How much is a bottle of wine really worth?

LIQUOR NEWS

Jul 28th 2011, 09:12

The World’s most expensive bottle of white wine was recently purchased for £75,000 by a private collector by the name of Christian Vanneque. This rare bottle of white wine, an 1811 Chateau d’Yquem will be on display at Christian Vanneque’s restaurant, the SIP Sunset Grill in Bali, Indonesia, when this establishment opens in September.  

(Most expensive bottle of white wine ever sold for £75,000. On the home front the most expensive South African wines range from R700 per bottle to R10 000 per bottle (South Africa’s most expensive wines)

While it may be difficult for some to justify paying these prices for a bottle of wine, it begs the question: What do consumers value when buying wine? And, what do they base their purchase decision on when buying wine?

Recent activity in the wine production industry suggests that it’s not only the quality of the grape that’s important, but also the sustainability of the product as a whole. Wine production has to meet consumer needs in other areas as well.

For example Nampak has produced South Africa’s lightest weight 750 ml bottle, weighing in at 340 grams and “Douglas Green Bellingham’s (DGB) high volume Culemborg range is the first brand to benefit from the ultra lightweight bottle’s raw material, supply chain and environmental savings” (Nampak Wiegand Glass has produced South Africa’s lightest weight 750ml wine bottle).

Fluer du Cap wines from Distell are also focusing on sustainability using its promotional necktags (Fleur du Cap goes green with eco-friendly neck-tags that will grow on you). These necktags are embedded with rocket and basil seeds and can be planted to start a herb garden.

Cape Legends has recently brought out a Sauvignon Blanc Light in their Flat Roof Manor range: “The maiden 2011 vintage has an alcohol-by-volume (ABV) of just 9%. It also boasts 32% fewer kilojoules than the regular 14,3% ABV offering of the same vintage.” (Flat Roof Manor savvy with new light and low-cal wine)

Stellar Winery, a South African fair trade and organic wine producer, is launching its eco-fair logo, showing its commitment to sustainability and ethical production (Stellar Winery Introduces Fair for Life Fair Trade Certification and eco-fair Brand Guarantee.)

From these examples it’s clear that wine producers are focusing on other aspects of wine production that play a role in a consumer’s buying decisions. We look forward to hearing about more innovations from wine producers in the future.