It has become almost unseemly to talk about drinking in January, but however many of us are doing dry January, it’s clear that the majority are not. We may be cutting back on the bills as well as the booze, though, so what I’m guessing you’re in need of right now are cheap reds.
They’re thinner on the ground than they were back in November and December, when all the retailers seemed to have an across-the-board promotion if they could tempt you into buying six bottles; it does make me wonder how much prices have been pushed up since to make up for that, especially in smaller outlets. Marks & Spencer is open about the fact that its wines are more expensive in shops that are run as a franchise, but that varies from product to product, a spokesperson told me: “For example, a certain wine could be 25p more in a station, but 50p more in a BP petrol garage.” Similarly, the Co-op sometimes quotes a higher price online than it does in store (which I’d argue is better than the other way around).
