Wine Price versus Wine Quality
We can all recognize that there are many, many wines that are north of $25 that are spectacular. They are quality wines made by quality winemakers and really hit the mark on all aspects of taste. The price is a function of many things, size of harvest, overhead of the winery, reputation, and so on. But, what happens when you get a wine that is over $25 that you anticipate drinking or has been recommended and when wine hits glass it is "meh"? To us, that is so disheartening not only for the cost of the wine but for the fact that a winery is charging what could be considered a premium price for something that does not come with premium flavours.
I know one particular circumstance, we ran into at a recent wine festival. We tried a Portuguese Dao wine that had a price tag of $62.99. This was very early into the show so our palates were definitely not overwhelmed. That wine was at best, okay. But, when couple with the price tag it was absolutely not worth the price in our humble opinion. Instances like this are one of the reasons we wanted to share this blog, because Sunday night we had another Portuguese Dao (Caves Alianca Dao - $11.99) and it was very good. More of a medium bodied red with some very solid notes of leather and dark fruit. But, at $11.99 locally we are looking at the ability of getting five very good bottles of wine for the price of one so-so bottle. We totally understand that there are business factors that determine the price of a wine but the higher the price the more responsibility the winemaker had to ensure the product is the best it can be. Had that wine we tasted been $14.99 it would have still been "meh" but it would not have raised our eyebrows nearly as much.
We asked about your most memorable wine with no budget, but today let's go the other way, what has been a disappointing wine experience for a wine that you put some money into?
For us, we didn't buy that bottle of wine so we can stand in smug judgement of it and its price tag. But, there have been wines we have purchased of late that just didn't hold up to scrutiny. Unfortunately, one of those was a local winery who were charging $20 for their 2009 Baco Noir and quite frankly it just did not warrant that price. It was thin and even somewhat bitter. Now we all know that Nova Scotia wine lives and dies by the weather we have, but when you spend $20 and the wine just disappoints all around, it is especially disheartening. Were there any corners cut to try and get the wine to market? Was there just no salvaging the grapes that came from the fields? All these things might be part of the reason. That said, they have to stay in business and that can be the heartbreak of a poor season in a cooler climate. So, they walk a line of having to charge a price for something that just doesn't make the grade but still needing the revenue to do it all over again next year. But, would we have been less critical at $14, I would say yes.
What are your thoughts?
Keep on drinking!
Chris & Shannon
I know one particular circumstance, we ran into at a recent wine festival. We tried a Portuguese Dao wine that had a price tag of $62.99. This was very early into the show so our palates were definitely not overwhelmed. That wine was at best, okay. But, when couple with the price tag it was absolutely not worth the price in our humble opinion. Instances like this are one of the reasons we wanted to share this blog, because Sunday night we had another Portuguese Dao (Caves Alianca Dao - $11.99) and it was very good. More of a medium bodied red with some very solid notes of leather and dark fruit. But, at $11.99 locally we are looking at the ability of getting five very good bottles of wine for the price of one so-so bottle. We totally understand that there are business factors that determine the price of a wine but the higher the price the more responsibility the winemaker had to ensure the product is the best it can be. Had that wine we tasted been $14.99 it would have still been "meh" but it would not have raised our eyebrows nearly as much.
We asked about your most memorable wine with no budget, but today let's go the other way, what has been a disappointing wine experience for a wine that you put some money into?
For us, we didn't buy that bottle of wine so we can stand in smug judgement of it and its price tag. But, there have been wines we have purchased of late that just didn't hold up to scrutiny. Unfortunately, one of those was a local winery who were charging $20 for their 2009 Baco Noir and quite frankly it just did not warrant that price. It was thin and even somewhat bitter. Now we all know that Nova Scotia wine lives and dies by the weather we have, but when you spend $20 and the wine just disappoints all around, it is especially disheartening. Were there any corners cut to try and get the wine to market? Was there just no salvaging the grapes that came from the fields? All these things might be part of the reason. That said, they have to stay in business and that can be the heartbreak of a poor season in a cooler climate. So, they walk a line of having to charge a price for something that just doesn't make the grade but still needing the revenue to do it all over again next year. But, would we have been less critical at $14, I would say yes.
What are your thoughts?
Keep on drinking!
Chris & Shannon
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