If you’ve ever wondered what a $1 bottle of wine tastes like, look no further than an independent bottle shop in Melbourne’s northwest.
Until stocks last, Anthony Bongiovanni is selling bottles of unbranded chardonnay for less than the price of a litre of milk at his Pop-Up Wine Shop in Essendon.
He says while business is the toughest it’s ever been, with fewer people having enough disposable income to spend on alcohol, he was happy to sell the wine for a dirt-cheap price to “help the community”.
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“A lot of people can hardly afford their groceries so I thought I’d give them an opportunity to get wine at a $1 a bottle,” Bongiovanni said.
Bongiovanni has purchased 25,000 bottles of the NSW-produced wine, with an alcohol content of 12.5 per cent, to offer at a cut-price to his customers.
The sales tactic isn’t new for the Bongiovanni family, with Anthony’s father Sam — who has been in the liquor business for 46 years — offering bottles of wine for 99c at his Preston Market store back in 2017.
The bottles flew off the shelf, he said, with the business selling 46,000 bottles in seven weeks.
“We couldn’t keep up with it … people came from everywhere, all over Melbourne actually,” he said.
For these reasons, Sam was quick to jump onboard when his son came to him for help bringing back the epic deal.
And he said the 1c price rise in seven years is worth it, with the wine on offer this time around much better quality.
“It’s very drinkable,” Sam said.
“It’s got that caramel flavour to it and a bit (of a) buttery taste to it which a lot of people enjoy.
“It’s really worth purchasing.”
The deal is limited to two dozen bottles of $1 wine per customer.
Sam said he expects stock to sell within a matter of weeks so urged any interested parties to “get in quick”.
“It won’t last forever,” he said.