The Price of Wine: Is good wine becoming too expensive?

Join Emily Harman, Jamie Goode, and Doug Wregg as they talk about why wines are becoming more expensive and ask what constitutes value-for-money these days. The trio examine wine margins in restaurants, question why they are (undoubtedly) increasing and explain some of the reasons why this may be the case. We mention some of our favourite places to drink good value wine and why progressive mark-ups encourage customers to drink more interesting wines. Conversely, fixed gross-profit margins are pushing more and more wines out of the pocket of the average consumer. They observe that emerging regions and lesser-heralded grape varieties can provide great value discoveries. To this end, the gang taste a white wine made from Thierry Navarre in Saint-Chinian called Lignières Blanc, a mix of rare and “forgotten varieties” including Ribeyrenc Blanc, Clairette du Languedoc & Grenache Gris, and agree this style of wine overdelivers for the price point. As an alternative to Burgundy, we open a bottle of 2018 Storm “Ignis” Pinot Noir from the relatively cool-climate Upper Hemel-en-Aarde Valley in South Africa.