Le Monde

Restaurants, wine is the lure.

[…] Louis PRIVAT, creator of les Grands Buffets in Narbonne, has his own original take on the issue of wine prices, " the high price sometimes makes customers believe that the wine is top range. They are often disappointed ", he explains.

His solution : a formula of 32.90 euros for the self service buffet. A fixed price so that the price of wine remains "fair" according to the owner. " The restaurateur always makes out that it is possible to eat at rock bottom prices and then puts the mark-up on the wine. However this system devalues his basic profession ".

In order to distinguish himself from his peers, Louis Privat has therefore decided to stop practising coefficient 3, the margin the most commonly applied to wines in order to offer them at cost price. A success : as consumption of wine has notoriously diminished in France in recent years, at the restaurant and at home, Louis Privat claims that at his restaurant " consumption has not dropped ". Quite the opposite, the wine cellar cost price has caused it to rise by 50%. Therefore I can say that the average amount consumed per adult diner is 18 cl. ».

From 2008 wine has been sold either by the glass or the bottle. And if wished, the customer can also buy to take away. Louis Privat therefore functions as a wine seller with a choice of regional wines which is confined to 70 varieties.

And some excellent bargains such as a Atal Sia 2010 d’Ollieux-Romanis,  sold at 18 euros the bottle and 3.50 euros the glass.  Or the cuvée Vieilles Vignes du Clos des Fées 2009 (côtes du Roussillon) offered at 29 euros the bottle and 4.70  euros the glass. [...]