Great Wine Costs at Least $100

[Craig Camp]

Once a wine gets serious attention from the press the inexorable string of price increases begin as the producer (or importer) reaches for that magic $100 a bottle price point. There is more than profit motive going on here. Ego and the desire to be recognized is a major factor. This is why even a new wines are released at extremely high price points. Winery owners are driven to have their wine be more expensive than their neighbors. After all they reason, my wine is at least as good as theirs. This ego combined with a good health profit motive continues to drive more and more wine over the $100 threshold.

Does a wine have to cost over $100 a bottle to be a member of the great wine club?

Should anyone buy wines that are over $100 a bottle when there are so many outstanding wines that sell for less? What the point?

[John Whiting]

Do those who buy regularly in both France and America feel there is any difference in this respect?

[Boris_A]

Should anyone buy wines that are over $100 a bottle when there are so many outstanding wines that sell for less? What the point?

Some Alasatian VTs, SGNs and German BAs, TBAs carry the ~ $100 tag with certain justification: production cost is eyxtremely high. In that sense, you get adaequate wine for the money. I pay sometimes such a price, because I love the chracteristics of those wines and I don't know of a true second source.

As for dry reds, I think with a limit of $40-50 you can still buy top wine in almost every region of this world. Maybe not the the most respected labels, but then in a blind comparison you just don't see the etiquette.

The quality differences are so small IMHO, that parameters like personal preference, aging, consuming context (not tasting! context) and so on are more influental to perception than the the quality of the raw material. But I have to confess, together with friends we did buy some Vegas, Giacosas and the like.

[Phil Ward]

I think most posters, here, would agree that one does not have to pay $100 or + to get a great bottle of wine. Certainly, if you want/need the top Bordeaux/Burgs/Cult Cabs, etc., then you will certainly pay over $100.

Personally, my days of overpaying are done. Do I miss the opportunity to have these great wines in my cellar? Maybe. But then I look around my cellar and see the Rhone/Spanish/Italian/CA/Australian, etc wines that I bought two to three bottes of that are equivalent to $100 and I know that I will probably get as much or more enjoyment from those bottles as I would have from just one bottle of Chateau/Domaine .....

Just my $.02

Phil

[Andre]

The question is very complex so I may answer on several levels.

Positve:

1. 100$ bottle wines have an existing niche that needs to be filled one way or the other.

2. These are usually far from every day wines in terms of character and complexity - with a 100$ price tag they may earn more respect in the mass market.

3. This may promote the image of wine as a whole - Is this the best of what the famous wine world has to offer? So let's give it a proper price tag.

4. Like any other item in the market there should be a relationship between price and expectations.

Against:

1. Overpriced wines is lead by short term thinking in relation to daily wine consumption.

2.High prices may result in unsold stocks - a growing phenomena with little you can do about it but sell under a dif. label or clean-skin.

3. This may hurt the image of a winery as a value for money wine producer.

4. This may aggrivate number 1 : the customer who may decide he is not willing to spend that kind of money.

5. Newcomers may not be able to play with the big boys and it is a cruel world out there.

[docsconz]

I will occassionally buy very expensive wines to fill a particular niche in my cellar, but I am no longer interested in buying wines "just because". There are now a number of wines that I used to buy that have priced themselves out of my interest, including most of the high-end california cabs. There is almost no california wine that I will pay that amount for now. It is funny, but that $100 price point has become a sort of barrier of principle. While I might spend for a wine at $90, I am less likely to at $100. I can see these prices more for rare wines or wines that are really in high demand, but a lot of these wines (e.g. Phelps Insignia) are neither particularly rare or have demand proportional to the price. I'm not saying that it isn't excellent wine. It usually is. I just don't buy it anymore.

[Florida Jim]

Does a wine have to cost over $100 a bottle to be a member of the great wine club?

Should anyone buy wines that are over $100 a bottle when there are so many outstanding wines that sell for less? What the point?

Craig,

There are great wines at all price points. I have had $10 bottles I much preferred to those at $250. I do not believe there is any correlation, other than marketing, between price and quality; definitely not quality.

Many folks disagree with me on this last comment. Nonetheless, I continue to make it; 'glutton for punishment

People "should" buy whatever they want and can reasonably afford. I have no problem with folks that charge $100 and up for their wine, they just won't be getting my money. I have no problem with folks paying big money for wine, I can't.

For me personally, there are lots of other things in my life that are more important to me and that is where I put my disposable cash. But that is just my choice, based on my beliefs and I am not in charge.

BTW, these days my "break" point is $20; if I pay more than $20 a bottle, it is a rare moment.

Best, Jim

[naguere]

No wine is worth more that $30, but to drink some wines , you just have to pay more.

[tanabutler]

BTW, these days my "break" point is $20; if I pay more than $20 a bottle, it is a rare moment.

Best, Jim

Florida Jim,

I love all your posts: they're so colorful and sensual. I would love it if you would compile some kind of list, however detailed or exhaustive, of wines under $20 you recommend wholeheartedly.

I bet others here agree.

Thanks, buddy.

[balex]

I'd agree with that, but every once in a while you like a particular sort of wine and you want to try a particularly fine example. I mean if you like Merlot based wines, then sooner or later you are going to want to try a top Merlot wine, just to see what that it is capable of. Out of curiosity. And that, whether it is Petrus or Masseto is going to cost you at least $100. At least that's what happens to me.

[Boris_A]

I do not believe there is any correlation, other than marketing, between price and quality; definitely not quality.

After visiting a decent number of cellars, I came to the conclusion that in most cases pricing within a producers range are positively correlating with quality.

For example. most of the time, a $20 "Village" Burgundy is inferior to a $40 premier cru or to a $100+ grand cru.

I don't' say the $40 or the $100 are necessarily worth the price, but the vertical quality hierarchy is mirrored there.

In other words: these guys are just as smart as I am.

[vserna]

No wine is worth more that $30, but to drink some wines , you just have to pay more.

It costs a lot more than $30 to produce a bottle of Château d'Yquem, what with the huge cost of its labor-intensive viticulture yielding a glass of wine per vine, and that after five or six 'tries' or separate pickings. Ditto for the greatest Trockenbeerenauslesen or Eisweine. Otherwise, there is a thing called 'the market', and if there is demand of some wines at some price points, the market rules. It doesn't cost more to build a Mercedes than an Audi, but for equally sized cars the Mercedes will always be more expensive: the market!

[winesonoma]

I live in the California wine country and I make wine. What determines price seems to be the price per ton of grapes, and how much profit you expect to make. Barrel price i.e. $800 for French oak is the same whatever kind of wine your making. Cellar cost's are the same unless your storing it longer. Some wineries trade upon their reputation and that sets the price. I remember when a good cabernet was $25. You charge what the market will bear.

By the way my 900sq ft tract house is worth $450,000 so land prices do come into play.

[Craig Camp]

I live in the California wine country and I make wine. What determines price seems to be the price per ton of grapes, and how much profit you expect to make. Barrel price i.e. $800 for French oak is the same whatever kind of wine your making. Cellar cost's are the same unless your storing it longer. Some wineries trade upon their reputation and that sets the price. I remember when a good cabernet was $25. You charge what the market will bear.

By the way my 900sq ft tract house is worth $450,000 so land prices do come into play.

Don't forget the cost of the $20 million "show" winery that so many wineries build in California. That adds a bit to the cost of the bottle.

Perhaps no place in the world has such arbitrary price policy as Napa and gets away with it.

[Craig Camp]

No wine is worth more that $30, but to drink some wines , you just have to pay more.

It costs a lot more than $30 to produce a bottle of Château d'Yquem, what with the huge cost of its labor-intensive viticulture yielding a glass of wine per vine, and that after five or six 'tries' or separate pickings. Ditto for the greatest Trockenbeerenauslesen or Eisweine. Otherwise, there is a thing called 'the market', and if there is demand of some wines at some price points, the market rules. It doesn't cost more to build a Mercedes than an Audi, but for equally sized cars the Mercedes will always be more expensive: the market!

Victor and Boris_A are, of course, quite right here. There are certain great dessert wines that cost far more to produce than dry wines.

But then again you have great dessert Sherry from ancient soleras selling for well under $50. The cost of production is high here also because of the extended aging and the work intensive solera system.

[cbarre02]

Just got done watching the Academy Awards. The actors and actresses getting paid 20 million a film where plastered all over the place. You see their films, they make you laugh, they make you cry, they make you sad, they make you think, and they make you believe. The other day I went to a local stage production, a beautiful actress made me think, she made me sad, and she made me believe... Why isn't she worth 20 million a film?

Was it just because I thought she was great, or only a few people thought she was great? And do the big stars make more because... everyone thinks there great? Could this just be a simple picture of price and demand?

Edited March 1, 2004 by cbarre02 (log)

[Brad Ballinger]

I guess I'll never own a great wine. I've not paid more than $75 for any bottle of wine from a retailer or a restaurant. I've tasted some provided by generous friends. and maybe I have some that are now worth more than $100 even though I paid less. But I've been to too many informal tastings where the best wine enjoyed is rarely (if ever) the most expensive.

[GordonCooks]

Do all great wines cost 100.00 - No

Can a great wine cost 100.00 - Yes

Tis true excellent wines can be a had for much less than the century mark but a remarkable bottle is a wonderful way to mark an occasion.

Par example: The 1986 Dom Perignon Brut Rose marking my engagement, the 1982 Latour marking my legal seperation, and the Krug Grand Cuvee marking my second engagement, etc