18 Mar Cheap Wine vs. Expensive Wine
Lots of people love a good discount. Especially on something they purchase all the time. Have you ever searched for a great $5 bottle of wine that tastes just like that $30 bottle you had one night on a splurge? Are there real differences between expensive wines and cheaper wines, and if so, we’d love to know what they are! Let’s find out if it’s possible to find the traits we love in expensive wines, at a lower price tag.
What is it that makes wine so expensive, exactly? Some of the traits of expensive wine are oak and time. It is also possible to find these traits in cheaper wines, though, if they are from developing wine countries. The oak comes from aging wine in oak barrels. This does two things. One, it adds oak flavors to a bottle of wine much like a baking spice or vanilla flavoring adds to your cooking. The second thing it does is expose the wine to oxygen causes the tannins to become less intense and smoothing out the taste of the wine. You can expect to spend $2 to $4 more per bottle on oak barrel-aged wines. This is because only 2 oak barrels can be made from an 80-year-old oak tree.
Time is another factor here. It is the assumption that older wine is better, especially concerning red wines. Time changes the taste of fruit flavors in wine and reduces acidity. It has fruit notes that lean more toward dried fruits and stewed fruits making them more subtle. Holding the wine, of course, takes space and money. So you are looking at $1 per year for aging.
So depending on your pallet, you can possibly find bargain bottles that taste just as good, for example, French barrels are in higher demand making them cost twice as much as American barrels. If you do your research, you can potentially find some decent wines you can really enjoy that still have notes of flavors you enjoy. You just have to look. And ultimately, taste testing is key. There are so many things to experience from wines, there’s no reason to limit yourself. Go out there and find your new favorite wine, whether it be $5 or $25!
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