux

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Nice idea for a posting.

I know this wine appears in the Gambero Rosso edition of Berbene (good value wines from Italy) and it's about $6 Euros.

In the California market the wine retails from $19 to $28. The current wholesale price is $15.75.

I had sent a note to the Santa Margherita people pointing out their Cabernet and Chardonnay, similarly priced in Italy to the Pinot Grigio, cost far less here than the Pinot Grigio.

The current wholesale price for Chardonnay and Cabernet is $6/bottle.

I received two interesting replies from different departments, both alleging the "taxes" in various states in the US are higher and this accounts for the curiously ambitious pricing of the wine. They ignored, of course, the notion that their other wines cost a normal amount here.

The Paterno company has done a wonderful job in marketing this wine. But they are not a honest and honorable firm, so the scandalously high price for Pinot Grigio is not a surprise. Appalling, but not surprising.

Not to single out Paterno, the Vinifera Imports company in the US (Fontodi, Felsina) also view the right to import Italian wines as a license to steal.

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tommy

tommy

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Posted (edited)

generally about 19 or 20 dollars in northern NJ, although you can find it for as low as 16 or 17.

suzi, below, brings up a case discount. i'm usually seeing 15 or 20% off at the places i shop. that might get the price down below 15.

edit: the least expensive place in my area is selling it at 17.01, with no case discount. so as far as northeastern NJ goes, that's probably about rock bottom.

Edited by tommy (log)
tommy:eats.com
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suzilightning

suzilightning

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Posted

northwestern nj

have seen this at a low of 13.99(on sale) - high of 21.99 - average seems to be 16

paid as little as 12.79 per bottle as part of a mixed case with a 20% discount

we now have a store that is offering 25% discount of mixed cases of non sale items. picked up a bottle of nv laurent perrier rose brut for 44.99

Nothing is better than frying in lard.

Nothing.  Do not quote me on this.

 

Linda Ellerbee

Take Big Bites

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winebill

winebill

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If you paid $12.75 For this stuff , then you got a real deal. (at least for your pocketbook) SMARG sells for $189- to $210- Wholesale to retailers in the NY metro area. If a Merchant wants to take a loss........So be it, But the truth is , nobody makes any money on selling it, except Paterno.

There are so many "other" PG's that .... taste better.......... cost less........and that the Retailer makes a decent markup on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Jeffy Boy

Jeffy Boy

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Posted
Vancouver BC - $19.95 Canadian, through the BC Liquor Stores.

So that's just over $15 US -

Is Santa Margherita cheaper in Canada than the USA? Isn't it usually the reverse?

Actually, I've found wine prices to be quite good in Canada, when compared to the US. Our government-run liquor stores are huge buyers, and should be able to get some economies of scale. I found something on the web that says BC has an average 110% markup on wine, with a 10% provincial tax and 7% GST on top of that. Not sure how that compares with elsewhere.

We get hosed though on beer and liquor, when compared to the US. It's the minimum prices that kill us - $3.00 per litre for beer, and $25.91 per litre for spirits.

The minimum wine price is $7.20 per litre (no two-buck-chuck here).

I noticed KMPickard says the Santa Margherita is only $15.55 in Ontario - is that Canadian??

I know a man who gave up smoking, drinking, sex, and rich food. He was healthy right up to the day he killed himself. - Johnny Carson
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Phil Ward

Phil Ward

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northwestern nj

have seen this at a low of 13.99(on sale) - high of 21.99 - average seems to be 16

paid as little as 12.79 per bottle as part of a mixed case with a 20% discount

we now have a store that is offering 25% discount of mixed cases of non sale items. picked up a bottle of nv laurent perrier rose brut for 44.99

Suzilightning,

The low prices you quote must have a been a few years ago as our wholesale is around $17 in NJ. It is expected to go up again due to the importer's increases and the Euro vs. Dollar exchange rate!!

Phil

I have never met a miserly wine lover
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tommy

tommy

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Posted
But why would anyone buy this?

it's very popular, and a lot of people like it.

It's very popular and a lot of people are not OFFENDED by it. :hmmm:

yes craig. and still others ENJOY it.

why is it that people who are really into wine and fancy themselves experts so often have such a hard time believing or understanding that not everyone shares their taste? was everyone born drinking the "best" wine from their mother's nipple? no, i don't think so. it's a learning process, and ultimately, it comes down to personal taste and preference.

questions like "why would anyone drink this", as if there's some ultimate truth in wine, can ultimately be offensive to people who do drink it.

tommy:eats.com
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Craig Camp

Craig Camp

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The main complaint about Santa Margherita is not its taste, but that it an incredibly bad value. It is neutral, mass produced wine that sells for about $6 US in Italy, but by the time it hits the States it costs triple the price of wines that are clearly better and sold at higher prices in Italy. In fact in Italy everyone knows it is mass produced industrial wine and it gets no serious attention at all - there must be 59 million wine snobs here. Santa Margherita is the result of marketing not winemaking.

It is not snobby to make this point, but only telling the truth. It fact, drinking wines like Santa Margherita IS snobby. People drink it because it is a recognized brand. I defy anyone to conduct a blind tasting of Pinot Grigio in any price range that Santa Margherita could win. It is a cheap, industrial wine produced from overcropped grapes. If that is the type of wine you like great - there is never any arguing with personal preference - but if you do like that type of wine you should be paying under $10 a bottle for it not $20. There is an ocean of cheap pinot grigio that tastes exactly like Santa Margherita because it is in fact exactly like Santa Margherita - it is only missing the brand name.

The question is not why anyone would drink a light clean pinot grigio. The question is why they would choose to drink a $20 one?

Craig Camp

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suzilightning

suzilightning

Posted
Posted
northwestern nj

have seen this at a low of 13.99(on sale) - high of 21.99 - average seems to be 16

paid as little as 12.79 per bottle as part of a mixed case with a 20% discount

we now have a store that is offering 25% discount of mixed cases of non sale items.  picked up a bottle of nv laurent perrier rose brut for 44.99

Suzilightning,

The low prices you quote must have a been a few years ago as our wholesale is around $17 in NJ. It is expected to go up again due to the importer's increases and the Euro vs. Dollar exchange rate!!

Phil

sorry phil

that's within the last 4 months at various merchants i use.

since i've started to do some private catering on the side and offer food/wine pairings i keep a strict track of what i paid and what i charge for tax purposes.

Nothing is better than frying in lard.

Nothing.  Do not quote me on this.

 

Linda Ellerbee

Take Big Bites

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