The Price Of Wine: Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
I think we pay too little for our wine. But before I go on to explain myself I thought I would just mention the wobbly crutch upon which my argument supports itself. Interest. You know that I believe people should take more of an interest in wine and consume more of it. I am not going to go into detail about that here – I have touched on it elsewhere – suffice to say that by becoming a nation with a wine culture, our drinking would lean more toward moderation than the binging type we see nowadays. But the key here is interest. If you don’t give a single hoot about wine, you are not very likely to pay more for the stuff than you have to.
That being said, I still think we should be paying a bit more. These thoughts have clouded my brain like a Joburg smog – discussions about money always leave a dirty taste – since I heard a few different pronouncements about wine and money. The first was at the Swartland Revolution – the constitutionally testing wine event I attended this weekend, whose schedule ran daily from august conversations about fine wine to hangovers that would bring a tear to your eye and a lump to your throat. Jamie Goode, British wine writer, wine science boffin and all round decent chap, was commenting on a wine he was presenting during one of the seminars – Herve Souhaut’s Romaneaux-Destezet Syrah 2010 to be precise – and said it was very affordable at 10-12 quid. By jolly I thought, many South Africans I chat to would not call 130-155 bucks very affordable.
The second mention of wine prices happened on this website’s sister radio-station. The presenter at the time was searching for a wine’s name. He knew it was white, a blend, from De Grendel, and that he liked it very much. He’d meant The Winifred. I thought to myself that some of these presenters really do have good sense; that was until he said it wasn’t cheap at around R80. I gasped. This wine, offering complexity, balance and interest, and which this man proclaims to like very much is surely a bargain for R80; not an antique, sure, but still a bargain.
I also shot the breeze recently with a fellow who is not much of a wine drinker. We chatted idly about which wines he drank and how much he paid. I took him to be somewhat representative of those who enjoy having some wine, but generally don’t spend a whole lot. He mainly purchases wine in supermarkets, and the maximum he would pay when looking for something special was R150. All well and good. But it turns out that R150 was only for red wine and he’d never pay that for a white. I realized that this was really common thinking, and I used to think similarly.
The final comment that occurred to me in relation to price – I was beginning to tire of it all to be honest – was drink, and hell to the wallet. Although it is probably a good idea for me to take price into cognisance, as my bank account is still decidedly Grecian, and if I try to squeeze any more money out of Mr. Plastic my bank manager may stone me with olives. As I was saying, the final monetary comments occurred between myself, an editor of an online wine newsletter, and a sommelier friend of mine who has drank more fine wine than you’ve had cups of tea. Miss Magazine was describing some wines that she was not too fond of; I defended them in terms of price (a R30 Chenin, R40 Sauv Blanc, and a R50 Merlot), and asked what she excepted for such wines. She, it seemed, demanded quite a lot. I countered, saying that having tasted them, they were perfectly acceptable for such a rock-bottom price. I looked to Mr. Sommelier for support, and found it. His response was that when you buy a wine for under R50, all you can expect is for the wine to be clean, drinkable, and without any faults. Essentially, you don’t pay for a ham sandwich and get an eight course degustation menu.
So what do I take from these anecdotes? When the smog of thoughts cleared I was left with the distinct impression that we expect to pay very little in South Africa, for wines of high quality. The De Grendel Winifred is super, and for the price, a bargain. People, I think, generally taste wines within a rather narrow price band, say, R30 to R100 (and that’s generous, I suspect it is lower). Within this price range there are excellent wines, and wines that are better suited for antiseptic uses. I believe, however, that on the whole they are of an average, okay but not amazing, generally you won’t punch the air when you taste them, kind of wines. The narrower the band the more similar the quality.
Now, if people are content to remain within their little band of spending, they don’t get to experience wines outside these confines. White wine is a perfect example. People don’t believe (massive generalization, I know) they are getting value for money if they spend over R100 bucks on a white wine. White wine has the perception that it should remain far under the price of red wine of the same quality. How to counter this perception? Spend more money on white wine and find out for yourself.
I have no problem with the wines in the R50 and under category, they have their place and serve their purpose, but they will hardly ever be great wines – just clean, drinkable, and not faulty. When you start looking for really good wines you need to explore both type and in price. If you find a wine for R140, it’s still a good deal if the wine is excellent, like the Romaneaux-Destezet. We don’t shout “what a bargain!” when we see something like the Oak Valley OV (Sauvignon/Semillon) for R130. We think, “For realz? Over a hundred for a white? Jassis.” We need to start seeing the value in these sorts of wines. So when I say that we spend too little on wine, I don’t mean that the prices are too low, but that we are not spending enough.
In the end, as I said, it comes down to interest. Interest in wine. Interest in trying to expand your vinous world. I try to encourage people to drink more, different, and better wines as much as possible – I fear now I must also try and convince them that at R150 for a really fine-wine, it is actually quite a decent price. I think I might have to find some Chinese friends.
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5 Comments
Gordon Newton Johnson
16 Nov 2011
Lekker article Harry! Reminds me of a time during harvest. Where everything was running smoothly, the ‘creche’ was under control, and I for a brief moment found myself absent from being a complete arsehole (as winemakers generally do during this time). This guy had wondered from the tasting room and was checking things out where we were processing the grapes. Just your average guy, enjoyed his beer, his wine, the odd mixer I assumed. I brought him in to see what we were doing. Told him how I was able to decipher a good bottle of Tassies from the label (admittedly I haven’t done that in quite a while). I took him through the whole process and showed him why we doing it. He couldn’t believe the detail and developed a new found respect for wine.
There’s nothing wrong with drinking the quaffer for under R50.
There are some good ones. However, if you want a better wine experience then there are some great ones out there. Made by people who make their full living off this industry.
Harry
17 Nov 2011
Gordon, I think you just have proved beyond doubt that I waffle, as you have said essentially what I wanted to in a few short words.
Going to have to get the Newton Johnsons in the studio for a chat sometime.
Claude Felbert
17 Nov 2011
Excellent article that captures the way many wine drinkers feel about price. I think its because so much wine is bought at supermarkets where there is little or no indication of what is good or ordinary. Supermarket buyers place producers under a constant price squeeze and as a result quality sometimes suffers and therefore so called quaffers are a lottery. This does not mean that inexpensive wines can’t be good or even very good – as a panel taster for 25 years at Wine of the Month Club I know what it is like to taste many ordinary wines to come up with superior wines in all categories for members.
The Zander
17 Nov 2011
Its that old cliché that Life is too short to drink shart wine…the trick is (which ties in with your first point about taking an interest in what you’re dopping) to know where lies value. Value is a loose term as it requires both a wealth factor and knowledge, but my point is that one man’s R30 is another’s R300. Although im going through a cynical stage of my life and tend to spit at most publications and other commercial award shows, instead of support them, something like Platter’s ‘Superquaffer’ list is a nifty little tool for both the educated and the ignorant. Sitting in an upmarket Melrose restaurant on Sunday lunch I found myself drowned in a typical Jo’burg crowd. Given the vibe of this restaurant the majority of diners were Black diamonds (hate the term) with new money and old jews with old money. The one thing bringing them together was the expensive wine on every table. Feeling out of place being neither black or jewish I decided to buck the trend and order a bottle of Platter’s Superquaffer of the year, the Wolftrap White, at R110 on the list (R10 more that my scallop starter). I worked out that the last time I found myself paying R110 for a bottle of booze was at the Terrace 7 years ago (with aide of Gordy’s trick), so was expecting the worst. The wine was exceptional, and after 3 bottles im now a fan. It certainly doesn’t mean that I’ll only ever drink that wine (The Chablis later that evening was just fine) but given a time and place drinking down can be more rewarding than drinking up!
Kelly
08 Dec 2011
And to think a great deal of young South African expats are paying much more for one glass of crappy Australian wine than we ever would for a whole decent bottle back home.
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