There’s a newish restaurant in my neighbourhood. I’ve been a few times, and the last two times over lunch I ordered the same wine. It’s a Chenin Blanc from Saumur, one of the castle towns along the Loire River. I’ve been to and around Saumur, where they’re best known for their Saumur-Champigny red wines made of Cabernet Franc on soft limestone soils. But the Ligériens do not live on red wine alone, and most producers also make whites.
The Chenin showed well both times I had it: lean but full of fruit: peaches with a squeeze of lime. Before tax and tip, the restaurant lists the wine at $100 a bottle, or $22 a glass. Fair enough, I thought. For whatever reason the LCBO only ever seems to list Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire. A glass of good French Chenin is something of a luxury. I was happy to pay for it until I made the mistake of looking the wine up.
The wine’s importer is savvy enough to put their name and logo on the back label of the bottle. I took a picture at the last lunch, then called up the agency’s portfolio on their website. The wine the restaurant sold me for $100 a bottle was listed in cases of 12 at $22.95 for licensees (restaurants) or $25.95 for punters like me. The mark-up on the wine was over four times.
I’ve never worked in hospitality, but I have hung out with enough people who have for long enough to have been let in on a few tricks of the trade. Until I looked up the Chenin, my understanding was the standard Toronto fine dining restaurant mark-up on a bottle of wine was two and half times. I could presume that a $100 bottle of wine on a list would have cost the landlord or lady about $40.
Because I like restaurants, I want them to make money. I understand that alcohol sales are revenue generators that make up for other things that have low or no margins. All things being equal, a $40 bottle of wine is going to be better than an every day $20 bottle of wine. Paying a $100 for the privilege of being served it in polished glasses along with a professionally cooked meal in well appointed room seems like a pretty square deal. Paying $100 for a $23 bottle of wine raises some questions, like am I being played for a fool?
Because I write a column at The Hub for a national audience, I am often looking up the availability of wines across the country. The prices for the very same bottle can vary considerably. In this newsletter, I have begun to write a recommendation for a wine I appreciated that’s sold by the case directly from the agent, only to cancel the effort when I realized it was being sold at retail in Quebec for considerably less because the provincial monopoly got a discount on a big order. A $30 bottle wine sold in one place will be sold for $20 somewhere else.
Marshall McLuhan wrote that art is anything you can get away with. So is the price of wine, which is almost entirely driven by demand. Nearly 20 years ago, Joe Bastinich speculated that no wine was actually worth more than $100 since he figured that was the maximum cost that could be put into making it. In any event, the relationship between the quality of a wine and the price it’s able to command becomes increasingly tenuous as the latter rises. Wine costs what you are willing to pay for it.
The thing is, for two lunches, I thought the Saumur Chenin was worth paying $100 for. And I might well feel the same, should the opportunity arise. But the other thing is, would I be more likely to return to the restaurant if they marked the Chenin up conventionally and listed it for $60, or even $75? I think I would.
Wine sales are down across the wine drinking world. One of the reasons for this must be premiumization. If a bottle of wine off the shelf costs $30, or $100 out on the town, then for the vast majority of us it’s become a special occasion. Special occasions are great, but we are sustained by every day pleasures. I would like to keep good wine in that category.
NEW WRITING AT THE HUB
After an election hiatus, my wine column is back at The Hub. The latest is about the rarefied wines from the The Rhône Septrentonial, or less pretentiously, The Northern Rhône. Read it here.
ICYMI: WINE BOX ARCHIVE
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WINE RECOMMENDATIONS
This week, long weekend wines: a classic Cape Chenin from a Stellenbosch organic pioneer, and an organic Castle Chianti Classico…
Reyneke Organic Chenin Blanc 2024
Price: $21.95
Channel: LCBO Vintages
Producer: Reyneke
Country: South Africa
Region: Stellenbosch
Appellation: Western Cape WO
Grapes: Chenin Blanc
Alcohol by Volume: 13.5%
Sugar Content: 4 grams per litre
Philosopher winemaker Johan Reyneke’s “Organic” line sources grapes from outside of his biodynamic farm. In this case, we are told from a site under the cooling influence of the South Atlantic ocean. In any event, here is fresh and elegant fancy white wine for just a bit over $20, proving that South Africa still offers exceptional value at this price point.
This is a super ripe peachy Chenin, unctuous and rich, yet lifted up by a good dose of acidity. Although vinification was all stainless steel, the wine was left on its lees for three months. This has given it weight and texture. This wine works just fine on its own as an evening starter, but it would be great fun on the table for a weekend lunch of grilled salmon or chicken salad or BLTs.