Why you can expect to pay more for your favourite wine

Warning. Wine lovers can expect to start paying more for their favourite bottle of wine.

And the price increase is coming sooner, rather than later.

You can blame Vladimir Putin and his Russian nutters for that news.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led to a surge in energy prices that are being passed on to the cost of wine industry supplies across the board, wine industry info site Vitisphere reports.

"With such sudden variations in prices and availability, 'we live from day to day'," says Philippe Cazaux, director of the Bordeaux Families co-operative group, which farms 5,000 hectares of vines, has 300 member growers and represents 10% of AOC Bordeaux.

He sums up the current situation: “We are extending deadlines and increasing costs: the people organising the bottling have turned into raw material suppliers.”

Pressure on supplies has led to “a very, very challenging time, which I've never experienced for dry goods,” says Pierre Cohen, managing director of Cellier des Princes in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Reporting increases ranging from 20 to 45% on bottles and boxes, Cohen also quotes supply delays of up to 25 weeks for capsules: The price for glass bottles is up 20% on this time last year. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has brought about “a lot of volatility and unpredictability”, says Jacques Bordat, president of the Federation of Glass Industries.

With oil prices surging 70% in the past year and transport costs rising; barrels, bottles cases, wine labels and capsules are all more expensive. 

Neville Yates, who imports high-end European wines into Australia for Eurocentric, says freight from Europe to Australia has doubled in price, too, but that was because of Covid. 

Add in a small 2021 harvest and domaine prices are up, supply down.

That is bad news all round for wine lovers.

Image: Emmanuele Latturolo on Scopio