How The Price Of Wine Changes

“Friends remove the price tag from the wine bottle. True friends remove the cork.” And depending on how long you have been friends, the price of wine might have really fluctuated in the time you have been drinking together. Like most other commodities, wine is part of the supply and demand model: the rarer a wine is, the higher the cost. The price of wine has gone up and down through the years with the changes in the economy. Since the pandemic has hit, the price of wine is acting even more strangely.

Wine prices fluctuate, just like oil, sugar, coffee, or even gold. Market fluctuations mean that a bottle of wine or a barrel of oil might vary in cost from week to week, depending on what the market is doing. When it comes to wine, though, the change happens very slowly, making it easier to predict what will happen. 

Understanding the indices is the way to understand the price points of wine and the change over a specified amount of time. Fine Wine 1000 and Fine Wine 50 are both excellent ways to see what has been happening to the price of wine over the years. By studying these metrics, you can see that from 1970 through 2000, the index reported a fairly predictable boom and bust cycle, with the prices of wine cycling about every 10 years. The price of wine continued to spiral upward at unheard of percentages through most of the first decade of 2000. 

Unfortunately, the world saw an economic crash in 2008, unlike any crash since the Great Depression. The world of wine followed suit, and the market shares of wine fell by 62% in that time period. What followed this crash was truly of global interest. The Chinese fueled a bull market recovery behind their huge interest in wine, as they often gave wine as gifts to officials, and this sparked the fire for the global recovery. In 2016, the UK referendum had a similar impact on the market when the UK voted to leave the EU. The market became increasingly active, and this positively impacted the wine industry.

Although it seems counterintuitive, the pandemic was a good time for the rich to get richer. And with their disposable income and nowhere to go, the fine wine industry received a big boost. “Although elements of the on-trade market dried up, we have seen an uplift in private clients buying luxury labels that more than makes up for this,” reports Jeroboams wine director Peter Mitchell MW. Some restaurants were forced to sell fine wines they would have liked to hang on to stay afloat, and the demand for fine wine to enjoy at home basically drove the price up.

When it comes to the vintage details of the wine, certain years and certain regions bring out the money. For instance, with the Screaming Eagle Sauvignon Blanc from 2012, just 600 bottles were released to an exclusive mailing list. The release price was $250 per bottle, making it the most expensive Sauvignon Blanc on earth. The wine instantly (and controversially) attracted secondary market prices in excess of US $2,000 per bottle.” When only a few people can get their hands on a bottle, it becomes a much hotter commodity, and the price goes up.

If you want a delicious bottle of fine wine, you don’t have to worry about the fluctuations in the market if you deal with Barterhouse wines. We do the hard work for you, cultivating relationships with growers and winemakers, along with making excellent choices in wine. 

Bordeaux is a keeper when it comes to fine wines. For instance, this Chateau Brande Bergere, from the vintage year 2011, won the Bronze in the Decanter World Wine Awards, 2016, and also took home the Silver in 2015 in the Los Angeles International Wine Competition. Made with a blend of grapes including Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Cabernet Franc, the notes of ripe fruits, blueberry, and blackcurrant will have your taste buds smiling.

Another great choice is our Burgundy Domaine Du Mas Des Tines. With its fresh, fruity aroma of flowers and citrus, it has been aging from 2017-2021 and is a wine that all your friends will envy.

Of course, when drinking with friends, wine is always priceless.