Just a few short years ago, in what now seems like another era, American wine consumers and especially collectors, were chasing wine prices into the stratosphere.  I remember watching in amazement as the “auction value” of some Bordeaux wines doubled and tripled within a year or two.  Fast forward now to the present, where deals for wines are as common as baseballs at spring training.  As wine inventories continue to build worldwide and remain with us for the foreseeable future, I expect that this will be the norm. 

I am interested in a deal for a good or even great wine as much as anyone else.  But the one word that has risen from the dust that rankles me to no end is………..CHEAP.  Promotions such as  “Cheap wines sold here” or “Fine wine at cheap prices” makes me see red!  The word just simply conjures up a vision of poorly crafted jug wine produced in mass quantity poured into a small bathroom sized glass.  I know, I know……..I whined endlessly last year when a restaurant served red wine to me in a small table glass and I took issue with that behavior, as well.  But to do the word justice, I thought that I would research the definition of “cheap.”  After all, if I’m going to take sides, it should be based upon objective data. 

My dictionary source was none other than Websters.  The source has several definitions listed.  Here they are in order:

1) purchasable below the going price or the real value
2) charging or obtainable at a low price
3) depreciated in value as with currency
4) gained with little effort
5) of inferior quality or worth
6) tawdry, sleazy
7) contemptible because of lack of any fine, lofty, or redeeming qualities.
8) Stingy
9) Yielding small satisfaction
10) paying or able to pay less than going prices

Numbers 1, 2 and 10 simply state that one can purchase the product, in this case wine, below the going price.  Hey, that’s great……..who wouldn’t want that opportunity?  Number 3 is irrelevant here.  But numbers 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are the core of what insults me when it comes to advertising wine as “cheap.”  They portray the wine as low end (gained with little effort and lacking fine or redeeming qualities), the vintner simply picking bunches of grapes whether ripe, green or rotten, perhaps throwing the mess into the sorting tank and from there into old wood barrels yielding, in the end, a wine that yields little satisfaction.  The wine need not be offensive.  But this implies that the wine is just there…….hanging out for the novice passerby who may hazard a sip.  Sorry folks, but this marketing ploy used to reel in the unsuspecting consumer is an insult to the vintners who work very hard out in the vineyards year long.  To advertise the results of their hard earned labors as cheap is well……….I would say cheap.  While we have entered an era of frugality that I believe is here to stay, there are alternative approaches to advertising wines that retain the theme of quality while emphasizing value.  How about “outstanding wines at value prices?” 

While there will always be those who are on the hunt for the best deal, even if the quality of the wine suffers, I believe that most core wine consumers don’t want to plow their hard earned dollars down on what they question may be a “cheap” and possibly lackluster product.  They’re willing to pay a little more for the improved quality.  So PLEASE retailers and distributors……….stop cheapening our wine.  Why not make consumers feel knowledgeable and rewarded for finding value and quality?  That’s how to build a new generation of wine enthusiasts.
 

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Tags: Cheap wine