Is charging a lot of money for a wine justifiable?
Wine is like any other commodity; production costs, rarity and prestige are the factors that dictate the final price. Winemakers can choose to produce their wines cheaply or expensively. They might make their wine using low-yields rather than bigger volume high-yields to ensure the use of fuller flavored grapes. They might harvest by hand (high labor costs) rather than by machine to be more selective. They could make their wine in concrete vats or (very expensive) new oak barrels. All these additional costs will be recovered in the selling price of the wine. This is why a wine from a quality producer will always be more expensive than a bulk-production wine. Many quality wines are made to mature over a long period of time before finally reaching their best. As time passes by, and more and more bottles are drunk up, a wine will become increasingly rare. Often a bottle of wine will be bought and sold many times, pushing its price higher and higher. Then there are the astonishingly good w
