Comments on: Vinonomics: The Mouton Cadet Index

By: Richard Hemming

Richard Hemming — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:40:26 +0000

Thanks for the comments all, and thanks also to Mike for the original blog post. My vinonomics table is very much a work in progress, and the eventual aim is to include tax data for all countries to provide a comprehensive reference. As for which price to list, again the ideal answer would be an average across all retail outlets, but that will have to come with time!

Stayingfortea – thanks for the Colombian price information. If anyone else notices the price of Mouton Cadet in their market, you can post it here and I will be sure to make use of it.

By: Captain Blue

Captain Blue — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:06:26 +0000

In my opinion taxes make up too much of a percent of this wines price to make this study useful unless taxes are netted out. I would be more interested in seeing this type of comparison for bulk wines versus medium range versus high end stuff. Also, as stayingfor tea mentioned, what price? The discounted price? Full price?

My experience is the higher priced stuff has so much room for price manipulation that taxes are irrelevant and the price is managed like any luxury good. Luxury good also are rarely discounted which helps in comparisons.

By: stayingfortea

stayingfortea — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:56:42 +0000

Here in Colombia, the wine culture is relatively new, but quite strong. Offering a pretty decent selection of wine from Chile, Argentina, Italy, Spain, France, and the US. The 2005 MC is priced at about $27, except on Fridays when all the wine at a major supermarket chain is 20% off, making the price that anyone with a bit of patience or foresight actually pays for it about $21.50.

BTW, I would have shared this directly with Hemming, but I not ready to pay for access to Jancis Robinson’s website, which is required to access the article you referred to and leave comments. In terms of adverse exchange rates, at $9/month I’d have to exchange my mid-week bottle of MC wine for 4 months of access to information about that wine.

By: Allan Sapp

Allan Sapp — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 17:51:28 +0000

I think the Brazil question is really fairly basic. The biggest factor is the import duties starting at 20% plus some small “Merchandise Processing Fees” and “Harbor Maintenance Fees”. Then comes the obligatory bribes to get your container out of the port and into the supply chain.

The other part of the equation is the large quantities of good quality (and really cheap) South American wine available in the Brazil market. The customer has many choices in Brazil of better wine at cheaper prices so one would expect the French wines to be priced at a premium to their actual quality. Anybody who buys a ‘fancy’ European import is trying to impress those to whom it will be served.

By: Christian Miller

Christian Miller — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:51:09 +0000

This is a fun idea! I was hoping that the Mouton Cadet index might provide a shorthand for comparing tax and distribution costs, but the high price in France dissuades me. Chain buyers in France have nearly as ruthless a reputation as the UK for pummeling supplier prices, so the Mouton Cadet price seems like an anomaly there.

By: Björn W

Björn W — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:16:28 +0000

A major factor in wine prices in many countries is the tax on alcohol. In Sweden for instance, a bottle of wine has roughly 2 EUR added in alcohol tax, and on top 25 % VAT.

Somewhat surprising is that Sweden’s monopoly Systembolaget are able to sell the MC for less than 9 EUR. When taxes are removed, the calculation comes out that they sell each bottle for somewhere in the range of 5 to 5,5 EUR, and that’s _including_ their markup. Goes to show what a large buyer can do with prices…