It used to be that there were two or three wine price categories. The three were low priced wines, medium priced wines and high priced wines. That doesn’t seem to be the case these days. I was reading an article by Wine Folly and they show a chart of the different wine categories and their pricing.
- Extreme Value wines, average cost $4.00, this category is made up of bulk wine.
- Value wine, average cost, $4-$10, described as “Basic quality bulk wines from large regions and producers.”
- Popular Premium Wines, average cost $10-$15, “Large production, decent varietal wines and blends
- Premium $14-$20 “Good, solid quality wines
- Super Premium $20-$30 “ Great, handmade wines from medium-large production wineries
- Ultra Premium $30-$40 “Great quality, handmade, excellent-tasting wines from small to large producers”
- Luxury $50-$100 “Excellent wines from wine regions made by near-top producers”
- Super Luxury $100-$200 “Wines from top producers from microsites”
- Icon $200+ “The pinnacle of wines, wineries and microsites.”
So where do your wines fall on this chart both in the category and in the price? Do you find that your wine belongs in one category but that category is not reflected in the price you charge for it? Or are you charging more for a wine that actually belongs in a lower category? Usually that is hard to say, as it can be difficult to judge your own wines.
Wine may taste different to a variety of customers depending on what they like, how much they enjoy wine and what they are looking for. Also depending on the customer. more expensive wines may taste better to some people just because they are more expensive and their expectations are that more expensive wines taste better. The location of your winery may also have something to do with the prices you can charge or the categories you fall into.
Over the next few blogs we are going to look into what it takes to more into the higher categories and prices in the wine world. And what it takes to move up to the Ultra Premium or Luxury categories or even higher. Take some time to think about where your wines are.
A tip of the glass from me to you
E Column
by Elizabeth “E” Slater, In Short Direct Marketing
A recognized expert in the fields of direct marketing and sales in the wine marketplace. Slater has taught more wineries and winery associations how to create and improve the effectiveness of their direct marketing programs and to make the most of each customer’s potential than anyone in the wine industry today.
Follow E on twitter @esavant and facebook.
