The Weird World of Expensive Wine (2016)

Re:The Weird World of Expensive Wine (2016) by 09bjb on Thursday February 09, 2017 @04:46PM (#13611316)

Lol, can confirm. I know this won't appeal to our lovable cadre of HN contrarians, but there is a major difference between most high-end bottles and anything you can get for $8 and under. That's not to say that those $40-and-up bottles are always worth the price...or that you'll even like it as much as everyone else paying that price! But the whole thing is not a complete farce. Scarcity, collectibility, buying as investments, and mostly the novelty factor of something you've never tried are what drive prices on individual bottles into the ludicrous range.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Weird World of Expensive Wine (2016) by andymurd on Thursday February 09, 2017 @10:21PM (#13612991)

Agreed. My partner is a Wine Educator and this is one of her favorite rants. Consider the costs of getting wine onto a store shelf:

- Glass bottle

- Bottling & Labelling

- Transport

- Cork/closure

- Taxes (29% here in Aus)

- Retail Markup - 25-50%

- Promotions, payment processing, business overhead, etc.

An eight dollar bottle of wine does not leave a lot of money for grape growing, harvest, wine making, aging etc, all the good stuff that makes wine tasty. Probably under one dollar.

Some grape varieties cost a lot more than others, e.g. Pinot Noir is expensive to grow and harvest because it has thin skins and so is easily damaged. However, any recent vintage bottle that retails for more than $100 is about meeting a market price point, not production costs.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Weird World of Expensive Wine (2016) by ghaff on Thursday February 09, 2017 @05:48PM (#13611763)

There's a lot of absurdity. I've also (rarely) done premium tastings in Napa and Sonoma and really appreciated the experience. I've then also left thinking I get a lot more total enjoyment out of the $80 bottle of whiskey than the $80 bottle of wine. (Both of which I realize don't really qualify as high-end.)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Weird World of Expensive Wine (2016) by hyperbovine on Thursday February 09, 2017 @05:59PM (#13611846)

Those absolutely qualify as high end. If anyone tells you differently, reach for your wallet because you're being had. The difference between a $10 bottle of wine and a (good) $50 bottle of wine is huge. Beyond that I agree, it all seems like a farce.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Weird World of Expensive Wine (2016) by ghaff on Thursday February 09, 2017 @06:07PM (#13611888)

Oh I would never pay more than that--or really more like $50-60 myself. And those very rarely.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Weird World of Expensive Wine (2016) by DanBC on Thursday February 09, 2017 @04:53PM (#13611360)

> Scarcity, collectibility, buying as investments, and mostly the novelty factor of something you've never tried

None of those are "what it tastes like".

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Weird World of Expensive Wine (2016) by lukas099 on Thursday February 09, 2017 @05:08PM (#13611477)

Yes they are. Scarcity - it is hard to find something that tastes like it. Novelty - it tastes like something you've never tasted before.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Weird World of Expensive Wine (2016) by geofft on Thursday February 09, 2017 @06:28PM (#13612027)

That quote was about the difference between a $40 bottle and a $ludicrous bottle. Across the $8 - $40 range, there's definitely a meaningful difference in what it tastes like.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The Weird World of Expensive Wine (2016) by barrkel on Thursday February 09, 2017 @05:47PM (#13611761)

The most expensive drink I've bought by volume was a '72 to '74 aged sake, and that was most certainly for it scarcity: and because nothing else tastes like it.

[ Parent | on HN ]