The Los Angeles Times has a great article about the $10 sweet spot for a good bottle of wine:
That’s because for most people who buy and drink wine, $10 somehow feels like the right amount to spend on a bottle most of the time. Sure, there are the serious wine aficionados who think nothing of spending $40 or $50, or even $100, on a bottle for Saturday night. But for most of us, $10 is what Kyle Meyer, wine buyer for Wine Exchange in Orange, calls “the magic number” — the price that feels comfortable for purchasing everyday wines, weeknight wines.
From the retailer’s point of view, $10 is the price at which people spend freely, buying cases instead of bottles. When there’s a crowd, party planners stock the bar with $10 wines. And for wine geeks, who are always on the hunt for rare and precious wines, the trophy wine they prize most is the delicious bottle they bag for $10.
Curiously, less is not more. Things can be too inexpensive, says Clement. “People worry that if they spend less, they won’t get quality.” But at $10, people feel insulated from bad wine. That’s why even occasional wine drinkers spend freely on $10 wines.
I currently have way too much wine in my house, as David Boyk unloaded a ton on me before going to India, but I’m still a big fan of Penfold’s Rawson’s Retreat, which can usually be found at Trader Joe’s for under $10.
