I have, in many blog posts in the past, bemoaned the price of wine in many restaurants and bars in the UK. Mark ups of three times plus against retail prices (already high due to sky high taxes and duty) are pretty much the norm for wine (which would probably get your place burnt down in provincial Spain) and anything below that comes as a bit of a welcome surprise.

I certainly do not (in any way whatsoever) begrudge places making a decent profit, but I do struggle to see how upwards of 3 x retail (let along wholesale) can be justified as against similar mark ups on food (with the staff, creative process, wastage etc. involved in the latter). 

Bar from some high-end places, how many restaurants have a dedicated sommelier, age their wines (and in doing so carry large cellered stocks of wine) and don’t buy on a sale or return basis, so what actual extra costs are involved (other than glasses, but for food you have multiple plates, dishes and cutlery, and short term storage and preservation equipment) as against the food to justify similar up marks?

Perhaps it is my ignorance as to what is involved (more than likely), but I think wine (beer and spirits probably even more so) is generally overpriced (in hospitality) in the UK as against food. In effect, drinkers seem to be seen as a bit of a cash cow and are arguably used to subsidise the food prices.

Many (non drinkers) may be more than happy with that (and as I have said restaurants are more than entitled to make a profit, I mean why bother otherwise), but it does seem to be a tad inequitable (if booze drinkers are being milked) and (more importantly perhaps) is it not a bit of a risky/eggs all in one basket approach?

I mean if people stop buying booze or even pare back (as younguns increasingly seem to be doing) then where does that leave your profit margin (3.5 x 0 = 0)? If profits on wine (and booze in general) are being used to subsidise the food, then would it not be a big issue if wine purchasing reduced to any appreciable extent?

It is easy to go into a restaurant and order the cheapest dish on the menu and a jug of water and I do wonder what the margin would be on that? If booze sales drop off, do you then have to bring in minimum spend requirements and/or up the price of the food and how does that affect footfall? God, who would run a restaurant!!

With the level of wine mark ups in the UK, it is perhaps unsurprising that a fair few people I know look at corkage (bring you own wine and pay a fee to drink it in) and I understand that more and more young people are simply not drinking booze at all when eating out (the worst of all worlds for a restaurant).

Corkage, whilst increasingly popular, is  controversial. An article on it from (the always interesting) Jamie Goode raised the question of corkage etiquette. Some good points, but I felt it failed to address the main issue driving corkage which is sky high wine prices in UK restaurants (on the contrary it suggested price should not be a factor at all, which to me kind of leaves it as the preserve of the rich(er)). I would posit that a lack of value for money (not the same as price) is the main driver for people wanting to opt for corkage, which to me is a better option than them not drinking at all.  More so than, I suspect (the other bête noire of mine in the UK), the increasingly identikit wine lists that are all to often seemingly put together with little, if any, thought as to the food on offer. Wine is (I am told) a money maker, which restaurants often depend on, but all too often little thought seems to be given to it. An interesting list is a joy, but is very much the exception rather than the rule in my (albeit) limited experience.

Unless you are filthy rich (regrettably I am not) “How much?” has always been a very important factor in purchasing wine out, and as we all continue to tighten our belts will likely increasingly be so. When I go corkage I always take an interesting high end wine, but I would say sky high prices and the lack of anything of interest on a lot of wine lists are the equal drivers in me wanting a corkage option.

Perhaps this is the reason behind the increasing trend (certainly in Cardiff) of bottle shops offering drink in options with modest mark ups (£10 seems to be the going rate) on off the shelf wines drunk in. A latent demand for it out there, I suspect.

Now for wine lovers like me this is a great option in terms of drinking good wine with mates (of like mind, wine wise), in a convivial environment outside of the house and more formal tasting environments, without the price tag that goes with such wine or indeed lack of such wines in the first place (most, but by no means all, pubs in the UK sell diabolical wine at rip off prices).

The fact that these places have often forged partnerships with local restaurants/cafes to bring you food too, as well as allowing you to bringing in your own, is an added bonus.

This brings me (eventually) to Rhiwbina Tap, in (unsurprisingly) the Cardiff burb of Rhiwbina which operates as a bottle shop and neighbourhood watering hole.

It has a good selection of beers to drink in

as well as wine that can be taken out or drunk in at the retail price, plus a very reasonable £10 corkage charge (they provide the glasses).

Four of us rocked up predominately for the wine offering, with one of our party having bought from them (in advance and double decanted – mainly done as we were, somewhat needlessly as it happens, worried about sediment) 2 bottle of La Rioja Alta 904.

May seem a lot, but this stuff is premium juice (Rioja royalty, some would say) and the £61.70 retail price (especially for the 2015) is very competitive (across the road at Wine Republic, the 2015 is £79 and in Penarth Road’s Fine Wines Direct it is £76.49).

So with the £10 corkage per bottle it was still cheaper to drink in here than buy them retail at certain other places!

Also when adding the £10 per bottle corkage you get to £143.40 divided by 4 (so a smidgen under £36 a head). Now divide  the £71.70 per bottle by 6 and you get a per 125 ml glass price of  £11.93 (£16.64 for a 175ml glass).  For wines of this quality, to drink in, that is a bit of a bargain.

By way of contrast at Gaucho (absolute rip off for wine)

a 175 ml glass of Rioja Reserva Unica 2019 (which retails for just under £30) is £23 (equates to £16.33 for a 125 ml glass). Buy the bottle and you are forking out £93 (£15.5 per 125 ml glass). So you would be paying a lot more a glass for a wine that is less than half the price retail (here) of the La Rioja Alta 904.

Now you could argue that Gaucho has to pay for the swanky interior (food is no great shakes in my experience), staff et al and thus it is an unfair comparison  Regardless, I personally think you would have to be stark raving mad to drink wine off of the list at Gaucho. If you want to eat there and drink wine then go on a Monday (free corkage) and take your own is my advice.

We started and finished proceedings with beers

Enjoyed the Augustiner Helles and the Ayinger Dunkel, not so much the Bacchus Framboise (tasted like toothpaste mixed in with alka selzer).

We were, of course, there more for the wine and kicked off proceedings on that front with a pleasant (if a bit limited) Bordeaux Blanc (not sure as to its on the shelf price).

Quite tropical fruit notes, with vanilla (from oak) and a distinct grassiness on the nose. Almost a New World sauvignon blanc feel to this wine (didn’t get much from the semillion in the blend). Pleasant enough, but a mere warm up act for the next two bottles

First up was the 2011 La Rioja Alta 904,

a gran reserva with 4 years in American oak barrels and then bottled in November 2016. Some regard the 2011 vintage as living somewhat in the shadow of the 2010 vintage but the Consejo Regulador rated both as excellent. I would tend to side with the Wine Spectator which scores the 2011 vintage at 89 pts (with a drink now suggestion) and the 2010 vintage at 94 pts (drink or hold).

A blend of 89% tempranillo and 11% graciano, this was a surprisingly light colour in the glass but not showing that much bricking around the edges. Didn’t look its age, I would say (bit like me, but in reverse).

It was perhaps a touch retrained on the nose with a sort of meaty earthiness, as well as vanilla (not that in you face bounty bar coconut you sometimes get from wines, as is the case or should that be cask here, aged in American oak).

On the palate, the fruit was a bit lacking with more teritary flavours of spice (vanilla, touch of star anise) leather, singed meat and tobacco.

Don’t get me wrong this is a lovely wine, but it was to me (based on previous 904s tasted) slightly muted and just a little bit austere. It could be this wine had just gone past the crest of its development hill and is on the way down or it may just be in a closed stage and will bloom again. Suspect the former, hope the latter.

The 2015 followed

and it was a really interesting contrast with the 2011. The 904 2015 is the first (and I believe only) 904 vintage to have been given the Seleccion Especial moniker. Fact that it was the same price as the 2011 surprised me (in a good way) a little.

Blend has smidgen more tempranillo (90%) and less graciano (10%) than the 2011.

A much richer, deeper colour here,

with much more fruit in the mix.

The initial nose was lovely with rich dark (black cherry and plum) and red (raspberry and strawberry) fruits, as well as sweet vanilla spice and cigar box. A much more racey and vibrant nose than the 2011.

On the palate, the fruit was still there, with vanilla spice and a subtle touch (not too much) of coconut sweetness (from the American oak).

Silky smooth and a joy to drink, this is still on an upward trajectory in my opinion with lots more to give (glad I have some in the wine room).

Both very good wines, but the 2015 was on another level to the 2011.

Food wise, the place has an arrangement with Snails Deli, with a bespoke Tap bar menu (pizza focused, but not entirely so) that can be ordered off to eat in.

This, however, runs only on Wednesdays and Fridays and we were there on a Thursday

They were happy for us to bring your own food in and, with the Spanish wine focus, we decided on a selection of Spanish food.

This included a homemade (not by me) tortilla and various Spanish cold meats, cheeses and snacks (mainly from Ultracomida).

The rich fatty nuttiness of the iberico  jamon

worked very well (I usually pair it with fino sherry)  with both 904s wines, particularly the 2015. Really bought out the fruit in the 2015.

A rather fine evening was had, with good food and company and great wine, with  the added bonus of me finding a fellow Babylon 5 (one of the best sci fi series ever made in my opinion) fan (he was hardcore  compared to me mind).

The verdict

People may think blimey £70+ for a bottle is a lot, but when you break it down we spend under £55 a head for a night out drinking fine wines, good beer and eating good charcuterie, cheese and other snacks. I mean that is probably less (price wise) than 5 cocktails in town these days.

I really like this trend of drinking in in bottle shops from wines off the shelf,  which allows for a convivial way of drinking decent wine outside of the home at a reasonable price.

I do think that wine prices, in UK restaurants, risk putting off an entire generation from drinking wine and once one generation goes it is a cascade effect (I got my love of wine from my parents). A case of potentially killing that golden goose!

Hopefully these sort of place will stem the flow away from drinking wine whilst out, with sharing a good bottle one of the joy of drinking wine. Once you get the taste for good wine, you are generally hooked

The quote of  “The best wines are the ones we drink with friends.” is a rather good one in my view and places like the Rhiwbina and Raydr Taps, Moura, the Bottle Shops and State of Love and Trust are excellent places to drink such wines.

Details

Address: 17 Heol-Y-Deri, Cardiff CF14 6HA

Website: https://www.suburbantaps.co.uk/