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A few professors in my undergrad econ department have done a lot of actual academic research into this, and, in fact, started the American Association of Wine Economists (https://wine-economics.org) with other economists who are interested in wine worldwide. They have a quarterly peer-reviewed journal, and the articles are genuinely interesting. Sample topics from the latest issue: "Does quality pay off? “Superstar” wines and the uncertain price premium across quality grades" or "Tracking the wines of the Judgment of Paris over time: The case of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars’ Cabernet Sauvignon" A few things I've gleaned from them over the years: 1) People definitely come to a wine tasting and think they have to sound smart. There's always someone who thinks they need to say "something-something oaky" to "fit in" because it's something they saw on TV. The point is not to sound like what you think a smart person sounds like, the point is to find a wine you like. Hard to get around it, but that's what a lot of articles like this are basically pointing out. It's not wrong, but it's also kind of missing the point. 2) People have different fundamental taste profiles – just like some people just like Coke instead of Pepsi, and a €100 Pepsi will taste "bad" to someone who's expecting a €100 Coke. But if you like Pepsi – and there is a real reason that bottle of pepsi costs €100 (e.g. materials, aging, process, etc.) – you're really going to like that €100 Pepsi. 3) As a consequence of 1), there are definitely wines that are more "marketing driven," and tap into that insecurity. I know a few people who have been offered thousands of dollars to steam off the label of empty bottles of wine they kept in their cellar for sentimental reasons, so that those labels could be re-glued to a bottle of whatever, so that they could then be trotted out to pump some dude's ego. It's a shame, but that's people. 4) @Antognini is pretty on target here. For the same vintage, if you open it up right away, you can get a very tasty "house" bottle of wine for €15, but you should taste a very significant difference in the €40-€50 of wine from the same maker. The difference is more likely to show up when you cellar it. The €15 bottle might last for about 3-5 years before losing its taste. The €40 will gain complexity and flavor for 10-15 years. A more expensive bottle from a reputable maker should/might/maybe/is supposed to signal that it's been made to last even longer, like 40-50 years. 5) Plug: A few years ago, I adapted a DOS app the aforementioned professors in my undergrad used in their blind tastings for iOS. You can see results of their tastings going back to the early 90s at http://liquidasset.com, and the app is at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/winetaster-3/id1491063699 |