Why does wine cost what it does?

[Craig Camp]

Why does wine cost what it does?

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[Ron Johnson]

Just read this article by Hesser. I especially loved this line: "Once a wine is made, it must be aged in oak barrels"

[Rail Paul]

I thought this article was much better than the Wine Spectator article on the same subject.

Some of the NYT is obvious (scarce wine is often expensive), but marketing plays a huge role. A business host will NOT select an expensive wine she's never heard of unless there's a very credible sommelier pushing it. Name recognition is huge, and that costs money, lots of it.

WS seemed to lump the middleman's cut as profit, while NYT correctly notes the distributor provides much of the marketing muscle for other than celebrity wines. I was also impressed with the frankness that some wine makers select a price almost arbitrarily.

Although not intended as such, the NYT makes a good case for direct shipping as a life saver for smaller wineries.

[Ron Johnson]

I thought this article was much better than the Wine Spectator article on the same subject.

I agree. Hesser did her homework. Would have been more interesting to include a section on the Bordelais and how the negociants influence price.

[Stone]

Some of the NYT is obvious (scarce wine is often expensive), but marketing plays a huge role. A business host will NOT select an expensive wine she's never heard of unless there's a very credible sommelier pushing it. Name recognition is huge, and that costs money, lots of it.

Are you suggesting that price is determined by something other than the market segment made up of experts who would agree on the objective value of each wine in a blind taste test?