What Affects Wine Quality and Price
What makes a good wine? How can some wines be under £10 and others fetch £100s? Does a high price tag always indicate great wine quality? Like most commodities, the quality and price of a bottle of wine are closely linked; the more expensive it is to produce something (better materials, more time-consuming processes), the higher the price tag. Here we talk through some of the factors that can affect both the quality and price of our favourite drink.
Terroir
Terroir is all about how a wine expresses the place in which it is made. The idea of terroir forms the whole basis for wine appellations; the notion that only a wine from that specific place can display certain characteristics and quality. This is very important to understand because it’s how certain regions can justify both their reputation, and the prices of their wines.
Take Burgundy for example. Pinot Noir is the star grape of Burgundy, a notoriously difficult grape to grow. The terroir of Burgundy (the climate and soil type in particular) allows Pinot Noir to thrive and it’s this that justifies the price of wine from here.
Winemaker Intervention in the Vineyard
In addition to natural forces, some of the decisions made by the winemaker can influence wine quality. This includes how and when to prune. Hand-harvesting is more time consuming and expensive than using machines however this means that only great quality grapes make it to the winery.
The decision on when to harvest the grapes is important because they need to be at an ideal stage of ripeness for that particular variety. This relies on the winemaker experience and knowledge as the weather for that vintage will effect that timing.
Yields are an especially important factor. Vines which produce low yields are more likely to produce intense, concentrated wines of great quality and can therefore fetch a higher price.
Winemaker Decisions in Production
How a wine is made has a big effect on price and quality. For example, Champagne is made using the traditional method which is time consuming and therefore expensive compared to sparkling wine such as Prosecco which is made quickly via the tank method.
All wine is made using yeast. Most wineries will use commercially manufactured yeast but some use natural/wild yeast made from the regions natural flora. The latter is more difficult and time-consuming to maintain yet many wines made with natural yeast develop more complex aromas and flavours.
How long a wine is aged for and in what type of vessel is also a factor. Some types of oak barrels are more expensive than others (French are more expensive than American for example), and although barrels can be reused, new barrels impart more flavour compounds on wine so new barrels are sometimes required.
There are also costs involved in having the space to keep ageing bottles. This is why Gran Reserva Rioja often fetches a higher price than a regular Rioja; because it has to be aged for at least 5 years and 2 of those must be in barrels (for reds).
Is Quality Wine Subjective?
Ultimately people like what they like but there are certain characteristics that contribute to classing a wine as high quality even if you don’t personally like the taste – rather like appreciation of great art!
Quality wines will ultimately have…
- Complexity – multi-dimensional aromas and flavours
- Balance – harmony between all its component parts
- Intensity – concentrated flavours and aromas
- Typicity – tasting as it should do depending on region and or grape type
- A long finish – an intense and persistent finish
Having some wine knowledge and tasting different wines yourself is a great way of judging the quality of wine rather than just going by how expensive a bottle is. Wine tastings are a fun way to taste lots of different wines in one sitting so you can see how wines compare to one another.
