IT is with dismay I read the news that the French and Italians are disposing of surplus wine stocks, because when you visit our local retail outlets there is no decent choice of either, unless of course you are prepared to pay more than £5.

I am referring to local discount outlets where typically the choice is dominated by blended new world sulphide-enriched offerings, which usually taste like old floorboards soaked in Ribena, and where the two or three French bottles on the shelves comprise of blended rubbish.

So it is little wonder that the average punter, unless enlightened to the way wine should taste, opts for Aussie or other new world blends.

Anyone who has visited France will know that for less than five euros and for as little as three euros a very drinkable, usually chateau bottled wine, can be bought

The English are getting ripped off by greedy suppliers who care more about turnover than quality, the trouble is I fear that many of them don't even realise it, but they are the main protagonists of this situation.

Why do we continue to import wine from thousands of miles away when a decent quality product is available just across the channel?

And why does the same bottle of wine in France cost three to four times more in the UK?

BERRY