If you’re not a wine connoisseur, you might wonder why some wines are priced at £3 a bottle, and others can reach into the hundreds or thousands of pounds per bottle. In this article, we take a look at the difference between cheap wine and fine wine so you can see where your money goes. 

The grapes used

Wine is produced from grapes; this resource needs to be grown, cared for and harvested. There are many different vineyards all over the world that produce a wide variety of grapes suitable for making wine. However, they vary significantly based on the method of growing, the soil and even the weather where the grapes are grown. Some vineyards are very expensive to purchase or rent, this is due to their exclusive location. In addition, fine wine producers will often produce fewer grapes to ensure the ones that do grow are the best possible quality. Other areas struggle with varying weather conditions and may only be able to produce a small yield of grapes over a long period of time. When the grapes cost more to grow, or the yield is lower, the wine needs to be priced higher for the wine producer to make a profit.

History and heritage

Wine has a lot of history and heritage; certain areas have been known for centuries as great wine producers. Often, but not always, a wine with a long heritage will be a better quality and tastier to drink. Even if the wine isn’t as good as a bottle that’s been produced in a newer area without history, it’s still likely to be more expensive. You’re paying more money for the additional history and heritage that comes with buying wine from that area.

The ageing process

Wine goes through an ageing process, which helps to improve the flavours and aroma of the wine. This ageing process, whether it’s done in the barrel, bottle or both, takes time and space. This extra time and space adds money to the cost of the bottle of wine. A wine that hasn’t been aged for long can quickly turn a profit for the manufacturer, whereas those that sit in the barrel or bottle for several months or years will be more expensive as the producer often won’t have the space to produce and store as many fine wines at once. 

The barrels used for ageing

Finer wines are aged in barrels; these are often made from oak and are used as they give the wine certain characteristics and flavours. Some wines don’t go through an ageing process, or if they do, they use alternative materials; you will often pay less for a wine that hasn’t been aged in an oak barrel. In addition, some wine producers choose to purchase new oak barrels each year to ensure their wine gets the maximum flavour from the oak. Buying new oak barrels is expensive, and this cost will often be passed on to the consumer. 

The brand and marketing 

The brand and marketing of the wine play a part in the cost of a bottle. Some producers choose to target the premium end of the market, branding their wine as luxurious and spending lots of money on the label, bottle and advertising campaign. Other wine manufacturers prefer to keep things simple and sell in large quantities in order to make money, keeping branding and marketing costs as low as possible. These two wines could be similar in taste but priced differently, with the luxury wine having a higher price and the budget wine being much cheaper.

These are just some of the things that impact the cost of a bottle of wine. Many factors also impact the flavour and enjoyment you’re likely to get out of the wine. A fine wine that’s been carefully produced with selective grapes, aged in a new oak barrel and left for a few years, will have a much more complex and interesting flavour and aroma profile compared to one that’s been mass-produced and sold cheaply and as quickly as possible. Still, it’s important to try many different types of wine to find out which ones you prefer to drink.