How much money is your wine worth?

[joea132]

In the past I have made what I would consider $12 bottles of wine. Last year's California I would consider about a $15-$20 bottle of wine.

On a related topic I have been asked before and always say about $100 with the cost of equipment I have into the hobby!

 

[docjavadude]

It's all priceless, of course!

 

[Fabiola]

I valued my wine between $15 - $20 per bottle, after I asked some people who tried my wines how much will they be willing to pay if I sell it, which is pretty good if you figure out it takes less than $2 to make a bottle ...

 

[wineon4]

So it appears that a good wine made by a hobby winemaker will average between $15.00 to $20.00 per bottle. As I give a considerable amount as gifts I guess I give a nice gift LOL. A local guy is currently building a winery about 6 miles from me, it will be interested to see his prices in a few years, as he is moving from hobby to commercial.

 

[ShelleyDickison]

There is a winery by me that sells wine made from kits for 10.45$ to 12.50$ a bottle. I guess that's an average price. These bottles he sells are the Breezin and mist kits. Not sure if that would be accurate or not. All I know is the surprise on my friends and families faces when they drink it and say "you made this" is priceless to me. So I guess it's all " For The Love of Wine " for me.

 

[JohnT]

It'll be a cold day in He!! before I spend over $20 for a bottle of wine. I cannot believe I wouldn't find a less expensive wine I would like just as much. This would exclude specialty wines such as ice wine or ports.

I hear you RW. I used to feel the same way. One day, I was just thinking, "how good could a $100 bottle of wine be????

Having never tasted a first growth or any of the more celebrated wines, I just wanted to find out for myself. I figured that spending $100 would be a small price to pay to find out. After all, spending $100, in this hobby, is like breathing!.

I do not make this a habbit. Who could possibly afford to? But, just once or twice I could stomach.

So, when a group of us went out to dinner, I tipped the waiter to conduct a blind tasting. In one case, the expensive bottle of brunello was easy to spot (it has a more smokey flavor), but my brunello held up quite nicely! All of the flavor components were there.

We did this a second time with Pinot Noir. This time it was not so easy to tell them appart. 4 out of 7 people actually chose my Pinot as the expensive one. This made the investment worth while. Any kind of confirmation is very hard to come by when making wine. I walked away knowing that not only did I make good wines, but great Pinot and Brunello!

 

[Rocky]

Interesting, JohnT. I never heard the term but I think I have contracted the condition. I am to the point that I cannot enjoy a glass of commercial wine. All I taste is chemicals and harshness. Now I should say that the wines I used to buy and now buy when we are out to dinner are probably in the $10-20 retail price range, which means in a restaurant they would be in the $20-40 range.

We are going out with friends tonight and I will try a bottle again and see if the condition is really an addiction.

We went to a nice local sea food restaurant last night and I ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio from Italy ($28). The wine itself was beautiful, clear and light colored. It had more of an acid taste than white wines I make but I have read that wines paired with fool should have more acid. Frankly, I am more comfortable with the reds I make than my whites. I feel I need to improve there. (Here comes the big BUT) The wine still have that chemical aftertaste that I seem to get in commercial wines.

 

[olusteebus]

Yeah JohnT, that was really a small investment with a good return knowing you are making wines as good as the best.

 

[wineon4]

We went to a nice local sea food restaurant last night and I ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio from Italy ($28). The wine itself was beautiful, clear and light colored. It had more of an acid taste than white wines I make but I have read that wines paired with fool should have more acid. Frankly, I am more comfortable with the reds I make than my whites. I feel I need to improve there. (Here comes the big BUT) The wine still have that chemical aftertaste that I seem to get in commercial wines.

I get that same after taste on many commercial wines I try. Been told by a AWS judge that is usually a result of artificial flavors and artificial enhancers being used in many commercial wines today.

 

[Runningwolf]

John great post and well worth while investment.

 

[tonyt]

At one year my wines remind me of $13 to $17. At two years i'd say up to $20. At three years plus I'd say even more. My three year plus Amarones I easily compare at over $50. In fact I think my three year Amarones are better than a fifty buck Amarone. BUT a ten year old fifty buck commercial Brunello or Amarone can be a humbling experience.

 

[Boatboy24]

BUT a ten year old fifty buck commercial Brunello or Amarone can be a humbling experience.

If you can find one at less than $50...

With kits; lets face it, even the really high end kits are only costing you 6-8 bucks a bottle. If you can make something that rivals a $20+ wine, you are winning.

 

[Bartman]

With kits; lets face it, even the really high end kits are only costing you 6-8 bucks a bottle. If you can make something that rivals a $20+ wine, you are winning.

Agreed, but can you possibly put a price on that homemade wine that is better than the $20 bottle? $40-$60-$80? I have had $40 wine that I thought was poor, and $7 wine that was great, as has most everyone. Once you get beyond the high-volume low-priced to mid-range wines, the prices become highly arbitrary, IMHO. A very expensive wine *can* be only so-so.

 

[Midwest Vintner]

I get that same after taste on many commercial wines I try. Been told by a AWS judge that is usually a result of artificial flavors and artificial enhancers being used in many commercial wines today.

I would imagine that SOME of the larger wineries MIGHT do this. From the bonded winery laws on labeling, it should have it posted on the label if they did. The only flavorings we use are FRUIT, unless you consider a jalapeno a vegetable, then both fruits and vegetables!!! I guess we sell "healthy" choices of fruit and vegetables. LOL

 

[troutstix]

I get that same after taste on many commercial wines I try. Been told by a AWS judge that is usually a result of artificial flavors and artificial enhancers being used in many commercial wines today.

It is called Mega Purple, used on a lot of <$20.00 bottles. Many of the respectable winemakers refuse to use it. Here is a good article on Mega Purple, you can also google to get more info.

ts

 

[Rocky]

It is called Mega Purple, used on a lot of <$20.00 bottles. Many of the respectable winemakers refuse to use it. Here is a good article on Mega Purple, you can also google to get more info.

ts

Thanks, Troutstix. That is an interesting article. I had read that commercial winemakers use "food coloring" and other additives in their wines and this is perhaps what was meant by the article I read.

 

[Geronimo]

It's tough to come up with a single number because it depends on the wine. The high end kits of certain varieties are just barely in parity with high end California vins, costing maybe $25 a bottle. For the Amarones and Barberas, a comparison to a much more expensive bottle is in order. For the whites I'd say 2 or 3 of the kits I've made compare to anything I've drank anywhere with rare exceptions.

When I started this hobby I asked the same question, but now I think of it simply as drinking wine I made that's really good and I wouldn't be drinking anything that compares to it with the same frequency. A good wine was a treat and I wouldn't buy 3 buck Chuck or Franzia ever (yuck-o-rama). Last night we had a Malbec Shiraz that's coming along nicely. That's the other thing; I never got to experience the aging stages like we do now. Sometimes and infantile red wine has very interesting characteristics, but you'd never find a bottle like that in a store....