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Hello there! I'm Dr. Vinifera, or "Vinny" for short. Ask me your toughest wine questions, from the technical aspects of winemaking to the fine points of etiquette. I hope you find my answers educational and even amusing. Want to see more of them? Check out my archive. And here are my most Frequently Asked Questions.
Dear Dr. Vinny,
How can less expensive wines be as good as more expensive wines?
—Cory, Oconomowoc, Wis.
Dear Cory,
It might sound crazy, but when it comes to wine, quality and price aren't always related. Sometimes they are, but sometimes they aren't. Producers can charge whatever they want for a bottle of wine, no matter how good it is, or how much it costs to make. And, seeing as how we live in a free market society, it's typical to charge as much as possible.
When we review wines at Wine Spectator, we don't take producer or price into account—every wine has an equal shot at 100 points, whether it costs $10 or $110, whether they're a new producer or have been around for a while. It's not unusual for us to take the bags off and discover we've given a higher score to a wine that costs less.
Of course, you should always trust your own palate. And note that if you do not taste wines in blind tastings (as we do) you might find yourself more emotionally and financially invested in a wine if you paid big bucks for it, and discover you like it more than one that was less expensive.
—Dr. Vinny
Do you have a question for me? Fire away!
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