Unlike decorative stoppers

Discovering value in wine is real adventure these days. My Dad liked $3.99 a bottle as his high end purchase, but that was a little over thirty-five years ago.What does that translate to today? $8? Nope. $10? Not really. $15? Now we’re getting closer. I’d say about $18 in today’s market, and that would be a real value in wine.

I was at an organic potluck with a group of twenty or so organic food lovers. One guy in particular had all the ingredients in his dish written out on an index card. He came around to everyone, asking the details of the ingredients in each of their dishes.

I noticed he brought a bottle of wine that lives on most supermarket shelves, from coast to coast. It was not organic. It was SO not organic. It belonged in the far reaches of the “Made Without Any Association to Sustainable Farming and Natural Winemaking Club.” That’s the nice way to say its existence required pesticides, fertilizers and insecticides. Not to mention, additives and manipulations in the winemaking process to funnel the finished product into a predetermined taste profile good for mass production, consumption, and ease of marketing.

As I asked him about his wine choice for the potluck, he described trying multiple organic wines that were inconsistent and unsatisfying. He concluded that wine in general was natural enough and it wasn’t worth spending the bucks for uninspiring organic wine. His party choice was a taste he loved and so did most of his friends. Plus, he could find it anywhere for $6-$7. To him that was value in wine.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t natural wine. He was supporting one part of his life, something he was so passionate about avoiding in another. Defining what natural wine really is, and how to understand and enjoy natural wine are excellent questions.

What factors influence what a bottle of well made, natural, ConsciousWine costs?

    The cost of small hand-crafted production
    Incorporating animals onto the farm (which requires feed, veterinarians, and someone to take care of them)
    Biodiversity and regenerative farming practices (including cultivating insectaries, composting, and cover crops)
    Natural winemaking (which requires consistent monitoring by talented, skilled and preferably real people paid a real, living wage)
    High quality stainless steel tanks (which are utilized a little over a month per year)
    60 gallon French oak barrels (costing over $1000 a pop)
    Health benefits for employees
    Certifications (to be able to be acknowledged for using “Organically Grown Grapes” or “Made from Biodynamically Grown Grapes” and making “Biodynamic Wine”).


So what is the price-tag for a bottle of ConsciousWine (one that represents value in wine) ?

Just under $15 is the starting point. Head to the $20′s and $30′s per bottle and you’re in the land of many great experiences. Almost without exception, these wines unfold over several days once opened, yielding layers of interest and delight as they air. You get a multi-day experience to savor offering a variety of experiences all in one bottle. That’s value in wine!

A couple more things to know:

1. I’ve yet to see a Porsche or Ferrari in any ConsciousWineries’ garage.

2. As a labor of love, very few wineries really make a lot of money.

    Importers, distributors, and occasionally retailers make the money in the wine world, and the big corporate wineries get their wine to supermarket shelves for guess what…$6-10 a bottle.

Bottom Line:

It’s not cheap to do the right thing, and it’s interesting to ponder what exactly represents value in wine.