Bauduc in The Observer: Buy Direct for Value
June 16th 2008, by GQ
Our thanks to Patrick Collinson of The Observer for his kind recommendation on how to save money by buying direct from a vineyard online, or rather Bauduc. Does anyone know of any other overseas vineyards
that sell direct to people at home in the UK? Of course, you could order wine from a foreign vineyard and have it sent over, at some cost, and pay duty and VAT as it comes through Customs (that’s the law, folks). But does anyone do that, and do you get caught for the duty?
Article from Bauduc Gazette in Guardian
June 9th 2008, by GQ
I was talking to a customer who works at the Guardian about an article I was writing for La Gazette - our printed newsletter that’s sent out via La Poste - and this article appeared in the paper before the Gazette had even landed on the doormats of our customers.
In the Gazette article I discuss how the high rate of UK Duty has an impact on cheap house wines in restaurants - the duty costs more than the wine itself. Have you ever wondered why UK restaurants charge at least £14 for a bottle of wine now? The full Gazette article - Darling goes over the top - is included in this blog.
Bauduc in Restaurant Price Shock - Telegraph
May 25th 2008, by GQ
Yesterday I took a call from Rupert, the general manager for Rick Stein’s group of establishments in Padstow, Cornwall, saying that Rick had been asked to comment by the Telegraph about the high price of wine in restaurants. Apparently, an investigation by the Daily Telegraph had revealed that both Rick Stein and Gordon Ramsay were charging a lot more for a bottle of Chateau Bauduc than they were paying for it. And?
It then dawned on me that I had been set up by a chap on the phone, a few weeks back, who was trying to chisel a good price out of me for a new venture. The person ‘posing as a potential buyer’ in the article - he said he was called David - was going to start up a new establishment, and it was clear that he didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. (Even the calculations in the article don’t add up.) I felt rather sorry for him when I wished him good luck at the end of the call. As stings go, it was hardly Sven and the fake sheikh.
I said to Rupert that, on the contrary, our wine was too cheap in the restaurant. After all, top restaurants need to make a 66% gross margin. The refurbishment of The Seafood Restaurant earlier this year cost a seven figure sum which didn’t start with the number 1. £19 for a bottle there for a wine that’s sold by the vineyard for £8? ‘No wonder it’s so popular in the restaurant’, I said. Victoria Moore, the Guardian’s wine correspondent, cited Château Bauduc Bordeaux blanc as being good value for £18.50 at The Seafood more than three years ago. More to the point, try booking a table.