Wine is an expensive interest. Those for whom goon bags* or a bottle of Savvy B are not up to scratch, a good bottle of wine can easily melt a gaping hole in even the most robust of leather wallets.
Perusing the shelves this morning at the Vintage Cellars in Bridport Street, Albert Park, my wine radar sub-consciously guides me towards the upper shelves where the good stuff lives (Corks does stand 191cm [6'3" for my US visitors] though, so it’s no suprise I look to the wine at eye level first). VC AP has an excellent range of fine Australian and New Zealand Chardonnays and Pinots, amongst many other finey wineys, but many of the wines are $50 or more.
While we might buy such wines for a very special occasion, for most punters $50 for 750ml of liquid pleasure is too much to pay. So the approach to take is to search for wines which offer value for money. VFM is a relative term, but that’s ok. I just mean VFM in the ordinary sense – the ratio between enjoyment and price.
For me, the sweet spot lies somewhere between $20 – $40, with some exceptions at arond $15 a bottle (Tahbilk Marsanne a good example). This is where the enjoyment to price ratio is maximised, hence VFM.
* For the benefit of my overseas readers, goon bag is a colloquial term meaning a cask wine packaged in a plastic bladder inside a square carton. Typically wine that comes in goon bags is poor quality and best served to mortal enemies.
