The Reason Expensive Wines Cost So Much
By: Thomas Ajava | Posted: 30th July 2009
Wine is wine is wine, right? Well, no. There are a host of reasons why one wine is considered superior to another. In this article, we take a look at the reason expensive wines cost so much.
There are different categories. My favorite one is the fighting varietals. I am not talking about the quality of the wines in this category, but about the name. The name refers to the fact these wines are fighting for the wine drinker dollar. Still, "fighting varietals" sounds like it should be the name of a college football mascot. Can't you just picture a guy in a wine bottle costume running around the sidelines?
We are not talking about fighting varietals in this article. No, we are focused on the most expensive wines, which are known as "reserve" wines. At least this is the case in Europe where there is a legal restriction on what can be designated as a reserve wine. Unfortunately, there is no such quality control in the United States, so you have to be careful when determining what is a top quality wine and what is not.
So, what makes these wines so expensive? Well, the grapes and vines are rather obvious and correct answers. Every wine starts with the vine in the ground and the fruit produced. Problems with the organic parts of the equation will result in lesser bottles of wine. An older vine may produce fewer grapes, but the quality of those grapes will be high. That makes the value of the vine and grape high, which is translated to the cost of the wine produced.
You can have the best vine in the world, but it won't mean much if you don't have a vineyard with quality soil and a perfect climate. This combination is fairly rare. As you know from the housing market, location, location, location is always important when figuring the value of something. The same goes with vineyards. A vineyard in Missouri simply doesn't compare to one in Bordeaux, France.
Aging is another factor that heavily contributes to the high cost of expensive wine. A quality reserve wine must be aged. This develops the full flavor of the wine, but makes for a horrific business model. Imagine a car company producing vehicles and sticking them in storage for five years before sending them to the dealers! That would cause some serious cash flow issues and top vineyards have such a problem. They account for it by charging much more per bottle produced and rightly so.
Is a reserve wine really worth the cost? The logical answer would seem to be yes, but it really depends on your palette. If you are new to wine, then it probably is not. As you become more familiar with the nuances of wine, trying a reserve can be a real eye opening experience.
Thomas Ajava writes for Nomad Journals - makers of leather wine journals that make great wine related gifts for any occasion including wine tasting parties.
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Tags: location location location, sidelines, wine drinker, favorite one, housing market, wine bottle, vines, grapes, vine, quality control, quality soil, correct answers, mascot, quality wine, college football