What Good Wine Costs

[mogsob]

The "best wine ever drunk" thread brought back a discussion I had with a friend some time ago about diminishing returns on wine after a certain price point.  My theory, is that you need to pay a certain price for an excellent wine, with proper balance, good fruit and structure, and enough terrior to make it interesting.

Today, I think that is $30-40 for red and $20-30 for white.  Certainly, there are excellent bottles at lower cost, but those are the exceptions and generally found in so-called "up and coming" regions (such as the Languedoc).  And, of course, you can pay more, but I believe that higher prices are due mostly to branding and limited supply.

That said, most of the "best" bottles mentioned in the earlier threat (including mine) named bottles that would cost well over $100 retail.

My question is this: would you bet your life that you would choose those "best" wines over a group of $35 wines?

[Jason Perlow]

This is why German wines are such an unbeleivable value. A $10 or a $15 reisling beats a 30 or 40 dollar chardonnay any day. Even some of their $6.99 qualatsweins are pretty decent.

And 30 or 40 dollar reislings? Wow.

[John Whiting]

Jason, I'm delighted to hear you say that. A few years ago when I was working regularly in Germany I always came back with the subfloor of my van loaded with cases of wine which I had bought directly from the vineyards, which I selected from the recommendations of the recognized authorities. When I tasted and selected, I ignored the figures in the right-hand column and bought whatever appealed to me. Relative to the entire list, some were expensive, some were cheap. The average I paid was less than five pounds a bottle and my wine bill for the trip never came to over a few hundred pounds, even when the allotted space was filled to capacity. If I had followed that practice in the Bordeaux or Burgundy regions I would have had to take out a second mortgage.

[Billy D]

Jason-

How do you make such a general statement like "a $10 or a $15 Riesling beats a 30 or 40 dollar Chardonnay any day"?  They are totally different and compliment totally different foods.  That is like saying a cold beer beats a martini any day.  

Mogsob-

I agree with you in that I think that beyond a certain price point call it $x you are paying for the brand, marketing, (1850 something) classification and prestige.  If you were to try an 89 first growth and an 89 Bordeaux from an unclassified chateau in a blind tasting could you tell which was which?

[jaybee]

A few years ago when I was working regularly in Germany I always came back with the subfloor of my van loaded with cases of wine which I had bought directly from the vineyards, which I selected from the recommendations of the recognized authorities.

John, if I gave you directions would you drive your van into my driveway after one of your visits to Germany?  

[winodj]

I am not yet at the point where I can regularly spend upwards of 15 dollars a bottle for wine. I try to find the cheapest, best wine I can. To be honest - the one bottle I bought above the 20 dollar price point in the last 6 months was one of my least favorite.

The best I have had in a while is Villa Puccini 1999... runs about 10 dollars a bottle... one of the better Super Tuscans I have enjoyed in a while.