Why wine costs so much more at the pub
SIR – Unfortunately, most pubs are tied in to exclusive supply deals by profiteering pub companies, so the bottle of wine under £10 that the general public can buy from the supermarket (Letters, March 14) will typically cost licensees double that, and they will be obliged to buy in multiples of 12 or even 24 – hence the high prices charged.
What other trade would exist with a supposed wholesale structure allowing the end user to buy one-off products from the supermarkets at prices far lower than those the trade licensees are obliged to pay in order to buy in bulk then sell on at a profit? K J Henley
Cheshunt, Hertfordshire
SIR – Evan Llewelyn (Letters, March 14) complains about the price of wine in pubs, and now has Scotch with dinner.
A well known brand of Scotch costs £20 per litre and pubs will get it cheaper. There are 40 single measures in a litre of whisky. At £5a time this grosses £200 and is a far higher mark-up than the wine Mr Llewellyn rejects.
Brian Shepherd Codsall, Staffordshire
SIR – Having read about the glass of wine costing £17, all I can say is: thank God for Wetherspoons.
Dr Trevor Masters Southend-on-sea, Essex