Tesco introduces £100 bottle of wine

Tesco now sells Britain's most expensive supermarket wine, costing£100 a bottle, following an increase in demand for the pricier bottle.

The retailer said it needs to stock the£99.99 Australian red to cater for the UK's more expensive tastes.

Sales of bottles of wine costing more than£10 have soared 74 per cent in the past two years. Demand for books about wine has rocketed 125 per cent, compared with 2005, while wine rack sales have also risen 55 per cent in the past two years.

Tesco beer, wine and spirits category manager Jason Godley said: 'This would never have happened in a British supermarket even a few years ago. It suggests that Brits are fast shaking their reputation, especially with our European neighbours, as a nation of plonk drinkers.'

The£100 1999 Penfolds Grange bottle is made from the Shiraz grape and a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. It is on sale at selected stores where there is demand.