The Values in Virginia

I recently came across a blog post (actually written in .doc) that derided the pricing of Virginia wines in light of their perceived quality relative to that of the rest of the world. That post was from 2003, so it’s a problem that isn’t new. More recently, fellow bloggers at Wine Compass lamented the pricing of Virginia Wines at the Virginia Wine Showcase. They have a valid point.

It is true that the halcyon days of sub-$10 wines that you’d consider “good” are ending. And, one cannot argue that many of the wines flaunted at the Virginia Wine Showcase, the reds especially, were averaging $18-$25 a pop with little variation. With regards to quality, I can see how one would make this assertion:

(A $20 Virginia Wine) < ($20 from any established wine region)

There are a few issues to dive into here.

First, regardless of pricing, wine falls into the luxury goods category in that a $20 wine is perceived by the consumer as “better” than a $10 wine. We’re not talking tasting, we’re talking about purely shelf prices when shopping at the store. Selling your wine for $10 is almost an admission of inferiority. I would bet that a $20 Cabernet Sauvignon from Wherever Winery would sell faster than the exact same wine in the exact same bottle priced at $10. Again, we’re dealing with perception by the giant sea that is the casual wine consumer and not the narrow focus group of wine dorks who snub their nose at such foolishness.

Second, market forces are at work here. Some winery raised the price of their Cab Franc to $19 and they sold out of it. So, the winery next door ran their Cab Franc up to $22 and they sold out of it too. The pricing will go as high as the consumer will stand, quality of product be damned. The wine industry is booming and demand is increasing. Unless production suddenly skyrockets (who’d be dumb enough to do that?) then prices will rise.

Finally, I’ve been guilty of doing this test where you say “I have $15 dollars, which wine region will likely provide me with the best wine for my buck?” Virginia is pretty far down on that list. Maryland, even farther. If you go to the register with some Burgundy Villages or Italian Rosso, you’re in pretty good shape, even for $15.

But, this is unfair because, for starters, Europe has about a 1000 year head start on us in terms of wine making. The sheer volume that they turn out almost guarantees that, for $15, something has to be good. And, because of that volume, something has to be awful too. The sample set is so large, so of course the number of good bottles is bigger. The number of plonky bottles is bigger too.

So, to belabor a point here, I don’t pick up a $20 Virginia wine because Virginia wines stand toe-to-toe with Central Coast Syrahs in terms of quality. I pick up the wines because it’s fun exploring new regions. It’s fun dissecting why wines work with foods, where the wayward bottle went wrong, and seeing if Virginia Cabs smell different than the gorillas from Napa (they do). Last, when you do come across that $20 gem that you can’t wait to tell your friends about (or blog about, Ye Gods) that makes it all worth it.