It is, of course, the economy stupid. What every skint-bod really needs to do is join the Wine Society: five years ago I was strictly BBR: now its all WS, the value is unbeatable - VALUE, not simple cheapness.
REALLY good piece. A critic is not part of the wine trade. Their job is to recommend the recommendable. The economics of the industry are not their concern, and even if they were, they are often too opaque to be easily understood or explained.
If/when a critic discovers that a winery is accused of using slave labour (as was the case of a natural winemaker in Italy) and/or pretending to be organic when they're not, or a merchant is failing to deliver en primeur purchases... That's when they should ring alarm bells
The issue here is that if a wine writer recommends a wine which is on shelf below the cost of producing and importing it, it perpetuates the idea in the wine shopper's mind that wine is readily available at that price. If you consider how things like cinema tickets or petrol have increased in the last 30 years (somewhere between 200 and 300% by my reckoning), it is laughable that wine is still being offered at £5 or less which is what it cost back in the 1990s.
In the United States, Costco’s “Kirkland Signature” (store brand) wines are typically a tremendous value (and much better in my opinion than most mass-market brands you see everywhere). They also are fairly consistent in quality and availability year-over-year too.
That article you refer to is classic elder-millennial bitterness, if you ask me or sour grapes, if you’ll pardon the pun. Gilbey isn’t trying to turn people into wine experts or persuade them to sit through a two-hour tasting seminar. He’s trying to give ordinary drinkers enough confidence to stop buying heavily marketed rubbish like 19 Crimes and bog-standard Prosecco and try something better at the same price. There may be legitimate ethical questions later particularly around impartiality and commercial relationships, but taken on its own this criticism is ludicrous.
The great British public’s increasing awareness of Crémant is partly down to people like him.
He also particularly targets students and younger drinkers who are otherwise learning a fairly miserable relationship with alcohol through things like BuzzBallz, showing them that at the same price point they can explore all sorts of interesting grapes and styles instead.
Exactly. Oddbins played that role for your generation; Gilbey is doing something similar on TikTok for people who might never wander into a specialist wine shop.
And wine knowledge is one of those remarkably useful things to have. It costs relatively little to acquire, makes life more enjoyable, and greatly impresses rich/important people who often only think they know about wine.
Big box retailers and flash sites are picking up great deals in pallet+ volumes every day in the States. Wineries need to unload inventory and harvest 2026 has started. Wineries need cash flow and a good pay. We have Aldi, but we have Grocery Outlet, Costco, and any number of flash online retailers that can move volume. Those big box discounters serve a purpose in this market, than no small indy store can offer a winery with 3 years of excess inventory.
As for Gilbey and his 700,000 followers, that's more than any winery in the States, more than any critic. So, he's doing something right.
Lidl (and Aldi to a much lesser extent) are great with Spanish wines. Some of the stuff they've sourced over the years has been fabulous. (Paniza Garnacha 2015, being a vivid memory) Their shops in Spain are far superior to the UK ones, and their wine selection there superb and they pay attention to the regions (great value Monastrell in Murcia and Alicante for example) and also WAY cheaper than here... i.e. a £7.99 carina was €4.99 in españa... Cheap cheap, can then be a way in for people to try different things and become more adventurous in their future wine choices
It is, of course, the economy stupid. What every skint-bod really needs to do is join the Wine Society: five years ago I was strictly BBR: now its all WS, the value is unbeatable - VALUE, not simple cheapness.
No one can compete with TWS.
REALLY good piece. A critic is not part of the wine trade. Their job is to recommend the recommendable. The economics of the industry are not their concern, and even if they were, they are often too opaque to be easily understood or explained.
If/when a critic discovers that a winery is accused of using slave labour (as was the case of a natural winemaker in Italy) and/or pretending to be organic when they're not, or a merchant is failing to deliver en primeur purchases... That's when they should ring alarm bells
Thanks RJ.
It’s the economy, stupid!!
The issue here is that if a wine writer recommends a wine which is on shelf below the cost of producing and importing it, it perpetuates the idea in the wine shopper's mind that wine is readily available at that price. If you consider how things like cinema tickets or petrol have increased in the last 30 years (somewhere between 200 and 300% by my reckoning), it is laughable that wine is still being offered at £5 or less which is what it cost back in the 1990s.
I think if columnists were only recommending very cheap wines then that would be a problem. But most spend all year telling their readers to trade up.
"Rather than Aldi or Lidl, it’s things like rising duty and other taxes, soaring energy costs" Spot on! It applies here in Australia too,
In the United States, Costco’s “Kirkland Signature” (store brand) wines are typically a tremendous value (and much better in my opinion than most mass-market brands you see everywhere). They also are fairly consistent in quality and availability year-over-year too.
Gilbey does a review of those too (not sure if they are like for like for the US market but worth a watch)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgnKQuQP7k4
This was a much needed article!
Thank you Kate!
That article you refer to is classic elder-millennial bitterness, if you ask me or sour grapes, if you’ll pardon the pun. Gilbey isn’t trying to turn people into wine experts or persuade them to sit through a two-hour tasting seminar. He’s trying to give ordinary drinkers enough confidence to stop buying heavily marketed rubbish like 19 Crimes and bog-standard Prosecco and try something better at the same price. There may be legitimate ethical questions later particularly around impartiality and commercial relationships, but taken on its own this criticism is ludicrous.
The great British public’s increasing awareness of Crémant is partly down to people like him.
He also particularly targets students and younger drinkers who are otherwise learning a fairly miserable relationship with alcohol through things like BuzzBallz, showing them that at the same price point they can explore all sorts of interesting grapes and styles instead.
We had Oddbins instead when I was a student. A great education once Id discovered it and stopped buying wine from the corner shop
Exactly. Oddbins played that role for your generation; Gilbey is doing something similar on TikTok for people who might never wander into a specialist wine shop.
And wine knowledge is one of those remarkably useful things to have. It costs relatively little to acquire, makes life more enjoyable, and greatly impresses rich/important people who often only think they know about wine.
Great piece.
Thank you!
Big box retailers and flash sites are picking up great deals in pallet+ volumes every day in the States. Wineries need to unload inventory and harvest 2026 has started. Wineries need cash flow and a good pay. We have Aldi, but we have Grocery Outlet, Costco, and any number of flash online retailers that can move volume. Those big box discounters serve a purpose in this market, than no small indy store can offer a winery with 3 years of excess inventory.
As for Gilbey and his 700,000 followers, that's more than any winery in the States, more than any critic. So, he's doing something right.
Lidl (and Aldi to a much lesser extent) are great with Spanish wines. Some of the stuff they've sourced over the years has been fabulous. (Paniza Garnacha 2015, being a vivid memory) Their shops in Spain are far superior to the UK ones, and their wine selection there superb and they pay attention to the regions (great value Monastrell in Murcia and Alicante for example) and also WAY cheaper than here... i.e. a £7.99 carina was €4.99 in españa... Cheap cheap, can then be a way in for people to try different things and become more adventurous in their future wine choices