8 tips to save a lot of money on wine

1) Be wary of all kinds of sales
2) Make bulk purchases from the manufacturer
3) A good wine bought directly from the vineyard should not scare you with its cheapness
4) Win the favor of the sommelier
5) Trust your own taste, not someone else's
6) If you can afford a whole bottle, buy it
7) Do not refuse wine sold under the restaurant's brand
8) Look for restaurants where wine is stored in barrels

Wine is a wonderful drink with exquisite flavor, but if you get too carried away with its tasting, you can quickly find yourself bankrupt. Famous winemaker Brian Hosmer, owner of Chateau Chantal and Hawthorne Vineyards in Traverse City, Michigan, USA, told us about eight ways to avoid this fate without resorting to austerity and at the same time without buying cheap and low-quality wine.

Be wary of all kinds of sales

Many people can't resist the "discount" signs or yellow price tags.

In fact, it's just a way to arouse the buyer's interest in the product.

"It's a kind of cheating. After all, a store cannot operate at a loss," says Hosmer.

Wineries can set any wholesale price. And the store, in turn, sets the retail price it wants.

That's why wine can be sold at the same price all year round, and then one day it appears with a sign that says "50% off".

People just like the idea that you can buy an expensive product cheaply, so they easily fall for such tricks.".

Make bulk purchases from the manufacturer

Buying in bulk is always profitable. Prices at a winery or wine boutique may differ by 15-25% from prices in grocery stores. "Usually, buying at a winery or in a wine boutique is a very good way to save money.

A good wine bought directly from the vineyard should not scare you with its cheapness

"The cheapest wine on the wine list is the worst," says Hosmer. - "The wine whose price is second from the bottom becomes the best seller. No one wants to go on a date and look like a cheapskate. But the price does not always correspond to the quality".

Win the favor of the sommelier

As a rule, when a guest comes to a restaurant to drink a bottle, he or she starts studying the endless price list, trying to find the wine whose price will match his or her financial capabilities.

This can be done much faster by asking a professional for advice. "You just name the amount you're willing to spend and get competent advice.

Do not hesitate to ask a sommelier," explains the winemaker.

Trust your own taste, not someone else's

"Drink what you like, you'll enjoy it a lot more than if you drink what other people like," Hosmer advises, adding that people often trust the opinion of an "expert" rather than their taste buds.

As a rule, profane people listen more to the opinion of friends than to their own taste. Naturally, they will be disappointed.

If you can afford a whole bottle, buy it

"One way or another, in any restaurant, the visitor has to overpay," says Hosmer.

However, the higher the cost of the product, the lower the margin on it. If a restaurant bought a bottle at a wholesale price of $5, it will sell its contents for $20-30.

What will be the cost of the contents of a bottle that the restaurant purchased for $80?

Which would be better: paying $35 for a bottle that costs $5 or $100 for a bottle that costs $80?

Do not refuse wine sold under the restaurant's brand

No restaurant will tell visitors that their glass is filled with wine of their own production, the so-called "duty wine.

Hosmer, however, says that often inexpensive wine from a brand unknown to the general public tastes quite good.

Sometimes people make quite unexpected discoveries for themselves. We make wine for restaurants and put their labels on it. This is the same wine, but under their brand. It is very profitable for us. Sometimes a restaurant will tell you who supplies them with wine. On the back of the bottle, as a rule, it is written about where it was made.

In the end, the producer, the restaurant, and the buyer all win.