Understanding Wine Pricing

How much should I spend on a bottle of wine?

Start with understanding wine pricing.

Have you noticed the difference between the price of wines you buy at your local supermarket and the price of the same wine you drink in a bar? You probably did. And have you noticed the price of a bottle of natural or organic wine? Ever wondered why the price is higher? 

This week, a news notification alerted me to an article on wine from my preferred news source. A respectable wine expert was promoting organic wines and finished the article with a list of wine suggestions and where to buy them. It got my attention and here are the reasons why. 

What is an average price of wine? 

Let me rephrase the question – Is there an average price of wine?  In the article I noticed that more than half of the suggested wines were under £10.00. Now, I hear you say; ‘I can find great drinking wines at my local supermarket for seven or eight quid…what are you on about?’

Well, clearly this can only be good for your wallet, and fine if you don’t care about anything else in this world.

Think, for example, of the water-filled chicken filets you find for only £1.50 in your supermarket! And, yes, to pay nearly six pounds for a sustainable piece of the free-range fillet, is asking for a small sacrifice. But it is the right choice. Or, have you ever wondered about that dolphin friendly logo on tins of tuna? Pretending to be sustainable towards dolphins, but not toward tuna? Best not eat them at all. You really decide with your wallet how this world is run!

Bottom-line is that wines under a tenner are by definition suspicious. Certainly, if they pretend to be sustainable, biodynamic wines and/or organic wine. They are either mass produced, using unsustainable methods, or the winemaker is left with very little at the end of the day. Despite all of his bio-dynamical and loving, artisanal care for his delicate grapes from his low yielding plot of land. 

Understanding wine pricing is about knowing how to drink consciously

Consumers need to be aware of the consequences in all buying decisions. Today, people are waking up and are conscious of the consequences of their actions in the food (drink) chain and are interested in learning more about natural and organic wine benefits. Below is an interesting infographic created by Vinonomics uncovering the wine prices in the UK and the message is clear: the better the wine, the higher the price. No surprise there!

What factors determine the wine price? 

In wine, another bizarre consumer phenomena regarding price, I find, is the schizophrenic perceived value between buying wine for home consumption (off trade) and drinking in a bar/restaurant (on trade). It amazes me that people perceive £25 bottle of wine to drink at home to be very premium to purchase. And yet, they will accept any old sauvignon blanc in a glass in any restaurant or bar for a mere price of £9.00! That makes for an eye-watering £36 a bottle (when applying British units of measure).

Conscious decision making proves to be a very difficult process. 

But what factors determine the price?

• Production costs
• Winemaking technique
• Packaging
• Territorial origin
• History of the product and wine cellar
• The real estate of the winery
• Critical acclaim

Understanding wine pricing takes a bit of effort

Less is, in this case, certainly not more. Be smart; learn and understand what you are buying and drinking. What can you do? 

BE INFORMED 

• Read the label
• Attend a virtual wine tasting event  
• Become a member of a wine club 

LEARN

• Learn about the winemaking processes (such as methode traditionelle)
• Learn about biodynamic farming
• Learn about wine additives, sulphites in wine and vegan wine 
• Learn how low intervention, natural wines are produced
• Learn how to drink consciously 

UNDERSTAND WINE 

• Understand sustainability in the wine industry
• Understand wild fermentation 
• Understand the wine rate 
• Understand carbon footprint of wine 

TEST/TASTE 

• Discover mixed cases of wine

And if you are willing to pay an over the top price in a restaurant, make sure it is worth its salt, demand a sustainable or organic, hand crafted well-made wine. Wine buying should be easy and trouble-free. Try natural wine and see the difference. Only then you can truly enjoy what you drink and enjoy your wine, even more, knowing you paid a fair price.

At Pull The Cork most of our great sustainable wines are between the £15-25 price point. Whether you are searching for premium orange wine, organic red wine or white, or vegan wines, Pet Nat or Prosecco, Chardonnay or Malbec, you will find premium, artisan wines in our online shop. 

With our monthly wine subscription offer and deals you get even more benefits. Why? 

• We know all of our suppliers are passionate about great and responsibly made wines and are sourcing sustainably.
• We taste the wine before we decide to recommend it and sell it.
• We are dedicated to supporting low intervention winemakers who like us care about the environment, our planet and our health.

We feel confident this is a fair trade for everyone involved. And if everyone else is happy, well, then we are happy too.