Now you see it, now you don’t… How much did you pay for Alto Rouge?
HAVING read Winemag’s Signature Red Blend Report in which two vintages of Alto Rouge from the Helderberg in Stellenbosch were given excellent reviews and priced at R120 a bottle, the hunt was on. However, shopping for a bargain wine requires a good sense of humour!
Alto Rouge was on special at Pick n Pay for R100 a bottle, as we recalled. Then word about a sale at Liquor City reached our inbox: R79.99 a bottle. But lo and behold, a visit to the Claremont branch revealed the wine selling for well over R100 and the management wouldn’t budge: Liquor City specials only apply to certain branches of Liquor City, they said. Misleading advertising, we said, setting off to find another branch.
Next stop: Liquor City in Retreat. Couldn’t believe it: the price tag showed R90-something and the shelf-packer maintained that there wasn’t a special on Alto. However, this time the management were more accommodating: apparently they knew about the sale but hadn’t got around to changing the prices on-shelf. We bought some, feeling rather chuffed… until we got to hear that the wine was on promotion at Makro: R75 a bottle.
And whoever said that the best price is always the one at source, needs a reboot! Alto brand owner Distell was selling the Rouge online at a little over R102 a bottle, although you could also get it for R96pb from Distell’s Bergkelder Vinoteque in Stellenbosch.
For decades, SA retailers have taken advantage of consumers’ lack of knowledge and restricted access to pricing info. The Internet has changed all that and retailers who do not price competitively will get found out.
Liquor City Claremont have a fantastic range of wines, actually. But they seem guilty of inflating prices of wines that have done well in competitions.