I have been involved in many discussions regarding the cost of producing a bottle of wine. As bulk wine brokers tell it, no wine should retail for more than $15/btl. You talk to small wineries producing estate bottled wines and they will tell you their cost is $30-40/btl. Watch this video and you begin to understand the difference.
Paloma Vineyards
When I was at Paloma Vineyards a couple of years ago, the owner Barbara Richards was talking about making up to five passes through her vineyards hand pruning each vine and making the decision to drop up to a third of her crop to achieve the proper concentration in the juice. Then, literally harvesting a block at a time, as shaded, or sunny blocks were at optimum ripeness. When you add the labor for the kind of berry selection shown in this video and the loss of the culled fruit, you begin to see how premium wine production can become expensive.
Blankiet Harvest Selection Video
Here is the link:Â Antonio Galloni – Blankiet Estate.
Take a minute to check it out. This may sway your view of wine production costs.
Douglas Levin - Trained, Certified Advanced Sommelier and Wine Writer
Cool Climate Wine 