At the highest end, rare, super-premium wines are amongst the most expensive
of all foodstuffs, and outstanding vintages from the best vineyards may sell for
thousands of dollars per bottle. Red wines, at least partly because of their
ability to form more complex subtleties, are typically more expensive. Some of
the most expensive come from Bordeaux and Burgundy. However, some white dessert
wines like German trockenbeerenauslese or French Sauternes for example, cost
hundreds of euros for a half bottle. Such premium wines are often at their
best years or even decades after bottling. On the other hand, they may spoil
after such long storage periods, unbeknownst to the drinker about to open the
bottle. Part of the expense associated with high-end wine comes from the number
of bottles which must be discarded in order to produce a drinkable wine.
Restaurants will often charge between two and five times the price of what a
wine merchant may ask for an exceptional vintage. This is for a reason: diners
will often return wines that have spoilt and not bear the expense. For
restaurateurs, serving old vintages is a risk that is compensated through
elevated prices. Some high-end wines are Veblen goods.
Exclusive wines come from all the best winemaking regions of the world.
Secondary markets for these wines have consequently developed, as well as
specialised facilities for post-purchase storage for people who either collect
or "invest" in wine. The most common wines purchased for investment are Bordeaux
and Port. The importance of the secondary wine market has led the rise of
so-called "supercritics", most notably Robert M. Parker, Jr. The shift towards a
perceived single-scale of wine analysis (the 100-point scale, or similar) has
caused some traditionalists to claim that this process encourages a reduction in
variety, as winemakers world-wide try to produce the allegedly single style of
wine that will find favour with Mr. Parker and the many consumers who are
influenced by his evaluations. The rise, in the late 90's, of wines produced by
the garagistes in Bourdeaux, and the heavily tannic, highly fruit-driven wines
of the New World, especially in California, Australia and New Zealand, all
selling for prices above that of the First Growths appear to reflect the
influence of Parker and changing wine tastes.
Investment in fine wine has attracted a number of fraudsters who play on fine
wine's exclusive image and their clients' ignorance of this sector of the wine
market. Wine fraud scams often work by charging excessively high prices for the
wine, while representing that it is a sound investment unaffected by economic
cycles. Like any investment, proper research is essential before investing.
False labeling is another dishonest practice commonly used.
Some wines, produced to mark significant events in a country or region, can
also become collectible because of labelling design. An example is the Mildara
Rhine Riesling produced in 1973 to mark the opening of the Sydney Opera House.
Instead of labels, the bottles (red, as well as white) had printing in gold on
them, as seen in the illustration.
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