Wines at the most expensive and prestigious end of the spectrum continue to grow in popularity. And prices, which have been climbing for years, show no signs of slowing down. But for all of the attention that the most sought-after wines get — their scores are parsed; their SRPs and performance at auction are analyzed — the economics of producing and distributing them are often overlooked.
With this in mind, I spoke with some of the people responsible for a handful of the wines generally considered to reside near the top of the proverbial pyramid for insight into what goes into crafting, packaging, shipping and promoting them in the hopes of gaining a better understanding of what sets them apart, and what goes into determining their price beyond traditional market forces. READ MORE…