Prudent and Practical

I began to wonder this during the festivities over the last couple months. I gave a $10 bottle of champagne to my sister as a hostess gift because it was her very first time hosting Thanksgiving dinner. Is $10 enough for a bottle of champagne? Should I have spent extra for a more exquisite bottle? And does it taste as good as those $1000 bottles of wine and champagne that the celebrities and executives drink?

This article was first published on January 21, 2009.

A thesis, Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better? Evidence from a Large Sample of Blind Tastings, was published on April 18, 2008 by the American Association of Wine Economists. A group of researchers performed a double-blind test with over 6,000 participants. Wine prices ranged from $1.65 to $150 per bottle.

The findings? Without knowledge of the price, participants didn’t enjoy expensive wine more than cheaper wine, in fact, they enjoyed it slightly less! Expensive bottles will have a lot of complexity and length which cheap bottles lack, but most consumers don’t have the training to taste the difference. The majority of the participants who could taste a difference between the prices were the ones who had special wine training.

Through statistics (and a lot of math) it was figured that the point at which both the experts and non-experts would rate a wine the same is at about $25. The average consumer will get more satisfaction from wine (and even beer) if they know that they are drinking a higher priced beverage and/or a favorite brand. It was then concluded that the prices of wines and a list of wines recommended by experts may not help the average wine consumer pick the right bottle for themselves.

While in Nevada recently for a business trip, we purchased wine with dinner. I didn’t think anything more of the prices per bottle until our last night there. I ordered the same champagne that was served at our wedding. The bottle at the Nevada restaurant was $36. I remember complaining about the price when we had it served at our reception, and then it was $12 per bottle two years ago. When we got back home, I checked our local grocer and found the same champagne for only $8! So, obviously the location or venue where you purchase your wine has an effect on its price!

According the Jonathan Pedley, author of Good Housekeeping’s Wine Book, supermarkets have come to be the main place to purchase inexpensive to mid-priced wine. You can also purchase wine through online retailers, but to help defray shipping charges, purchasing a 12-bottle case is recommended. Here in the Midwest, you can find some fantastic wine for $8-12 at the local wineries. Benefits of this include seeing how the wine you’re about to purchase was created and being able to taste-test before purchasing.

Associated Press writer Michelle Locke has written about finding economical sparkling wines. As time and technology progresses, more and more decent inexpensive wines are made available. Most of these are from the US, Australia, Spain, and Italy.

The professionals interviewed in the article suggested the following sparkling wines available for around $10:

• Cristalino cava brut
• Domaine Ste. Michelle blanc de blanc
• Freixenet cordon negro brut
• Yellow Tail sparkling white wine
• Segura Viudas Aria
• Dolce Vita prosecco
• Barefoot Cellars Barefoot Bubbly Chardonnay Champagne
• Crane Lake Brut
• Ricossa Moscato D’Asti
• Banrock Station Sparkling Chardonnay

So now you have a nice list of sparkling wines to try out. I also feel relieved knowing that I spent an appropriate amount on that bottle of spumante for my sister last Thanksgiving.  Happy drinking!