From F5(Wichita ):
What makes a cheap wine taste cheap? Have you ever
pondered this question? I have on many occasions and decided it was time to
find the truth.
The first step in my research was to
locate the least expensive bottle of wine possible and compare it to a finer wine.
I walked the aisles of the liquor store and looked down. The least known, least
expensive wines are usually on the bottom shelf, unless they happen to cost
less because they are on clearance or discounted to move. I found Boone's Farm
for $4, but come on … been there, done that and don't need to ever taste that
again. The next price level was at $6, so I selected this simple,
straightforward 2013 Canyon Road
Chardonnay. Nothing fancy about the label and no extravagant description. So
far there's still nothing to tell me this should be categorized as cheap other
than the price.
There are three things that drive up
the price of wine: oak, time and terroir. (Terroir being the natural
environment in which a particular wine is produced, including factors such as
soil and climate.) Following is a brief insight for each.
Wine growers and producers
know that aging wine in new oak barrels allows them to increase the price
because it improves the taste by adding oak flavors. These barrels also allow
oxygen to permeate and decrease the intensity of tannins, making the wine
smoother. Oak increases the price of wine because the barrels themselves are
expensive too. An 80-year old oak tree will only produce two barrels, with
French barrels costing twice as much as American. The increased price to the
consumer is about $2 to $4 dollars more per bottle.
For the rest click
here.
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