Saturday, October 24, 2015

Time for Wine

There seems to be a season for everything.  Fall and Winter gatherings call for wine to share with friends and family.  As the sun sets earlier and the temperatures fall, a glass of wine can be appreciated for it's beautiful color. festive glass, tempting aroma, and warming cheer!

At most retailers, wine (and beer) prices fluctuate throughout the year in Ohio, but they often rise with the approach of the Fall and Winter holidays. Many enjoy giving and receiving a gift of wine! Now is the time to stock up on your favorite wine--before the prices rise for the holiday season. Be sure to buy from a retail store that sells wine at the State Minimum Price, such as Homer Village Market.

For those wondering exactly what "State Minimum Price" means, it is the lowest price a retailer is allowed to sell (a regulated product) to the consumer. So that the State government can be assured of some minimum level of sales tax (for budgeting purposes), the Ohio retailer is required to add a markup, specified by law, to the price they were invoiced by their geographically-assigned distributor. Retail stores can sell at higher prices, but they cannot sell any lower than the State Minimum Price in effect at the time they purchased the product from the distributor.

Notice that the price of your favorite wine or beer changes up and down throughout the year though it may remain static most of the time. If the distributor's price goes up, the retailer is not required to reprice the inventory already in stock (although some retailers do so in the case of a price increase--but then they are not really selling at the State Minimum). If the distributor's price goes down, the retailer is prohibited by law from lowering the price of the bottles already in stock before the price decrease, because to do so would be a violation of the State Minimum pricing law).  This is the main reason you might find the same wine label at two different prices at two State-Minimum retailers (or even two different prices for two bottles of the same label on the same retailer's shelf).  The retail price depends on what the retailer paid at the time they placed their order from the distributor.  It pays to shop around!

If you like dry red wines such malbec, cabernet sauvignon, chianti, and red zinfindel at value prices (under $10 a bottle), as I do, there are several brands whose promotional prices are very good right now compared to the normal retail price several dollars per bottle higher. Stock up now before the price goes back up again.

  • Trapiche (Malbec - Mendoza region of Argentina) $7.99 (recently priced at $9.99 then $8.99)
  • Dynamite (Zinfandel - Sonoma, California) $9.99 (rises to $12.99 around the holidays)
  • Ruffino (Chianti - Italy) - $8.99 (usually at least $9.99)
  • Fetzer - Alexander Hill's (Cabernet Sauvignon - California lower foothills) 1.5 liter $9.99 (usually $12.99 or more)
To save even more, purchase a case and receive a 10% discount.  Most of the time, you can mix and match 12 regular size bottles of different labels or 6 of larger size bottles and get the 10% case discount.  (Generally excluded from the case discount eligibility would be those bottles of wine where the retailer purchased less than a case at a time and had to pay a per-bottle surcharge to the distributor.)  


Stop by the Homer Village Market to see which wines are on promotional prices right now.  We have wide range of brands and varieties of wine to fit all budgets.  If you enjoy sparkling wines, sweet reds, sweet whites, dry reds, dry whites, or something in between, stop by and see what we have on the shelf and in the cooler.   Don't see your favorite?  We can let you know the current price and place an order for delivery in-store often the same week, but no later than the following week.   Not sure which wine to try?  We can help you decide based on your preferences.  Hope to see you soon!