Meridian on sale at VonsSafeway

says...

Ah, Meridian. Many years ago, it was the Chardonnay that got me into whites, though the years of my wife's attempts might have also played a role. In the first "Slammer Whites of Summer" drink-off at our house, it won the coveted breastle of "Slammer of the year." Back then, the upper price-point cut was ~US$ 5-btl. It was subsequently replaced the next year, but I can't recall who that winner was. Now, the pp has climbed quite a bit, but it would be interesting to see how their newer Reserve offering might fare. I have never tried their PN, but will keep an eye out, as Safeway has a big presence in AZ. When I see their wines on restaurant wine lists these days, they are marked up ~500%, so doesn't get such a hefty markup.

An aside, why do restaurants use a sliding scale of markup for wines (perhaps a gross over-generalization here) with less expensive wines being hit with MAJOR markups, and more expensive (at wholesale) wines seeing a much more equitable markup? Even in by-the-glbutt selections, it is not uncommon to have a glbutt of less-expensive wine priced at 200% of wholesale-btl for one glbutt! When I first came to AZ, a tony little wine bar in an upscale shopping area touted Lindeman's Bin 65(?) Chard, at US$25-glbutt. Heck, a btl was only US$4. 99, and this was 7 years ago. I'd think that a constant markup of say 200% would work better, Some wine lists are starting to go with the +US$10-btl on retail, as their pricing. Most seem to be making the same profit and selling one heck of a lot more wine with their meals.

Hunt