While we all hunker down in the winter, these warmer days and lighter nights are an invitation to be more sociable, and to just drop in on family and friends, outstay our welcome and drink all their wine. Which used to be OK(ish) when a decent bottle of wine cost between £5 and £10, but is less acceptable now when, unless it’s on special offer, it will more often than not set you back more than £10.
Nowadays, I’m constantly doing double takes when I check the price of a wine I’ve tried within recent memory and find that the price has increased by at least 25%. Tesco’s own-label red vermouth, for example, was £5.75 just over 18 months ago, and now it’s £8 – which is still reasonable, but it’s hard to see why it’s shot up so much.
