Meridian on sale at Vons/Safeway

Ah, Meridian. Many years ago, it was the Chardonnay that got me into whites, though the years of my wife's attempts might have also played a role. In the first "Slammer Whites of Summer" drink-off at our house, it won the coveted title of "Slammer of the year." Back then, the upper price-point cut was ~US$

An aside, why do restaurants use a sliding scale of markup for wines (perhaps a gross over-generalization here) with less expensive wines being hit with MAJOR markups, and more expensive (at wholesale) wines seeing a much more equitable markup? Even in by-the-glass selections, it is not uncommon to have a glass of less-expensive wine priced at 200% of wholesale/btl for one glass! When I first came to AZ, a tony little wine bar in an upscale shopping area touted Lindeman's Bin 65(?) Chard, at US$25/glass. Heck, a btl was only US$4.

Hunt

I assume this is because restaurants are looking to make a certain dollar amount on each sale and not necessarily a percentage. Also playing into it is simple supply and demand. Lots of people just want a glass of white wine and it benefits the restaurant to charge a customary amount for that and yet try to find a cheap bottle to pour. On the other end of the spectrum, luxury bottles like Dom Perignon also usually see a high markup based on name recognition. It seems to me that the middle of the list sees the best values. I assume it is because these wines are less often ordered, as only more knowledgeable wine drinkers will order them. Restaurants discount the markup in order to make them more appealing. The couple celebrating an anniversary is going to want the Dom. The occasional wine drinkers (which are most of the clientele at an average restaurant) are going to want the house wine. Only a knowledgeable wine drinker is going to see that Sonoma-Cutrer is priced just $5/bottle over retail. (Sonoma-Cutrer is often priced extremely well in my experiences.) That middle range of $30-60 wines is often a sweet spot, and I will sometimes order wine off of the list just based on what the markup is rather than trying to find the 'perfect wine' to complement my meal.

You are right, though, that I will see vintage Krug champagne for something like $240 (retails $180) and Dom Perignon for $200 (retails for $100 or less). The Krug is obviously the better buy in this case if one is choosing between just these two. I suspect that lots of people don't know Krug and won't shell out the extra cash for it, and that is why it is 'priced to sell' as opposed to marking it up to $350 to align with the Dom.

Just my speculation...

Dimitri

Are you sure it was Bin 65? Not another premium label?

The bin 65 chardonnay I find hard to believe anyone would get away with charging US$25 a glass, even now.

I would walk out of a restaurant if they tried to charge that for that, just out of principle.

It retails here even now for about $7AU, very roughly $5.50US equivalent. And I don't believe it ages well enough for it to have been "vintage" of any standing.

Meridian's winemaker, Charles Ortman, claims the title "Mr. Chardonnay".

And for all these years I've been thinking that was _I_!

I must admit that he does make decent Chardonnay though. I sometimes buy his when I'm on vacation and can't get mine. ;^)

Tom S

If Bin 65 (my memory of the Lindeman's line up is cloudy) is their low-end Chard, then that is it. When I moved to AZ, it was retailing for ~US$5/btl in case quantity, and had been our "slammer" of choice for two Summers in CO. This was my SHOCKING introduction to "in" wine destinations in Phoenix! Needless to say, I did not partake of their by-the-glass offerings, though I did take note of the prices. Last time that I passed by, their prices were a bit more in line with what I would expect, but still quite high. Maybe their location demands that they charge such prices, and Chardonnay was the top white in those days. Though in '98, that is about what I would expect to pay in a high-end restaurant for a big Cab, or Bdx. It seems to bare out, that in Phoenix, there is traffic for paying top price, regardless of value.

Hunt

There is lower Lindemanns that that. There is the Cawarra range, which I would struggle to recommend to anyone. I have a number of bottles sitting around I can't bring myself to drink.

Perhaps they were taking advantage of a naiive dining community. I mean chardonnay was all the rage around that time.

Oooo, a sophisticated Australian chardonnay, a steal at $25 a glass. If the place is still in business seems ppl were willing to pay that much. Despite the 1000% markup.

Sounds like rampant profiteering to me.

It is, or at least WAS. They are still there, but I give them a wide berth when in that area. Much of the retail in the Phoenix area is hype for what is considered chic, at that moment in time. I hope that their offerings are more in line, nowadays, with reality, but cannot comment there.

Hunt

We haven't seen the Reserve Meridian at our Northern California Safeway. But I did pick up a $6.00 regular bottling just to see if it was still undistinguished.... It was.

Mike P