miles > wrote in :
>
> Supply, demand, income levels and the fact that restaurant prices are
> typically 2 to 3 times what the price would be from a wine store. Do
> restaurants in Europe have such markup?

In Spain, typical markup is 100% over wholesale price. Then add VAT. For
example, today I had a nice lunch at a new restaurant with an interesting
but small winelist (I hate huge winelists) and paid 12 euros + 7% VAT for a
bottle of Baltasar Gracián Viñas Viejas 2004, which is a wine comparable to
Las Rocas de San Alejandro Old Vines. Friday I had lunch at a One Michelin
Starred restaurant and had a bottle of Ernst Burn Clos St. Imer La Chapelle
2002 for 40 euros + 7% VAT.

In both cases, margin is about 100% over estimated wholesale price (which
is usually 15%-20% lower than retail). And they manage to use great
wineglasses (Schott in the first case, for an inexpensive wine, Riedel in
the second case).

S.