The $15 red wine dilemma

Are red wines at premiumization’s key price starting to taste the same?

Consider two red wines, recently received as samples: A California pinot noir and a red blend from southern France. Both cost about $15, had the same alcohol, 14.5%, and had the same gibberish on the back label, “elegant” and “structured.”

The other thing they had in common? They tasted almost exactly the same, even though they were made with different grapes and came from different parts of the world. How is that possible?

Welcome to the $15 red wine dilemma, in which an increasing number of producers – for whatever reason – make $15 red wine that tastes mostly the same.

Yes, two wines is not exactly a scientific sample size. But it seems to be part of a trend that started before the pandemic, and has evolved to the point where we are today: A conscious decision to make certain red wines, usually blends and pinot noir, to fit a specific. pre-determined taste profile based on other, best-selling blends and pinot noirs. My guess? They’re targeting older Gen X and Baby Boomer consumers, who have the money to pay $15 for a bottle and have been taught that smoooth is a desirable quality in red wine.

In this, it’s about as cynical as winemaking gets – turning your product into breakfast cereal to appeal to the biggest audience possible. And I’ve seen it with producers who make supermarket plonk as well as those who usually make wine that tastes like wine.

Frankly, this trend scares the hell out of me. Making wine that doesn’t taste like wine isn’t going to save the wine business from itself – and especially when the target audience is already drinking wine. In that case, all it’s going to do is move market share around, and the size of the market isn’t going to get any bigger.

Wine needs to taste like wine – with all the joy and adventure that means – to bring new people to wine. Otherwise, what’s the point?

Photo: Unsplash