How about ratings inflation?
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Oh, I’m sure if the price comes down, so will the scores 
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Yes. A lot more auction buying. Often cheaper than release with age. I now buy more deeply on wineries I have had before and know to be good. Less shot in the dark on new stuff, especially if it’s pricey. Used to be fine spending 50-60/bottle average and now try to be in the 35-40 range, closer to 35 if possible. Certainly buying from liquor stores less due to outrageous shipping costs.
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Increasing prices have changed the wines I buy for decades. When a wine gets too expensive for me to justify, I find another. I think inflation has almost nothing to do with that. It’s all about makers raising their prices to maximize profits.
If a wine you like went up 15% in price this year, are you blaming that on inflation? On what basis? If the same wine went up 15% in 2019, did you blame inflation? In 1998? Last year, Haut Brion’s release price was up 23% over the prior year. Are we going to say that was caused by inflation? Or are we just going to say Dillon figured he could get the higher price?
Weird question to me
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“Inflation” is a political cover word.
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Yes, I buy better wines now. I used to spend too much of my disposable income dining out. As that has gotten considerably more expensive, I have redirected those dollars to my wine purchases. I have doubled my average cost per bottle, though that number is in decline as I have caught the German Riesling bug.
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We stopped buying specific wines. Aurbert was an easy drop after the, I believe, the 2022 price increases. So was Kistler. Also dropped some wine clubs.
I’ve gone from Haut Brion to Haut Bailly to Haut Batailley to Haut Medoc.
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I saw a Wine Library reel on IG today and Gary and Brandon are talking up a bunch of 90+ rated wines selling for under $10.00, and one is $4.99. My morning Cortado costs more than that.
I am doubt anyone here would rate these that high, but I they are better than $10 bottles I was buying 25 years ago.
Haut boy.
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No, just the volume. Top tier Napa reds new releases have exploded in cost. Many had to raise bc of supply chain inflation scarcity, wage inflation, real estate, building improvement inflation. Yet one told me that a 33% increase was partly because they don’t like to increase prices every year as that pisses their customers off even more. That is BS. Feels like some are because they can…demand exceeds supply and they are now funding further expansion. Some 2016-18-19 Napa high end was $200-225-250. Same wineries 2021 vintage is $275-350. I’m paying more attention to auctions as I prefer 7-12 year old Napa reds. Plus pricing is often under new releases $. It’s psychologically harder to pop an $300 bottle too. I justify it though because restaurant costs have us staying home more.
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