Why some wines cost more than others?

By DAVID THEUS

Case in point. This past weekend, I had the pleasure of receiving a bottle of shiraz from my sister who was visiting for the weekend. This particular shiraz was from a winery in the Adelaide Plains or South Australia called Old Plains, and this particular shiraz was called: Longhop Boomerang  Shiraz 2004.

A shiraz is a specific grape with origin not exactly known. Some believe that it originated in ancient Persia, modern day Iran. It's name comes from the city of Shiraz in the foothills of the Zagros Mountains in Iran. It’s journey has continued on to California and Australia, and now these wines are known for their subtle spiciness in aroma. Close your eyes and you can smell the cinnamon, and rose petals, raspberry, and even black pepper.

Now in order to better understand the concept of more expensive wines requires you to understand a basic principal of Economics, known as supply and demand and an understanding about the particular wine’s origin and history is important as well.

Adelaide Plains old vine reds used to produce this shiraz are sourced from the remaining survival plantings of the 1950s which escaped the vine pull of the 1980s, these particular rich powerful reds, were known for their individual personality. What remained of the old vines was half an acre here and one acre there for the making of table wine for own consumption. In 1998 the winery approached growers telling them of the winery’s dream for future dealings with their grape yards; they ranged from 2 x 100mt rows - 4 acres where they were once 40 acre allotments. After securing the remaining old vine Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache from the 50s has been preserved.

2003 was their first vintage which would have made the Old Plains very proud in showcasing the real identity of this region and the wines produced. The second just released 2004. This particular winery’s philosophy is to let the vineyard express its glory and the winery plays a simplicity non intervention role in the wine making i.e.; whole berry, open fermenters, hand plunging, basket pressing and 25% new oak is implemented to showcase the fruit and allow the oak to play a supporting role.

After a few strong reviews from industry experts like Robert Parker and Campbell Mattinson you’ve got yourself a wine surely to climb the charts in demand. Add to this that the highly anticipated 2004 release has surpassed all of the experts expectations for color and flavor and the experts are saying this is a wine to put away for 15 years. Lastly, the supply side of the equation. The winery only produced 250 dozen cases, a very limited release indeed.

To recap, you’re lucky enough to find a wine that exceeds your expectations for color, aroma, body, and flavor, combine that with a handful of experts saying how great it is, and the last piece of the puzzle is the winery produces a limited number of cases, you’ve got a wine surely to climb in price.