Berger: Big price does not make great wine

If someone told you he bought a brand new bottle of wine for $250, you would probably assume one of two things: the wine is really good or the buyer also owns South Florida land that requires wading boots.

As a Certified Professional Cynic, I can say with authority that there is no reason to assume a wine is good just because it is expensive. Or even drinkable, for that matter.

Price and quality are often widely disassociated from one another.

Many people buy into the fact that lower-priced products are not as good as higher-priced products, when in fact they are often identical. Take generic drugs as an example.

But I also know it’s possible to make a lot of money on wine by assuming that wealthy or gullible people would be willing to swallow a story about an expensive wine as long as the hype is substantial and the price is high enough.

A London newspaper, the Telegraph, has become part of the build-up for a supposedly great wine that has a fascinating story, one that is just odd enough to appeal to the wealthy or gullible.

Ao Yun is the operative wine name in this little scenario, and it is a wine from China that sells for about $250 a bottle.

However, any details that could justify this wine’s price were conveniently missing from the Telegraph story.

We know that the wine is red, but not what grape variety is at its heart. That such a crucial detail would be missing indicates to me that the reporter has already bought into the assumption that the wine is great.

After all, the people behind this project are from Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey, one of the world’s most important purveyors of luxury goods.

The company is associated with Dom Perignon, Fendi and Château D’Yquem as well as Ao Yun.

Buying a luxury good conveys to the buyer an image of status, and selling a luxury good can be seen as more sizzle than steak.

Those who buy luxury goods expect them to be of better quality than average goods, but how is such “betterness” exhibited?

Does a $250 bottle of wine provide 10 times the enjoyment of a $25 bottle? The question has no measurable answer.

In my view, great wine is a reflection of its soil and its heritage, how it reflects where it is from and under what circumstances it came to define the type of wine it is.

Wine maker Clark Smith once said that a Ferrari is a terrific flashlight or a sensational go-cart.

“The headlights work great, and it will get you to the grocery store, but neither function is its greatest attribute.”

Want a great wine? Go buy something with 20 or 30 years of history that has a track record. Chances are it will not cost $250.

Wine of the Week: 2014 Castello di Verduno Pelaverga, “Basadone,” Piemonte ($25).

Pelaverga is a medium bodied but fragrant red grape that grows in northern Italy.

This superb producer delivers, in this wine, an aroma of mild violets, black pepper and nutmeg. The excellent balance is based on low tannin and good acidity, and the wine is best served slightly chilled. No aging necessary.

Sonoma County resident Dan Berger publishes “Vintage Experiences,” a weekly wine newsletter. Write to him at winenut@gmail.com.