Does Expensive Wine Really Taste Better?

GareBoy Jun 30th 2010 2:47PM

To the end user wine, regardless of bottle, label, or cost, is what you perceive it to be. After several glasses that perception may change. Objectively, try tasting 1/2 to 1 ounce pours of 12 different wines and not dumping them. Most people will have lost their taste buds after 6 to 8 tastes--the wines will start tasting alike. Also, many persons will be impaired after consuming 6 to 12 ounces of wine in less than one hour. Genuine alcoholics will be impaired, to some degree, but it will be harder to detect.

To the Wine Maker or Winery Owner there will be several priorities: Make the product, create an awareness and like for the product, sell the product, cover all of your costs and make a profit, and try to create brand or label loyalty and build repeat sales.

To make a profit there will be a great deal of cost factors: Cost of the grapes, containers to hold the grapes, cost to transport them to a crush area or facility, costs of crushing, desteming, skin separators, and fermantation barrels or tanks; costs of chemical lab analysis and monitoring; cost of barrels for aging (in 2008 a 60 gallon French or Hungarian oak barrell started at $1,000 U.S. each and everytime you age wine in one the amount of oak taste decreases thus after 3 to 5 times you need an aging strategy in place--like when do you replace the barrels can you extend the life with oak chips or other oak insert devices, etc.), months of aging anticipated, cost of aging facility, filtering of wines (only a fool does not filter), cooling/refrigeration, humidity control, fans, lights; hey we haven't even gotten to salaries/benefits for people who perform these tasks, insurance, wine labels, corks or caps, foils, bottling, bottles, packaging, warehousing, distribution, advertising, tasting room operations--wow! As many professionals have said about the wine busiess, "It takes a large fortune to make a small fortune!"

To the Marketing and Distribution brains all of the above costs must be considered and then the product, or wine is priced. Frequently that will include a great deal of "what the market will bear" thinking. Wine Makers/Owners who have not established a reputation may find their egos can get in the way. Even great wines have little value if they are unknown or unsold. Wine made in small quantities poses another distribution problem--"reorders or resupply." If customer loyalty and desire is being built into a particular small quantity wine many restaurants and other retailers do not want to buy into it and then find out there is no more, or there is no more going into it. Unhappy customers are very bad for their businesses.

So, what do we like and what do we buy? A good place to start is to examine or research what goes into the making of wine. Then you need to find out if your palette/or taste buds are very discriminating, and by the way most of it is in your ability to smell things. If you cannot find any difference between a "Two Buck Chuck" from Trader Joe's and a $25 to $40 premiun wine then save your money and stay with Chuck. If you are a Chucker and are entertaining guests who might have greater expectations find a specialty wine shop and tell the sales person you want to serve something aceptable to your guests but you would prefer staying in the $15 to $25 range. That person should ask you a few questions about preferences and what kind of meal you are serving. Consider buying two recommended wines for a party of 4 and perhaps opening them both, and using small pours in the glass--2 to 3 ounces, let them try both and find out what they like best. It is highly unlikely that the wine sales person would talk you into any wines they are trying to get rid of--you will not come back. If you go to a winery's tasting room try to avoid learning the price of what you are tasting until you have finished--at least that particular wine. And don't be afraid to ask questions about the wines, those people are there to help you and to give you wine education--I know, I do that. I tend to enjoy premium wines but I avoid anything that retails for $50 or more. And yes, I do enjoy everyday table wines that cost $7 to $10. I find great bargains in a few California wines, French wines (the Euro is way down against the dollar at this time), and Austrailian and New Zealand wines. There are many more out there but I lack the experience to know any consistantly good wines from say Argentina, Chile, Spain, South Africa, Italy, Portugal, and so on.

Bottom Line? It's all in what you like--all of the reasons.