Buying · four channels compared
Wine merchant, wine shop, supermarket or producer: where to buy the wine for 100 guests?
Four ways to buy a hundred bottles, and none of them wins on everything. This page compares them on what matters for an event: price, choice, delivery to the venue, advice, the chance to taste first, returns and the invoice. It is written by a wine merchant (négociant), and it says where the merchant loses.
The table
For a hundred bottles of Bordeaux, cru bourgeois level, delivered to a venue in the Gironde or elsewhere in France. The boxes change with the volume: for twelve bottles, read the next section.
| Criterion | Wine merchant | Wine shop | Supermarket | Direct from the producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price for 100 btl | Sliding scale, wholesale price from two cases | Shop price, 5–10% discount by negotiation | Cheapest at entry level, especially during wine fairs | Estate price, often good; no volume discount from small producers |
| Choice | Every appellation, several vintages, second wines, old years | A selection, often good, sometimes beyond Bordeaux | Wide in generics, thin in classified growths and vintages | A single estate, two or three cuvées |
| Delivery to the venue | Yes, parcel or pallet, on an agreed date | Sometimes, locally, in the van | No; you carry it | Rarely beyond the département |
| Advice on quantities | Yes, it is the job; online tools | Yes, face to face | No | On their own wine, yes; on the day as a whole, no |
| Tasting first | Samples on request, tasting in Bordeaux | Yes, in the shop | No, except at wine-fair tastings | Yes, in the cellar, with the visit |
| Taking back unsold wine | No, not with us; rare elsewhere | Sometimes, unopened cases, locally | No | No |
| Invoice, VAT, business payment | Yes, quote, invoice, business payment terms | Receipt or simple invoice | Receipt | Invoice, payment with the order |
| Useful minimum | About twenty bottles | One bottle | One bottle | Six to twelve depending on the estate |
Where the wine merchant loses
- Under twenty bottles. The sliding-scale price no longer makes up for delivery. The calculator says so itself: at that volume, your wine shop or supermarket is the right answer.
- To taste today. The wine shop opens a bottle at the counter; the merchant sends samples or sees you in Bordeaux by appointment. It is slower.
- For a single bottle. A gift, a dinner: the wine shop, no question.
- At entry level during wine fairs. On a €6 Bordeaux, the big retailers buy millions of bottles and sell at a loss or close to it. We can't match that, and we don't claim to.
- For the visit. The producer takes you into the cellar. It is a day out, a memory, and sometimes the wedding wine. A wine merchant doesn't replace that.
Where each channel wins
Buying direct from the producer wins when you want a single estate, you have been to see it, and it delivers to you or you go and collect. For a hundred bottles of the same wine, it is often the best price per litre, and the best story to tell on the menu. It loses when you need three different wines, a white and a sparkling, delivered to a venue 300 km away.
The wine shop wins on face-to-face advice, tasting the bottle first, being close by. It loses on price at a hundred bottles and on depth of choice in vintages.
The supermarket wins on the price of simple wines and on opening hours. It loses on everything else: nobody to tell you how much, nothing delivered, a choice of classified growths that depends on the store.
The wine merchant wins when you need several wines, several appellations, a specific or old vintage, delivery to the venue, an invoice, and someone who has already done a hundred weddings. The page buying wine in bulk as a private individual says from what volume it makes sense, and the delivery page what it costs to get the cases to the venue.
A word about wine shops themselves: many buy from a wine merchant. It is the same wine, two links further down the chain, with advice on top. The page wine for wine shops is written for them.
Does a wine merchant sell to private customers?
Yes. The wine trade was long reserved for professionals, but most houses now sell to private customers from a few cases, with an invoice and delivery. The price is the wholesale price, on a sliding scale per case, with no loyalty card or promotions.
Is the wine merchant's wine the same as the wine shop's?
Often, yes: the wine shop buys from a wine merchant or from the estate, and resells with its margin. What you pay extra there is for the advice, the open bottle, the shop. It isn't a different wine, it is a different service.
Is it cheaper to buy direct from the château?
For a single wine in quantity, sometimes. The big estates don't sell direct, or only at full price; the small ones sell well, but don't deliver far and only offer their own wine. For three wines, a sparkling and delivery to a venue, the wine merchant works out cheaper once everything is added up.
Can you taste before ordering from a wine merchant?
On request, with samples or a tasting in Bordeaux by appointment. It is slower than a wine shop, and the table says so plainly. For an order of a hundred bottles, it is worth the trip; for twelve, it isn't.