Whilst the enjoyment of wine is deeply subjective and reliant on personal preference, several factors are at play when determining what makes one bottle excel above others. People’s taste palates differ vastly; some favour a rich, sweet wine, others opt for something crisper and more dry. Your top choice won’t necessarily concur with mine, this exemplifies the diversity of preferences.
Excluding personal preferences, the excellence of wine is about experience, maturity and production costs, sadly linking it to price. Factors such as the environment, occasion and company can enhance the taste of wine considerably. For instance, a basic bottle of wine can be thoroughly enjoyed when coupled with good food and exceptional company.
Wine maturity also contributes to taste; a minority of wines having a richer taste after ageing over a period of years. However, the primary determining factor is the cost of production. High-quality wines are costly to produce and thus fetch a higher price in the market. This allows the producers to implement methods to enhance the flavour.
Efforts to improve taste include deliberately minimising grape yields to concentrate flavour, discarding imperfect grapes or reserving them for cheaper wines, employing costly machinery or labour to sort and pick the finest grapes. At times, producers who use expensive machinery and new oak barrels improve the wine’s taste significantly.
Additionally, factors such as soil quality and climate greatly affect the final product. Regions like Burgundy and Germany have, over centuries, identified specific vineyards known to produce superior wine. However, regardless of the efforts lavished on the wine, it may not match up to the taste of others.
Ultimately, the wine grower and maker’s expertise is crucial. The thrill for any wine drinker is stumbling upon talented producers making wines that far surpass their price. Unfortunately, once they’re discovered and gain popularity, the price inflates.
It’s worth noting that a higher price doesn’t always guarantee a superior taste. Producers of world-renowned wines or regions can command a higher price, but that doesn’t necessarily enhance the quality.