How much should you spend on a bottle of wine?

How much should you spend on a bottle of wine? The simple answer is: if you’re looking for something ‘good’ then spend at least £10

Here’s why £10 should be your baseline. Below is a break down of what costs are included in every bottle of wine you buy:

➡️Duty £2.23
➡️VAT
➡️custom’s tax £0.10
➡️bottle £0.15p
➡️label, screwcap, outer packaging £0.10p
➡️international transport £0.20p
➡️UK transport £0.20p
➡️The supplier’s cut
➡️The retailer’s cut

Retail price of wine - all of the above = cost of actual wine in the bottle

Let’s break that down a little...

Every bottle of wine in the UK has a tax of £2.23, no matter how expensive or cheap.

So a £5 bottle of wine is nearly 50% duty! After whacking all the other costs on top, the wine inside the bottle is 31p (insert gasp 🗯 and ‘no way josé’ here)

Because a lot of these costs are fixed, it means the more you spend the better value you get from your wine.

If you spend £10 on a bottle of wine the value of the wine inside rises to a shade under £3. Essentially, you're spending twice as much for a wine that's nearly ten times the quality.

Of course if you’re looking for a perky & jolly party animal wine that you can swig back and smack your lips together with a joyful ‘ahhhhh!’and share with glee at a party then spend that £5 and enjoy

But if you are after a philosophical number that is complex and poetic then crack out the queen heads and spend £20+

Check nifty graphic from Bibendum you get a great visual of how the value increases the more you spend.