Why the wine industry is stupid.

Formule 1 Motel, Montmartre, Paris - €33/night

Georges V Hotel, Paris – €915/night

Rolls Royce - $250,000 Ford Ka - $10,000

Cheese and Ham Sandwich - $5 Cheese Soufflé - $20

In each of these cases, there’s a visible difference anyone can

recognise between the cheaper and more expensive item.

(Even if one might question the magnitudes of the differences)

Ribera del Duero wine

Ribera del Duero wine

Ribera del Duero wine - €175 Ribera del Duero wine - €1.80

Which other industry packages its cheapest product in almost precisely the same way as its most expensive (75cl glass bottle; capsule; cork; label; appellation)?

And expects consumers to educate themselves to understand why one costs more than the other.

Note: I happened to choose a pair of Ribera del Dueros. The same rules apply to a long list of other European regions – as well as to bottles of the same grape variety.

The US and Australia are exceptions to this rule (there are very few cheap Napa or Oregon wines, and most of Australia’s cheapest wines come in bag-in-box or “cask” form). Maybe that’s why these countries’ wine industries are less broke than Europe’s

Intelligent solutions1) Stop selling supposedly “premium”

wines at discount prices.2) Stop packaging cheap wines in ways that

mimic premium ones3) Package genuine premium wines in a

way that sets them apart

Chances of any of these happening: zero