The Best Wine

What is the best wine? Is it based on the price you paid? When you buy a consumer product such as an appliance or item of apparel the phrase 'You get what you pay for' is so often true. Is that how it works for wine?

I spoke to a person in the wine industry and he said the price you pay is often dependent on the amount available. How much you like it may not be relevant to the cost, unless your brain convinces you it must be good at that price.

That was confirmed recently when we had some guests around for dinner. They brought a bottle of red wine which was not a cheap drop. I supplemented that with some of my own. I estimate what I had was about a third of the price of theirs, but I buy it because I really like it.

During the evening the guest wanted to see the label of my wine because they really liked it too. I sensed surprise when they recognised it as part of a relatively basic range. Their generosity was appreciated, but their wine was nothing special to the palate.

So when you find a nice wine, run with it. If it's not expensive all the better. It seems to me that while you usually get what you pay for, in the case of wine, it isn't always so.