How do you mentally value the wine(s) you drink?

WINE TALK
1

I had a conversation with a good friend a few weeks back that really got me thinking. The question he happened to pose involves wine(s) that an individual has bought at or near release, then, held through a substantial rise in the market price of said wine(s). For example, say you bought '90 La Tâche on release and held the wine until present day. If you then go to drink said wine today, do you mentally value yourself drinking what you paid on release, or the current market value of said wine? Personally, every time I open a bottle, whether it’s to drink alone, or with company, I exclusively view the “dollar value” at exactly what I’ve paid for said wine.

2

When I drink wine I rarely think at all about the price. The exceptions are when I am contemplating buying more of whatever I’m drinking.

P Hickner

3

I think it factors into my decision to open bottles sometimes. If I go to grab a bottle of X Pinot Noir to open on a Tuesday, it probably plays some partial role in my decision if I paid $25 for it at some crazy discount versus $50 for it, even if it’s the same wine.

That isn’t really a rational way, and I know the easy thing to say would be that I would never consider something like that, but to be candid, it probably would factor into my thoughts a bit.

What factors more into my decision is quantity. I’m way more likely to open a wine at a more marginal occasion if I have six of them than if I have one of them. The result is that I tend to open wines that I have multiples of, not open bottles I’m on my last one of, and my cellar tends more and more towards onesies.

4

I don’t always think about the value, but when I do, I think about the fair market value at the date of consumption.

b/c that’s the true replacement value of the wine. That said, the value doesn’t influence too much which wine i drink…

5

I do consider scarcity, I have to confess, to a fault. I need to set up a consumption of singletons program.

P Hickner

6

+1


All of my agonizing is at time of purchase…

7

If a wine is in my cellar, I think of it as “free.”

If I find a nugget in the cellar, I go, “Hey! Free wine!”

If there is a disconnect in time from purchase to consumption, I simply consider it “found wine.”

8

Mostly I don’t really think much about the price or the current market value. However, when the hypothetical market price has gone up to crazy levels (such as might be the case had I purchased 90 La Tache back in the day), I probably would very much consider the current market value. At some point, I just can’t get past the value of the thing I would be consuming, rather than selling. Perhaps its the last vestige of my father’s frugality still finding a way to haunt me.

9

Maybe you’re a seller, not a drinker. [snort.gif] [stirthepothal.gif]

On a more serious note, I totally see where you’re coming from. When I kill a bottle I know it’s going to zero and if I can’t accept that, then I’m selling.

10

If I’m opening a bottle alone at home, I might consider whether it’s a bottle I’d rather share with friends, eg '90 La Tache. I don’t worry about the sunk cost or current value.

-Al

11

Just out of curiosity, about how much did '90 LaTache cost on release? I was 9 in 1990 so not as much into wine then.

12

I don’t think about it when opening/drinking it.

13

$233.00/bottle in S. California. A mixed case of DRC 1990 (3 b LT, 3 Ech, 1 Grands, 1 Riche, 3 RSV, and 1 RC) was $2000.00. Released in 1993–so you were 12.

14

I never used to think about it. As others have said, once bought and paid for, I thought of the bottles as free. Or I might give a passing thought to what I’d paid if asked. Then my wife started asking how much certain bottles were worth when we’d open them. I’d give her the purchase price, but she’d want to know the current value. From an economic standpoint she is correct. Eventually her logic trumped my passion and I found it difficult to consider valuable bottles as a sunk cost. Interestingly, she never asked or showed any concern about how much I was spending, and it wasn’t a budget issue. She was just interested in what the bottle we were drinking was worth at the time we were drinking it.

This shift in thinking didn’t really affect my buying or consumption habits… until the China bubble hit. It got pretty uncomfortable opening $500-$1000 bottles, even if I’d paid only a tenth of that. So some of them went off to auction and the rest became special occasion wines, only to be opened with friends present.

15

+1 on this exact sentiment

I’ll admit that when I see that the selling price has increased else where it does feel good in that particular moment. It doesn’t really affect my personal valuation of it when drinking or sharing it though.

16

I buy with value in mind but it’s the singletons in the cellar that kill me. Is it ready? If it’s not, how much will it cost to get another one(s) if I REALLY like it?

17

My problem is what I value it after i have tasted it. Say i bought three bottles for $100. Then I drink one and realize i score it an 88. Im disappointed and value that bottle for a lot less and because I paid so much, drinking them is kind of painful.

18

I always think about it as current market value. But bid-side market value, not some offered-side wine store price.

19

I think about it when the wines are corked. Tonight 2 of 4 wines were corked. One of them was in our cellar for 12 years and this is unacceptable as a waste of money and $$.

20

It does affect when I will consume the wine. A wine that has appreciated significantly and is “prized” in the marketplace is a wine I am much more likely to bring to a wine dinner or other event with other winos versus consuming with a meal at home. That really isn’t logical, but it feels like something that should be shared more widely.