How Much You Should Pay for a Good or Great Bottle of Wine

How much should you or I pay for a good or great bottle of wine? I wish I knew the answer. But, even though I don't, I think I can tell you how to think about it. But, before I do that, answer a few other questions for me.

How much would you pay for front-row seats at Hamilton? Or a private concert at your vacation home from the Rolling Stones? Or a sideline pass with your favorite team in the Super Bowl? Or for a vintage Ferrari or Rolls Royce?

Obviously, the answer to any of those depends on a lot of factors. How passionate is your passion? How much money do you have and, by implication, how much can you afford to spend? Is the experience worth it? Will your life change for the better or worse because of your decision?

Dream with me for a second. You're in Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates territory. You're worth $100 billion or more. Price does not matter. If you really want the experience, you can buy the experience. And, on the other side, you are in unfortunate times. You wonder where the money for your next meal is coming from. It doesn't matter if you want the experience -- any experience -- you can't buy the experience. My questions go to all of those people far more toward the middle of the spectrum. We're talking about the people in the range of price matters at least a little bit until we reach some breaking point where it matters a lot to those where price matters a lot, but they're still willing to buy some experiences.

Back to wine now. When is wine worth it?

Loyal readers will recall that I recently wrote about a special wine experience. In case you didn't, please understand that neither I, nor anyone I tasted this wine with paid a penny for it. It came to us through a series of gifting and transitions for the purpose of safe storage. 

I did some searching online. Were I to attempt to buy that same bottle from a reputable source today, the cost would be nearly $1500. So, should someone pay $1000 to $1500 for that bottle of wine? 

No! Not a chance. As an investment, it is unlikely that the value will increase in the future by any meaningful amount. And, there was nothing about the wine itself that made it worth that kind of money. It was an interesting wine and it was very cool to drink a 41-year old first growth Bordeaux. But, that one in particular was not that oof the charts wine that changes lives. It was a great experience.

So, now let's come back to reality. How much should you or I spend?

In addition to the question of what you or I can afford, so much comes down to whether or not you can tell the difference, whether the experience will be such that is justfied the cost. 

Would you pay $700 for greens fees and a caddy at Pebble Beach? If so, why? You're a passionate golfer and it is undoubtedly one of the great experiences in the game of golf. But, if you play to a 30 handicap and play golf for the enjoyment of your one par per round, you're probably not getting any at Pebble Beach, so I would weigh in that $700 is about $650 too much for you. But, if you are a scratch golfer who marvels at the thought of taking on that majestic course and you can afford it, but all means go for it. You won't regret it. You'll talk about sinking that 15 footer for a closing birdie on #18 for the rest of your life.

With wine, it's similar. How good is your palate. Do you know what you like in wine? How frequently are you going to do it?

Despite all that I write here about great wines and great places, we drink mostly very pedestrian wines that we buy at the lowest prices we can get them. On nights, either at home or out to eat, if we are eating something pretty special, we do tend to go that direction with wine. But, that said, I can't tell you the last time that I ordered a bottle of wine at a restaurant that was among the 10% or possibly even 20% most expensive on the wine list. And, I know what I am ordering.

Yes, if it was an opportunity to drink a wine that I have lusted over, so to speak, for years, and the price didn't make me choke on my food, I would probably make an exception, but those exceptions are frankly rare.

When you go to your favorite wine shop, give yourself a budget for a bottle or give yourself a number of bottles you play to buy and a budget for that number of bottles. You'll get more value if you buy from regions that most people don't think of, but if you have the budget to do it, throw in a few carefully selected bottles that seem pretty special. 

At a restaurant, first remember all the pairing suggestions you have gotten here over the last nearly 10 months. Have a budget in mind. Look for something not in excess of 80% of that budget, that way, if you have to "round up," you still won't be over your budget. When you're selecting, use a wine app if you trust them (I don't trust community ratings because I don't know which members of the community have rated them) or better yet, remember a few label items that have appealed to you. For example, if you really liked a Monastrell (Mourvedre or Mataro) from Jumilla, try another one. You'll likely find a similar style. Or, if you know that you McLaren Vale Shiraz has floated your boat, keep it floating.

As the price of a wine doubles, does your enjoyment double? How would I know? I don't know if mine does. But, similarly, as the price of your car doubles, does your enjoyment double? It's that kind of question.