As we sit and watch our financial system unravel it makes me think about the greed that has led our markets into disaster. How much does one person really need? Why is everyone in our society scrambling to be the richest, most successful person no matter what the cost? Why can we not just be satisfied with what we do have and strive to do our best to make this world a better place for all?
As with everything in life there seems to me to be a direct parallel between the world of wine and the rest of the world. The California wine industry seems to be following the same path as Wall Street. Most wineries just come up with a price because they can, and they are steadily creeping up with many debut wines listing for upwards of $100. Just the other day I received a call from the winery of one of the wines that I carry at Zooker's. They make an outstanding, unique Syrah that I discovered over a year ago. Restrained and very well balanced it was a fresh reminder of what Syrah should be. The call was to inform me that they only had three cases left of the current vintage and the next vintage was going to double in price. I was shocked. I ordered the three cases, but will not be ordering their wine again.
I have had a few days to think about this and I am still shocked. Did the price of grapes increase? Maybe, but not double. Did the price of production increase? Maybe, but not double. The only reason I can come up with is greed. It took 4 years to sell out of the current vintage so it can not simply be a case of supply and demand. The price is doubling simply because it can. I still do not know what to do with this, but I am quickly losing faith in the wine industry. I know there have to be the people who are seeking to offer affordable drinkable wines, but where are they?
In my mind a winery should base what they charge for a bottle of wine on what it costs them to make it. It seems simple...But I doubt if many wine prices are priced according to this method. I think that most wineries simply try and figure out how much someone would pay for their wine. This sounds errily simalar to the oil companies who were charging 5 dollars a gallon just a couple months ago and now prices are down to under 2 dollars. Smells a little fishy to me. Just think about it.
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