Hunt treats not bargains this Easter

FORGET Easter Eggs this weekend, how about splashing out on a couple of nice wines for yourself? After all, the long Bank Holiday weekend is the ideal time to get together with friends and family for a catch-up over a glass or two of something special.

- Matt Nixson

The wine trade is acutely aware of the importance of price, but a combination of increases in everything from tax to transportation costs has led costs to creep up over the past few years. The days when you could get a great bottle for a fiver, or thereabouts, are receding in the rearview mirror.

Not that there aren't still deals to be had, but there's no doubt consumers are being forced to spend more.

However, I'm firmly of the belief that, every once in a while, you should spoil yourself. But while we'll often pay over the odds in a pub (£7 a glass, anyone?), we balk at spending more than a tenner on a bottle to drink at home.

Stranger still, we'll happily pay even more for a bottle if we're dining out, with prices of £30 to £40 commonplace.