Great Wines Are Not Always Expensive (and Vice Versa)

Great Wines Aren’t Always Expensive and Vice Versa?

Bryce Sanders, President?

Perceptive Business Solutions Inc.?

What makes a wine great?? Lots of things.? It pairs well with food.? You would want to enjoy it again.? There is a consistency that a bottle bought next week will taste just as good as the bottle you bought today.?? Notice no mention was made of price.?

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Price is a factor with other alcohol-based beverages.? I am a scotch whisky fan. Johnnie Walker makes some great stuff.? Johnnie Walker Black Label (12 years) will taste just as good from different bottles or a week or month from now.? Johnnie Walker Blue Label (25+ years)? Those extra years makes “blue” more expensive than “black.”? Black costs about $30/bottle and Blue costs about $190/bottle.? Blue tastes smoother than black, but it costs six times more too.?

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We admire firms like Coca Cola and Pepsi because the taste is uniform over time.? Soda is a beverage we often consume with meals.? I like to think wine was developed in ancient times because the water was not safe to drink and Coca Cola had nor been invented yet.?

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Fine wine has snob appeal.? (I am a wine snob.? It appeals to me!) However, vintages differ from year to year because of weather and other factors.? Fine wine is expensive.? Fine wine has the ability (and expectation) to improve with age. Finding a classed growth Bordeaux or a Burgundy you have heard of for under $50/bottle can be difficult unless you are a spectacular shopper.?

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Mass market wines can be good when you consider pairing with food and consistency of quality and taste from bottle to bottle and year to year.?

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If you want to find wine that is tasty and approachable, where should you look?? What if your friends are not serious wine fans, but thirsty people??

1. ABC.? This stands for “Always Buy Chardonnay.”? It can also stand for “Anything But Chardonnay.”? Chardonay is probably the most popular white wine in the US.? In “ABC” the C can be replaced by Cabernet.? The most popular red wine in the US is likely Cabernet Sauvignon.? Friends will recognize the grape type, also known as the varietal.?

1. People like sweet, but won’t admit it.? We think of table wines as try.? In the mass-produced market, popular wines are often on the sweeter side.? The Australians produce great food wines at affordable prices.?

1. The alcohol level plays a role.? Years ago, the standard for table wine was 12% alcohol by volume. (ABV)? California has a reputation for producing great Cabernet in the Napa Valley.? These wines are often sweeter because of the higher alcohol levels.? Paradoxically, Riesling from Germany as considered sweet, yet their alcohol level is often around 9%.? Go figure.?

1. If the great wine is expensive, buy the neighbors.? Sancerre is the most popular white wine in the Loire Valley of France.? It is made from the Sauvignon Blanc grape.? Touraine is a nearby commune, as is Quincy.? Same grape type, near neighbors, often lower prices.?

1. Read the Wine Spectator.? This popular wine magazine often faces a dilemma.? People are interested in fine wine, but who wants to read about a wine selling for $700/bottle with only 20 cases imported into the US?? The magazine runs frequent articles giving lists of wines that score highly and are good value.? Let someone else do the work for you.?

1. Go where the quality to price ratio is most favorable.? There are places where great wine is made, yet finding buyers for it is more difficult.? The Burgundy region of France can probably sell every bottle they produce.? Spain is often cited as where quality and value come together.? This means you should get tasty wines at reasonable prices.? Talk with your wine merchant.?

Great wine does not need to be expensive.? Because of vintage variations based on weather, expensive wines aren’t always great, but that is a topic for another day.?

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Bryce Sanders is president of Perceptive Business Solutions Inc.? He provides HNW client acquisition training for the financial services industry.? His book, “Captivating the Wealthy Investor” is available on Amazon.??