Let's talk about the wine

Let's face it, nothing runs the gamut of cheap to "are you f'ing kidding me" expensive quite the way wine does. I'm here to tell you one of the most important rules of wine. Price does not equal quality. Don't get me wrong, there are some mind blowing wines that may cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars that are worth every penny. However for the Average Joe, walking into the store and dropping $30 or $40 on a bottle of wine does not in any way guarantee that you are going to get something that is better than the $10 bottle you normally drink.

Let me say this again. Price does not guarantee quality.

The cost of a bottle of wine is based on a whole series of factors including but not limited to, the cost of the land the grapes were grown on, the cost of materials to grow the grapes, the cost of the equipment to produce the wine, the cost of labor to produce the wine, the cost to get the wine to market, taxes all along the way, the reputation of the winery or the wine maker and what someone thinks some schlep is willing to pay for it. You'll notice that most of the factors are associated with the cost to produce a wine. That cost varies from region to region, year to year, winery to winery and wine to wine within a winery's labels. This is what constitutes the economy of wine and the resulting variation in price.

So the next time you hear someone trying to act all snooty and say "I won't drink any wine that costs under $20" just smile to yourself because you know that person knows nothing about the price of wine.