Is expensive wine better? To figure this out, lets take a look at what it costs to make a bottle of wine – from the grapes to the cost of a bottle.

If you’ve ever found yourself standing in the wine aisle gawking at the prices, you may have also found yourself wondering,

“Is there really a difference between cheap and expensive wine?”

And,

“Is more expensive wine better?”

To figure this out, let’s take a look at what it costs to make a bottle of wine.

The Cost of Wine Grapes

Grapes are one of several costs that go into producing a bottle of wine. So, to put real numbers behind this cost, I crunched some data from the 2017 California Grape Crush Report.

Here’s what I learned:

1. $5 (for the actual wine part) affords one pretty decent quality juice.
2. There is a substantial price variance between different grape varieties. (Merlot offers superb value!)
3. Napa Valley is, by far, the most expensive place to buy wine grapes. Napa Cabernet Sauvignon costs $12.34 / bottle (weighted average).
4. Some California producers spend as little as 49 cents a bottle for grapes from the Inland Valleys.

Of course, grapes aren’t the only costly thing that goes into making wine.