'Racket' in restaurant wine prices

Fewer than 10 per cent of restaurants have reduced the price of foreign wine since levies were removed last May, according to a report in the Eating and Drinking Guide issued with The Times today.

Importers told the guide some restaurateurs were requesting wines that were not available in the supermarkets so diners would not be able to compare prices.

In spite of a levy reduction averaging Lm1.06 per bottle, restaurants are still selling Lm1.50 bottles for Lm5.50 and Lm3.50 bottles for Lm12.

One importer said: "We are having to extend our portfolio so clients won't know the real price of the wine they are ordering... it is a big racket."

Yet one leading restaurant that cut its prices by 20 per cent has seen sales of wine by the glass increase by 150 per cent and the flow of champagne has never been so good.

The new quarterly Eating and Drinking Guide also contains a dinner with the magazine's resident chef, features on traditional as well as modern eating places, recipes, and information spots on world cuisine.

The Eating and Drinking Guide is produced by Mediamaker, a subsidiary of the Allied Group.