Value in Wine

      Recently, the topic of value and price have been getting a lot of attention in our local and regional wine press.  Paul Vigna wrote a short piece in response to a discussion that was already being dissected here . His response was to a post by The Wine Curmudgeon who has publishing a poll to determine how much buyers are willing to pay for their bottles of wine.  This all added fuel to the fire started by Philadelphia food critic Trey Popp who criticizes the prices of wine in some Philadelphia eateries. 

      It all makes for interesting reading and I am just like everyone else in that I am looking for a great value.  That's also why I shop at Sams Club and Wallmart.  In fact, when I buy a bottle of wine for my everyday consumption I am also shopping for a quality to price ratio that I consider a value.  But as a grape grower and wine maker I also know something about value that many of my customers and knowledgeable wine consumers don't fully understand.  Everyone understands the tangible costs. Of grape juice, yeast, time, tanks, bottles, corks and labels, but for estate made wines there is the intangible cost of a value added product.  

      Value added agricultural products like maple syrup, cheese and jelly allow a producer to command a greater price for their finished product than they can for their raw materials.  Likewise, wine as a product of a single vineyard or producer also includes a value added cost.  The cost of producing a crop from a certain piece of land has all the tangible costs of labor, fertilizer, sprays and rootstock, but there is also the intangible value of the plant and their fruit in that piece of earth in a certain period of years that create a certain sense of place.  Some wines display this value added aspect because they have a certain geographic location, altitude or soil type. For others, it is the result of a long period of time and a particular old vine in a specific field.  Wine that contain this reflection of the vine's terroir contain a much greater value added component.

        So, if we are going to continue this never ending debate about wine price points and value, I think it is necessary to make some qualifications.  Are we talking about the price/value of our everyday glass of blended wines from a faceless group of surpluses juice growers?  Are we talking about a bottle of wine with a dinner expertly paired and presented with your meal?  Or are we talking about a bottle of wine that reflect the sense of place and has the power to evoke special feelings, sensations and memories related only to a certain harvest of grapes at a precise time, from a certain vineyard?  Only by qualifying this definition of value can we begin to put a real price on the value of our wines.  And I contend that even then, we still have a difficult time establishing a value for the price of a value added, single vineyard wine grown, harvested and crafted into a beautiful expression of the land it was grown on.  

      We as Americans want an honest price on each bottle that is produced but I contend that the value of some intangible factors make it impossible to make such simple generalizations.  Wine can be mass produced and taste exceptional at $6 - $8 a bottle.   If your shopping for value, these wines provide plenty of choices and great taste.  But, if you want more from your bottle than just value, that is where the value added can begin to add up pretty significantly.  It is up to consumers to decide what they are willing to pay, and everyone is entitled to their price point and choices.