What makes a bottle of wine worth $100+?

[Charlesthewino]

Last week I was on a cruise and decided to try their wines during our formal dinners. The prices varied from $20 to $120 a bottle. I chose a middle price wine. Castle Rock - Merlot 2008. I can tell you that I believe what I produce in my basement is a better tasting wine. So what justifies a $100+ bottle of wine? Thus far I am not impressed.


Sent from my iPad using Wine Making

 

[jswordy]

People able and willing to pay that price justify it, basically. Also, aging adds considerable cost since the asset is basically sitting there unsellable for years while overhead continues.

There are other cost considerations, including how picky the vintner is in selecting grapes for quality. Some high-end wineries literally hand-pick through every truckload of grapes to select only the finest with zero flaws or defects. The rest go into lesser wines.

As far as personal and individual tastes, though, there is IMO little relationship between what is "good" and what is "expensive." I increasingly agree with the cadre of wine critics who say that, with today's modern production method and quality controls, any wine above $15 a bottle is generally good wine and beyond that, it is nuance, structure, character, aging, batch size, name cachet and snob appeal that set the price. There have been studies showing that the name on a bottle affects how people perceive the contents.

Of course, many disagree. And that's your high-priced crowd, right there.

 

[Elmer]

Last week I was on a cruise and decided to try their wines during our formal dinners. The prices varied from $20 to $120 a bottle. I chose a middle price wine. Castle Rock - Merlot 2008. I can tell you that I believe what I produce in my basement is a better tasting wine. So what justifies a $100+ bottle of wine? Thus far I am not impressed.


Sent from my iPad using Wine Making

I am no expert, but the cost of land, oak, labor etc...
I mean if a 5 gallon barrel costs $100, what does a 60 gallon barrel cost?
And what does it cost to buy 100 of them and let you first few years of production just sit in the warehouse and age!
Throw in some supply and demand and a little thing called expected profit and you a $100 bottle of wine.

But in the end I have always felt the driving factor in $100 is that someone pays for it.

Ultimately if no one bought any bottles for $100, they could not sell it for $100. Of course, The company would likely go out of business but that is the beauty of capitalism!

 

[GaDawg]

I increasingly agree with the cadre of wine critics who say that, with today's modern production method and quality controls, any wine above $15 a bottle is generally good wine and beyond that, it is nuance, structure, character, aging, batch size, name cachet and snob appeal that set the price.

Keep in mind that a $15 bottle of wine on a cruse ship may cost $60-$100

 

[ibglowin]

Here is a pretty good "tongue in cheek" article about just that subject.

My $100 Bottle of Wine

BTW that bottle of Castle Rock sells for ~$8.00 retail.

 

[JohnT]

Last week I was on a cruise and decided to try their wines during our formal dinners. The prices varied from $20 to $120 a bottle. I chose a middle price wine. Castle Rock - Merlot 2008. I can tell you that I believe what I produce in my basement is a better tasting wine. So what justifies a $100+ bottle of wine? Thus far I am not impressed.


Sent from my iPad using Wine Making

A wine is worth no more then what someone is willing to pay.

It is worth $100.00 because the purchaser is willing to pay $100.00 for it.

 

[Charlesthewino]

John T - I can assure you that I am not the one to pay $100 for a bottle of wine. I am quite content with my homemade wine. In fact, on my next cruise I plan to take a bottle of my own vintage along for the ride. )


Sent from my iPad using Wine Making

 

[Sp33dymonk3y]

Yeah I agree with a cripple people on here, on cruise ships I would assume it would be more. Just like if you go and buy a 6 pack of beer it is like $6-7 if you go buy just one exact same beer at a bar it is $3 a beer! Profit ;P


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making

 

[JohnT]

John T - I can assure you that I am not the one to pay $100 for a bottle of wine. I am quite content with my homemade wine. In fact, on my next cruise I plan to take a bottle of my own vintage along for the ride. )


Sent from my iPad using Wine Making

i did that once. they confiscated each bottle (they xrayed my bag) then hit me up for a $20 per bottle "corkage fee"!

 

[Geronimo]

Like others have said, in order to evaluate a $100 bottle of wine, you need to find a great retailer and shop their top shelf.

IMO, most wines are priced based on some evaluation and politics. I've drank Trader Joe's $5 wines that could score 93+.

When I used to visit the affluent side of the family more, the reason you paid $100+ a bottle was to know that you were drinking the best. It was undisputed.

However, if you really do your homework, you might actually spend $200 for a bottle of 2008 Paolo Scavino Rocche dell'Annunziata Riserva, Barolo DOCG.... just once. Remember it isn't 5 times better than a $40 bottle, it's maybe 10% better than the $7 a bottle Barolo in my basement.

I recommend the experience once in your life, then you'll know. It's like a work of art, not everyone can own an original Rembrandt. Once it becomes clear that a certain wine is exquisite, the price jumps off the scale.

 

[ibglowin]

I like to say you can't make a great wine unless you know what a great wine taste like. Gives me more than enough excuse to pursue onward in my quest!

 

[JohnT]

Glowin,

Could not agree more. I recommend that, at least once, one should get a bottle of Opus One and / or and primere cru and see what all the hubbub is all about.

Quality and price normally go hand in hand, but the price of a bottle does come down to what a person is willing to pay.

 

[MrKevin]

When I look up Castle Rock all I get is 10-15 dollar wines. I was on a cruise ship 3 week ago and ordered a bottle of Caymus (retails for about 69-75 dollars) and the Carnival charged $90 I was pleasantly really surprised at the low markup.

 

[MrKevin]

i did that once. they confiscated each bottle (they xrayed my bag) then hit me up for a $20 per bottle "corkage fee"!

I took two bottles of wine on my last cruise. Here is the secret to bringing one bottle per person on board with you.

IT MUST BE CARRIED ON. If you put it in your bags it will be confiscated.

If you check on the cruise web site it will tell you to put it in you carry on.

 

[ibglowin]

Along the same lines, why is a certain brand of Jeans worth a $100-$150? They are made from the same denim material as a pair of Levi's that sell for ~$25. Marketing, hype, "perceived status symbol" all contribute.

At least in a $100 bottle of wine you know you have the highest quality grapes, the highest quality new french oak barrels, a darn good vineyard manager and winemaker. Lots and lots of attention to details from the vine all the way to the bottle.

 

[GaDawg]

I think it's easy to find a good $100 bottle of wine, the challenge is to find a good $5 bottle of wine

 

[salcoco]

go to winefolly.com, this blog had a interesting article on why wines are higher priced some of which have been touched on here. one is reduced grape yield to increase quality, two is use of a new French barrel for each vintage which will cost north of $400, aging time is another, packing of the bottle also contributes and lastly the reputation of the wine maker. In some cases $100 can be cheap.

 

[ibglowin]

Some people who are on the allocation list of these very highly sought out "cult" wines will purchase their entire allocation (usually a case, but sometimes more) for the member price of say $100 and then resell what they don't want to keep for as much as $250-$300 a bottle thus subsidizing their purchase.

Supposedly this is "illegal" and you could lose your allocation rights if caught but the threat doesn't seem to stop too many people from auctioning off these highly sought after wines.

 

[wildvines]

Some people who are on the allocation list of these very highly sought out "cult" wines will purchase their entire allocation (usually a case, but sometimes more) for the member price of say $100 and then resell what they don't want to keep for as much as $250-$300 a bottle thus subsidizing their purchase.



Supposedly this is "illegal" and you could lose your allocation rights if caught but the threat doesn't seem to stop too many people from auctioning off these highly sought after wines.

I am on numerous cult winery list and take my allocations. I never have sold any and don't intend to. I have had people offer to pay my allocation price and I just place the order. But I just keep all of them for my self. It's true I have a bunch of aubert wines and my price may be 80 but people sell for 200. It's because you can't get them anywhere else. People are willing to pay then let them pay.

Just like your tv. Is it the cheapest one out there? No. We all spend where we see fit.

If you can afford it then by all means. Someone who makes 20 million a year makes 2k an hour. So a 200 to 2000 dollar bottle is like a regular persons $5 dollar bottle. But they get the best for $5 lol


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making

 

[calvin]

i did that once. they confiscated each bottle (they xrayed my bag) then hit me up for a $20 per bottle "corkage fee"!

The last cruise I was on each person over 21 was allowed 1 750ml bottle of wine or champaign. A corkage fee was only charged if the wine was consumed at one of the formal dinners. We brought a corkscrew and drank ours by the pool


Sent from my iPhone using Wine Making