Expensive Doesn’t Mean Better

Price and wine quality do not always have a direct relationship. Of course, there is a minimum price below which it is difficult to find genuine quality. That price level is probably around USD 5 to 7. I would generally avoid wines below that range. But once you move above that price point, many things can happen.

Let’s start with the word expensive. What does expensive actually mean?

We immediately think of wines selling for several thousand dollars or euros. Those are unquestionably expensive. Some Domaine de la Romanée-Conti wines from Burgundy, classified growths from Bordeaux such as Château Latour and Château Margaux, and wines such as Pétrus can reach these prices. Outside France, Screaming Eagle wines from California and Egon Müller’s sweet wines from the Mosel in Germany can also fetch astronomical prices.

Are these wines better than the average wine? Yes, generally. Are they worth the thousands of dollars or euros they can cost? That is a very different question.

At this level, price is no longer determined by quality alone. Rarity, reputation, demand, provenance, collectability and prestige all play a role. A wine costing ten times more is certainly not ten times better.

Expensive wine can also be found in high-end luxury and Michelin-starred restaurants. Here, the price charged for a bottle can sometimes reach five to seven times the restaurant’s purchase price, or even more. At that point, you are paying not only for the wine but also for the setting, service, location and overall experience.

Is it always worth paying more than USD 200 or EUR 200 for a bottle in a restaurant? In my view, certainly not.

One alternative is to look beyond Michelin-starred restaurants and seek out gastronomic restaurants with thoughtfully designed wine lists. Star Wine List is a useful resource for finding such places. From Tel Aviv and Dubai to more established wine destinations such as Paris and London, you can discover restaurants where wine is taken seriously and the mark-ups are often more reasonable.

These can be wonderful places to enjoy great wine.

Take a high-end wine such as Château Rayas from Châteauneuf-du-Pape in France’s southern Rhône Valley. It is one of the region’s most famous and sought-after wines. The same bottle might cost around EUR 1,200 or more in a Michelin-starred restaurant, compared with perhaps EUR 350 to 400 in a gastronomic bistro or brasserie.

You may not have quite the same level of refinement, service or setting as in a Michelin-starred restaurant, but you can still enjoy excellent, beautifully presented food. In my experience, restaurants that pay serious attention to their wine lists often take their food equally seriously.

Another alternative, particularly common in North America, is Bring Your Own Bottle, or BYOB. Many restaurants in major cities across the United States and Canada allow this, usually for a corkage fee. You choose the type of food you want to enjoy and select your wine accordingly, either directly from your own cellar or from a trusted local wine shop.

So, what is a good price for a good bottle of wine?

In many cases, if you visit a trustworthy independent wine shop, you can find excellent wines for around USD or EUR 20 to 30. Many are carefully crafted by knowledgeable winegrowers who understand their vineyards and work respectfully with nature.

This is where wine becomes particularly interesting: bottles that offer genuine quality without requiring you to pay for prestige.

And there is another advantage. A good wine merchant does more than sell you a bottle. They can introduce you to producers you may never have discovered, guide you towards wines that suit your taste and budget, and suggest dishes that will bring the wine to life.

Great wine does not have to be expensive.

You simply need to know where to look.