What's the last bottle of a batch worth?

[pgentile]

Let's say you put out $150.00 for a batch of grapes/fruit yielding 6 gal. By the time your wine is drinkable you have supplies, storage, electricity, time, planning, effort etc etc. into the cost. So initial cost was $5 per bottle, by the time it's drinkable the cost is around $10 per bottle(just picking a numer). So the bottles have a tangible worth or value. Even if your fruit was free.

But my question is when you are consuming bottles from the batch, with each one gone, does that change the value of the remaining bottles? And what is the worth or value of your last bottle from a batch? Especially from a good batch?

 

[rustbucket]

I don't see home wine making in economic terms. We spout economics as the reason for getting into wine making to our spouses; but, the real reason we do it is because it's challenging and fun. One thing that excites me is the anticipation of tasting the outcome of my efforts. Most times I'm mildly disappointed but every so often, I'm ecstatic with what I've produced. As long as I can afford the costs involved in this hobby, I'll spend it.

Woodworking is also a hobby of mine. If I were to add the cost of the wood, fasteners, glue, hardware, and, my considerable manufacturing time, I would would run to Ikea where I can nicely furnish a whole room for what I have invested in one cabinet.

No hobby that I've ever had could be justified economically.

 

[NorCal]

Let's say you put out $150.00 for a batch of grapes/fruit yielding 6 gal. By the time your wine is drinkable you have supplies, storage, electricity, time, planning, effort etc etc. into the cost. So initial cost was $5 per bottle, by the time it's drinkable the cost is around $10 per bottle(just picking a numer). So the bottles have a tangible worth or value. Even if your fruit was free.

But my question is when you are consuming bottles from the batch, with each one gone, does that change the value of the remaining bottles? And what is the worth or value of your last bottle from a batch? Especially from a good batch?

Per bottle, I'm $2.50 in grapes and less than $2.00 for new bottles, cork, label and capsule. With yeast, mlf, cleaners, chemistry disposables, I think your $5 is about what I'm at (although I reuse my bottles).

I've made plenty of wine that I didn't shed a tear when the last bottle was gone #myfirstskeeterpee. But, there have been some that I wish I had more. Not sure if there is a monetary difference between the first and the last, but certainly an emotional one.

I have four bottles of @4Score's best of class @ CA state fair, that have great value to me. I have no problem waiting another two years before drinking or bartering back to 4Score.

 

[balatonwine]

Let's say you put out $150.00 for a batch of grapes/fruit yielding 6 gal. By the time your wine is drinkable you have supplies, storage, electricity, time, planning, effort etc etc. into the cost. So initial cost was $5 per bottle, by the time it's drinkable the cost is around $10 per bottle(just picking a numer). So the bottles have a tangible worth or value. Even if your fruit was free.

Basically the cost-of-production value. You can consider this as fixed for every item produced once a product is produced (well.... not necessarily, but let's keep it simple).

But my question is when you are consuming bottles from the batch, with each one gone, does that change the value of the remaining bottles? And what is the worth or value of your last bottle from a batch? Especially from a good batch?

This is an issue of market value theory based on supply, and is a classical economic theory known as Say's Law. But that theory was only for entire economies, not single commodities or products. For a single product or commodity, demand tends to drive both value and supply. So just because something is more rare today does not mean it must have a higher market value than when it was more common if there is no demand. In other words, the supply alone for a single commodity does not necessarily generate demand, and thus does not necessarily increase its value.

 

[jburtner]

If you get to the last bottle then there is undeniably enough demand to get to theat point.

Cheers
-johann

 

[Noontime]

We've accumulated quite a few wines over the years, so have a lot of choices. To us, the value of each bottle comes more into play in the beginning and middle of the batche's life-cycle. We try to consume them at their peak, but most of the time we notice a slight dip in quality in the last few bottles, so they become less "valuable" and become the go-to wine to consume before it really starts going downhill. We live in S. FLorida, so our wines don't usually last more than 4 to 5 years.

 

[PandemoniumWines]

The amount of time put into it is meaningless, monetarily. As a sole proprietor of a small business, my accountant doesn't care if it takes ten minutes or ten hours - my time has no "value" in the terms of the product "cost."

 

[balatonwine]

If you get to the last bottle then there is undeniably enough demand to get to theat point.

If all the preceding bottles went bad and were poured down the drain, the last bottle to go down the drain does not mean there was a "undeniable" demand for all the preceding ones.

That is, as just an extreme example, there are many ways to get to the same point (i.e. the last bottle).

 

[balatonwine]

The amount of time put into it is meaningless, monetarily. As a sole proprietor of a small business, my accountant doesn't care if it takes ten minutes or ten hours - my time has no "value" in the terms of the product "cost."

What your account thinks is, practically speaking, irrelevant. An accountant follows a tax code. You, meanwhile, have to do basis things like eat.

So you can certainly "value" your time for any product you create and use that to justify a base commercial price for any product you create on your time.

However, if anyone will be willing to buy your product at that price or not is another issue.

 

[PandemoniumWines]

True, but if, you say, break a bottle of wine (assuming in this example I own a winery), the time I put into it has nothing to do with its cost.

 

[tjgaul]

I still consider myself a newbie with about 20 batches (kits and fruit wine) under my belt. The majority of my reds are still in bulk at this point, but I cringe a little every time I pull out one of my bottles of oaky Pinot Noir and I place a higher value on the bottles that remain in the rack. Even with more than a case left I am already dreading the day when that shelf becomes empty. Psychologically, to me they become more valuable as they become fewer in number. So far I have been able to hold onto at least 1 or 2 bottles from each batch in my special "reserve" bin.
It will be both a happy and sad day when I start to plunder the reserve.

 

[Noontime]

I still consider myself a newbie with about 20 batches (kits and fruit wine) under my belt. The majority of my reds are still in bulk at this point, but I cringe a little every time I pull out one of my bottles of oaky Pinot Noir and I place a higher value on the bottles that remain in the rack. Even with more than a case left I am already dreading the day when that shelf becomes empty. Psychologically, to me they become more valuable as they become fewer in number. So far I have been able to hold onto at least 1 or 2 bottles from each batch in my special "reserve" bin.
It will be both a happy and sad day when I start to plunder the reserve.

This is very similar to how we value our wines.

And I'm guessing the original post is looking at it more as a philosophical conversation to promote interesting discussion, and not necessarily to quantify a dollar amount (I may be wrong...that happens more often than I prefer).

 

[Ajmassa]

Batch of Cali Cab Sav juice pale from 2014. All gone by 2017. Either drank or given away. Never had any labels. Opened a bottle of what I thought was a different wine that was just so/so. Turned out to be a straggler from 2014!
I have no monetary value to place on anything. But the excitement was huge. I finally was able to taste a homemade aged a good bit. It had matured to taste amazing. Best bottle of wine I've had that I'd made. I found myself getting annoyed when sharing with the honey and watching her drink more of the bottle than me.
So yes, that extra "found" bottle had great value to me. Way more than the others. And I felt that way even before I realized how good it actually became.

 

[jburtner]

yeah v.nice... What would you pay to have a bottle or two of wines you did 5-7 years ago?? $50 ea.? $100 ea.?

Less than $20?

Cheers,
johann

 

[Ajmassa]

yeah v.nice... What would you pay to have a bottle or two of wines you did 5-7 years ago?? $50 ea.? $100 ea.?

Less than $20?

Cheers,
johann

I buy commercial wine on a consistent basis. Usually spending between $12- $25 a bottle and splurging on a more expensive bottle every once in a blue- tho typically still under $40. (Still have yet to experience how Amarone tastes)
If I could buy a bottle from ~5 yrs ago, matured and all that, id pay $20 for it no doubt. That Cab Sav I previously mentioned at 3+ yrs was hands down better than most wine I buy <$20.
I'm sure if I had deeper pockets that amount would shoot up as well. And spend more money on the perfect dinner to compliment.

 

[Smok1]

I dont add the cost of the equipment and bottles into how much a bottle of wine cost me to make. The equipment was a one time sale for me and its made very many bottles of wine, to date i bet the equipment cost divided by the amount of bottles of wine its made is mere pennies per bottle. I dont add the cost of the wine bottle to my wine either because the get reused, i bought 40 cases a while back ran me about .50 cents a bottle but ive used each bottle a few times now so cant calculate that expense into a bottle of wine. I dont calculate my time in either because i enjoy making wine. I make mostly fruit wines because we have lots of fruit trees, apple, peach, apricot, rhubarb, strawberry, neighbor has a cherry tree. I bet each bottle of wine cost me, well, close to nothing, $1 for yeast, maybe another dollar or two for sanitizers/kmeta/sorbate/ect. Divided by 30 bottles per batch. So maybe $0.15 a bottle. We do 1 wine kit a month and our local wine shop puts out 4 sales a month to choose from. This month were doing the 18L RJS trio white, picked it up for 140$ canadian.