It’s the price, stupid

When wine goes premium, everything goes bonkers

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The week in Provence had begun shakily and as the complications rolled on, I just wanted to eat a nice, menu de midi at a pleasant, normal restaurant. No emulsions, no deconstructions, no petit fours, no giant plates with tiny scoops of things. Just regular, local food, please… sans pince à épiler.

I had a tasting scheduled in Tavel—home of Serious Rosés—and I found what seemed to be the perfect option with 19€ set menu. The server (who I assume was the wife of the chef given her ‘eccentric’ nature) asked if I wanted any wine to drink with the meal. The rain had stopped that morning and the sun was wondrous, lighting up a verdant spring in all its glory. While I usually drink very little if at all while on research trips, I thought, “When in Tavel, one should most definitely drink the Anti-Provence.” and I ordered a half bottle without much thought.

It arrived and met all my expectations, pulsating in that wondrous un-red but also un-onion skin color, the the latter of which it seems all rosés want to emulate these days. One sip reminded me as to why should all be drinking a lot more Tavel (MTGA?) in that it’s a truly wonderful wine that’s the best of all worlds: rich and textured on the palate like a red, acidity of a fine white, aromatics of a rosé and more than that, generally well-priced for what ends up in your glass.

The bill came and I was literally enraged to find that the wine, a half bottle of Tavel in Tavel, was 17€. It was admittedly my own stupidity for not verifying the price before receiving the bottle, but there was no wine list given when ordering and I’d glanced at their wine list online which has the full bottle listed at 23€. Also, as is usually the case when in wine regions, I’d assumed it was some local wine that would be affordable and pleasing.

Well… it definitely can be affordable, if you buy it directly from the cooperative of Les Vignerons de Tavel & Lirac where a full bottle cost 9.40€. I’d been charged 17€ for a half bottle. In case you’re wondering, the full bottle at the restaurant cost a whopping 32.50€.

The last time I’d been scammed like this was by a taxi driver in Kyiv who’d kept the doors locked at the airport until I paid his invented price. That a family-run restaurant in a nice village in Southern France was committing a scam of similar incredulities, was insulting.

I argued with the server about it and suddenly her accepting-of-my-mistakes French vanished and she had no clue what I was talking about and acted very dumb. It was a very stupid thing to do as the restaurant wasn’t full by any means and it’s clear they’re trying to pull in a bit more money by vastly overcharging for the wines. Even if I was to ever go back, would I order wine? Never and as anyone reading this knows, I love wine.

Punch the golden goose and kill it too

According to an average of sources, there was a 15% drop in wines sales in restaurants in 2025 and while this will vary per region, it sounds more or less on point given the panic across the industry. This is justified but everyone is looking to external sources as to the cause. At trade fairs you hear that it’s due to people wanting to be healthier post-pandemic or newer generations not drinking wine or Ozempic jabs, etc.