I never really fully understood how fascinating wine was until I
took a class on it. It is amazing all the different things that go into
making a wine. I used to think it was as simple and getting some grapes
and squishing them, but no wine making is indeed an art that has taken
years and years to perfect, and I am sure that it still hasn't reached
perfection. It's also amazing how different factors affect the price of a
bottle.
What makes wine so expensive you ask? A number of factors
one is where the wine has been made. After much experimentation in
different regions experienced wine growers have found exactly where in
the world the best grapes for wines can be grown. For instance Riesling
grows very well in Germany near the Mosel River, Riesling grows well in
California as well. Merlot grapes are probably best when grown in a
consistently cool climate as opposed to a very hot and dry climate.
Merlot does well in the Bordeaux region of France and is often used with
other red grapes to make nice Bordeaux Blends. Another factor that
determines the price of wine is how it is aged. Wine is often aged in
wood barrels and the type of wood that is used to make those barrels
varies in price. The more expensive the wood the more expensive the
wine, different woods give off different characteristics to each wine.
The top producing regions of wine are France, Italy, Northern
California, Germany, Australia, South Africa, Chile, and Portugal.
Here are some of the world's most expensive wines:
Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 1992 & Screaming Eagle 1994
Screaming
Eagle is a winery in Napa Valley's Oakville AVA, it was founded in 1986
by Jean Philips and Tony Bowden founded the winery in 1986. They began
with a plot of land that was less than 6o acres planted in vineyards
that were mostly white grapes. Eventually, however, the whites were
pulled out and Cabernet Sauvignon with some Merlot and Cabernet Franc
were planted instead. At first the grapes were sold to other wineries,
but eventually Philips began to experiment. She was helped by scientist
wine maker Richard Peterson and his daughter Heidi Peterson Barrett.
Heidi helped produce wine to give Screaming Eagle the reputation of
making good wine.
It is a wine with a dark purple color and
infused with flavors of blackcurrants and toasty oak. It is rich, sweet,
and creamy, with fruity flavors. The wine sold at an auction in Napa
for charity for about $80,000 a bottle, a case of six sold for $500,000.
Screaming Eagle 1994 can be bought for about $4000.
Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1982 & Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1945
These
wines like the Screaming Eagle also has blackcurrant taste but these
have has a sort of licorice aroma with hints of gingerbread, caramel,
mocha, and candied peel. It has other flavors of black fruit, spice,
vanilla, cinnamon, pepper, cherry, and chocolate. At the beginning in
1982, Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1982 was selling for $390 a case; by
1996 it was about that for just a bottle. Average price now is about
$2000. Chateau Mouton Rothschild 1945 sells for about $13,000.
Chateau
Mouton Rothschild weren't always considered great wines by the French
standards. Napoleon was actually the first to instill a way in which
wine was rated; it was rated by growths with "first growth" being the
best. Chateau Mouton Rothschild was never elevated to "first growth"
until the 1970s though because the vineyards were owned by and
Englishman and not the French.
Romanee Conti, DRC 1990
Romanee
Conti is one of the most expensive wines of France as well as the
world. This one is rich and balanced and is based on the grape pinot
noir. A set of eight bottles sold in 1990 for about $225,000, which is
roughly about $28,000 a bottle.
The vineyards where the grapes
where this wine is made from are located in Burgundy, this tiny portion
was first cultivated by the Romans. Later it was taken over by the
Benedictines who took it from the Bishops of Langres and Autun. Later it
was purchase in the eighteenth century by the Prince de Conti, and then
later sold to one of Napoleon's bankers. What makes this wine expensive
is also it's rarity, only a few hundred cases were produced each year.
Chateau Lafite 1787
Chateau
Lafite 1787 is the most expensive wine in the world. It sold for
$160,000 at an auction. Sun is an important factor when it comes to
growing good grapes. In fact years that are particularly sunny tend to
produce better grapes than other years. 2000 and 2005 were years that
were sunny, apparently 1787 was as well thus making this wine even more
appealing.
Sun is clearly not the only factor that made this wine
sell for over $100,000, but the history. This wine was originally bought
by Thomas Jefferson. His initials are on the bottle. What is even more
fascinating about the price of this bottle that sold in the 1980s is the
fact that it was simply bought for a collection, not to drink. This
wine is not to drink as it is too old, wine turns to vinegar after
decades so this wine is long overdue. http://ezinearticles.com/?Top-Wines-for-Expensive-Tastes&id=5984557
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