There are a number of factors that impact the price of different wines. Supply and demand are definitely present, and mixed into that is conspicuous consumption, and that is separate from the wine, itself.
What real estate costs a vineyard faces factors in. (If someone still has an outstanding commercial mortgage on their vineyard in Napa, that is going to increase the price of the wine produced).
Some things do improve quality, or at least are discernable in the taste of a given wine, that also do increase cost. Two examples would be how densely planted a given vineyard is (the vintner has to weigh a higher yield versus allowing fewer vines to pull more nutrients from the soil), and how long a wine is aged before it is bottled (many wines are made from Sangiovese, but Brunello di Montalcino is aged for a minimum of two years in oak and a minimum of four years in total, and that four-to-five year lag to market impacts a producer’s bottom line). And those aforementioned oak barrels add cost, particularly if aged in new oak (versus aging in just stainless steel, concrete, etc.).
In your economics 101 textbook, certainly. But this is a significant part of why, absent import costs, European wines are cheaper than American wines at the bottom end of the price scale.
At the upper end it’s to do more with demand, so American wine growing regions have to develop an international reputation. Napa has, and places like Willamette are on their way.
This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a
court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to
optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.
The weekly Culture War threads host the most
controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are
appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy;
if in doubt, post!
Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts.
You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.
Why are you called The Motte?
A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently,
it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey",
originally identified by
philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial
but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens
this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for
the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired
propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."
On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.
New post guidelines
If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it.
A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts
such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a
submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).
Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or
significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
There are a number of factors that impact the price of different wines. Supply and demand are definitely present, and mixed into that is conspicuous consumption, and that is separate from the wine, itself.
What real estate costs a vineyard faces factors in. (If someone still has an outstanding commercial mortgage on their vineyard in Napa, that is going to increase the price of the wine produced).
Some things do improve quality, or at least are discernable in the taste of a given wine, that also do increase cost. Two examples would be how densely planted a given vineyard is (the vintner has to weigh a higher yield versus allowing fewer vines to pull more nutrients from the soil), and how long a wine is aged before it is bottled (many wines are made from Sangiovese, but Brunello di Montalcino is aged for a minimum of two years in oak and a minimum of four years in total, and that four-to-five year lag to market impacts a producer’s bottom line). And those aforementioned oak barrels add cost, particularly if aged in new oak (versus aging in just stainless steel, concrete, etc.).
Fixed costs don't change prices for profit maximizing businesses.
If they could make more profit charging more (or less), they'd charge more (or less).
In your economics 101 textbook, certainly. But this is a significant part of why, absent import costs, European wines are cheaper than American wines at the bottom end of the price scale.
At the upper end it’s to do more with demand, so American wine growing regions have to develop an international reputation. Napa has, and places like Willamette are on their way.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link