What exactly is the difference between expensive and inexpensive wine?
After hearing stories about cheaper wines allegedly fooling experts on a regular basis – much to the delight of journalists looking for schadenfreude – you'd be forgiven for wondering what the true difference between expensive wine and cheap wine is, if there is even a distinction between the two at all.
What is it that causes the price of one bottle of wine to rise while the price of another bottle of wine remains stable? Is it always true that money correlates to superior quality? This voyage into the world of winemaking will help you better understand the elements that influence the price of a bottle of wine. We hope you enjoy the tour!
Positioning, positioning, and yet another round of positioning
Many of the reasons that contribute to the increase in the price of a bottle may be discovered in nature or in history books. The location of the vineyard – both geographically and in terms of appellation – is one of the most important elements to consider (the legally-defined region in which the grapes are grown).
The AOC La Tache from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti is a high-end AOC with a high price tag.
The visit to the Domaine de la Romanée-Conti by Matthew and Mirela was a success.
For example, a hectare of grapes planted inside the Champagne authorised growing region may be worth a million euros under the right circumstances. Outside of the country, the costs are around €4,000. Vineyards such as the Domaine de La Romanée-Conti in Burgundy and the Clos St.-Jacques of Bollinger in Champagne are so highly sought after that wine produced there may fetch exorbitant prices for its producers.
Having arrived to Clos St. Jacques, Matthew is overjoyed!
In many cases, even if the vineyard owner does not have a significant financial investment to recoup, a vineyard that is fortunate enough to have soil and climate that are suited for the grapes it is growing may charge a premium for the higher-quality fruit that is used to make their wine.
Vineyards with a low yield
The amount of grape clusters seeded is often reduced by growers in order to increase the flavour of the grape clusters that do develop. Aged vines naturally yield less grapes than younger vines. Fewer grapes equal less wine, and if the winemaker performs his or her job effectively, there will be insufficient wine to go around, driving up the price! Supply and demand are ultimately the determining factors (with a little psychology, too.)
Unique items, such as champagne that has been salvaged from the ocean's depths and has been aged for 100 years, would command exorbitant rates. Quality was secondary at the time, and quantity was more important.
Vintners that specialise in producing lower-priced wines cannot afford to limit their expansion. If they want to charge less, they must pick as many grapes from their vines as possible, which may result in flavours that are less robust or subtle. Even though this isn't always a negative thing, it does show that drinking less costly wines while they're still young often pays off.
Natural sweetness vs. sugared sweetness: which is better?
In order to improve the flavour of low-cost bottles, winemakers will employ residual sugar. This stops the natural sugars in the grapes from being completely converted to alcohol, thereby keeping a certain sweetness and intensity in the wine. The presence of this characteristic is uncommon in more costly wines created from concentrated, high-quality grapes.
Putting money into the past Wines from certain regions might command a greater price than those from other regions because of the heritage and history of their appellation. The higher an appellation is ranked in the hierarchy of its region, the more costly the wine produced within. When it comes to wines from the Rhône Valley, those from the Hermitage AOC may cost hundreds of pounds, whilst those from the larger Crozes-Hermitage AOC can be purchased for less than £20 on occasion. Although the reputation and legacy of a region are generally associated with the quality of the wine produced there, this is not always the case. To put it another way, this is why winemakers choose gorgeous chateaux to include on their labels, even if the wine was produced in a factory near a motorway.
Barrels and storage tanks
The material used in the fermentation and ageing processes of a wine is one of the most important variables in deciding the price of a particular bottle of wine.
Traditional oak is a high-priced material.
Because of the appealingness of oaky flavours, many of the best-reviewed wines are often matured in new oak barrels. It's easy to see how absurd the expenses for the builder might become when you realise that one 80-year-old oak tree can provide enough wood for just two barrels of wine. Several of the world's most costly wines have been matured in oak barrels for a number of years. A new French barrique may cost more than £700 and store only around 300 bottles of wine, making it an expensive investment. Every bottle of wine produced or matured in new barrels represents a significant financial investment.
Alternatives to oak that are less expensive
Wood, on the other hand, may not necessarily indicate a higher level of quality in a wine. As a result of the emergence of less expensive and more consistent alternatives, the status quo is being threatened. Steel fermentation tanks are popular because they produce wines that are fresh and energetic, however some critics believe that the results may be sterile and harsh as a consequence of a lack of air exposure during the fermentation process.
A central position is occupied by concrete tanks, which are covered with small pores that trap air and enable the wine to come into touch with oxygen, but which do not give flavour to the final product in the same way that oak does. They have the look of a modernised version of the ancient wine amphora, which is what they are. In comparison to oak barrels, steel and concrete fermentation and maturation containers are much less expensive, and the resulting wines are often less expensive than wood-fermented alternatives.
Domaine de Chevalier, which produces wines in the 'luxury' category, has just purchased 10 concrete tanks to accommodate their growing needs.
Time and technique are important considerations.
As a result of the richness and intensity of the grapes used in their production, more expensive wines generally benefit from ageing more than less expensive wines. The expense of storing and monitoring wine barrels might be prohibitive, particularly if the ageing process takes many decades. You could anticipate to spend an additional pound for each year that the bottle of wine is matured in the barrel, according to Wine Folly.
When it comes to harvesting, manual picking is preferable than machine picking.
Grapes must be removed from their vines before anybody can even consider the possibility of ageing them. There is a great deal of discussion over the effects of machine vs hand picking, but the most common critique is that robots are too harsh and cannot check for quality as well as humans. Jamie Kutch, owner of Kutch Wines, is a machine sceptic:
Damaged or broken fruit adds to oxidation, aromatic browning, and bacterial development, according to the USDA.
Clippers are used to make a clean cut through the stem.
While hand-clipping grape bunches from the vine is healthier for the grapes, it is more costly – around three times the cost of engaging a motorised harvester – than using a motorised harvester.
A few wineries are compelled to use hand harvesting due to the steep, difficult-to-navigate terrain of their vineyards, while others choose to forego technology in order to produce organic or biodynamic wine, and still others use a hybrid approach and reserve hand harvesting for their most prestigious wines. Whatever the rationale, the final result is generally a more costly completed product as a result of the process. It is getting increasingly difficult to assess the influence on wine quality as harvesting equipment improves, however, as technology advances.
The tax collector has been summoned.
Tax, as one would expect, plays a role in determining the cost of a bottle of wine. Residents of the United Kingdom may anticipate to pay an additional £2 per bottle on top of the 20 percent VAT charged. What does this signify in terms of the overall quality of the wine? If you buy a bottle of wine for less than £8 in the United Kingdom, the price is nearly completely made up of profit margin, tax, and bottle expenses, with little little left over to pay for the grapes and wine.
However, this does not rule out finding decent wines for less than £8; however, you will have to seek a little harder for them, and there is an argument that higher-priced wines are really better value when it comes to the winemaking process.
What exactly is the difference between expensive and inexpensive wine?
Excellent wines are readily available at affordable costs, and there is a wide selection to choose from. A study of 6,000 blind tastings published in the Journal of Wine Economics found that there is no statistically significant association between high price and wine ratings, and that most consumers prefer less costly wines.
Jancis Robinson made the following observation, which is worth repeating in light of the high price of wine these days:
As the author points out, 'far too many wines are merely priced by marketing professionals or those wanting to create or keep a reputation, rather than by wine connoisseurs,' as opposed to individuals who like drinking wine.
After hearing Jancis' warning, you may now be more aware of what goes into a bottle of wine and what contributes to the rise in wine costs. It's sometimes about quality, sometimes about rarity, sometimes about technique, and sometimes (rarely) about a combination of all of these factors.
