Why are some bottles of wine so expensive?

bobcat

bobcat

Well-known Member
Location
Northern Calif
Maybe it's just lost on my unrefined palette, but often I am shocked by what some will pay for a bottle of wine. Sometimes I don't know if it's just a pretentious thing or if there really is that much of a difference to warrant the price. I'm sure a wine connoisseur would just roll their eyes and banish me from the refined taste club, but that's life.

I barely know a Merlot from a Malbec, and I don't swirl and sniff before I take a sip. All I know is what suits my taste. Getting back to the question though, I still don't get why prices can be so vastly different. There must be reasons why people will pay $100 to $200 and more just for a bottle.
 

I know nothing about wine but I have had some great times in my life drinking Boone Farms Strawberry Hill wine as well as great times drinking a pricey and a bit more pretentious Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Drink what tastes good, with people that you like, and everything will be fine. 😉🤭😂

“Price is no indication of value.”
 

I'm far from an oenophile and don't touch any alcoholic beverages. The best wines in the world would probably taste like cough medicine mixed with vinegar to me. I did taste some wines that I liked decades ago like lambrusco. I have no idea what wine costs these days.
 
I had a neighbor who I used to do a lot of handyman work for, and in addition to paying me, he would give me a bottle of his home made wine. He had a small temperature-controlled shed where he had several barrels aging. He would buy grapes from a vineyard, have them pressed, and then he would take it from there. I don't remember the type, but I will tell you this; It was the best red I have ever tasted. It was rich, full bodied, and was a joy to drink. He didn't sell it. He just did it for his own enjoyment and it was better than anything you could buy.
 
Expensive wine is a result of a combination of factors including high production costs like low yields, manual harvesting, expensive oak barrels, long time ageing, reputation, market forces, supply and demand and branding.
Additionally, luxury packaging and marketing, awards from critics, and the perceived value associated with a famous or a highly-rated bottle. Snobbery in other words, all of which, contribute to an artificially inflated price.
You can always tell a wine snob, someone who can't evaluate by the aroma of the wine, so they just sip it and say, interesting and for extra snobbery points they will say, expressive.
 
horseless carriage said:
Expensive wine is a result of a combination of factors including high production costs like low yields, manual harvesting, expensive oak barrels, long time ageing, reputation, market forces, supply and demand and branding.
Additionally, luxury packaging and marketing, awards from critics, and the perceived value associated with a famous or a highly-rated bottle. Snobbery in other words, all of which, contribute to an artificially inflated price.
You can always tell a wine snob, someone who can't evaluate by the aroma of the wine, so they just sip it and say, interesting and for extra snobbery points they will say, expressive.
Click to expand...
Good, informative post.
 
I don't doubt that a $200 wine is better than a $20 wine, but I don't believe it's that much better. Of course how much better is "that much better" is a judgement call. I also think there is snobbery involve. A lot of snobbery.
 
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