I suppose there are a few layers of differences…Firstly, you bring a $10 bottle of wine to a BBQ, but you better be thinking of bringing that $30 bottle of wine (if not a more expensive one) to a dinner party. It’s not that difficult to tell that the bottle is a cheap & cheery $10, or a you-deserved-it $30.In terms of production, the $10 wine is very very very likely mass produced. Grapes from decent vines (probably irrigated, if allowed) that don’t cost too much; less oak influence, not likely to have sat in new oak casks, most likely in massive temperature-controlled steel tanks; the bottles themselves are likely to be of the cheaper variety too. For the $30 wine, you can expect them to be of smaller batch production (although we get plenty of mass produced mid-range wines too!); a longer time spent extracting flavour from the grapes; spent time sitting in oak casks or vats for maturation; and perhaps better quality bottles.In terms of taste and quality, the $10 wine would have some quality to it, but it’s mainly meant to be drunk younger, without much cerebral deliberation, and likely just an easy-drinking, fruity drop.

The $30 wine should provide you with some extra bits of fun, nuances and layers beneath the first smell or taste. With the better quality grapes and appropriate oak treatment, the $30 wines can be candidates for mid-term cellaring. Basically, open the $10 wine and drink it in one sitting. The $30 bottle is likely to withstand being left open on the table for half a day, or a couple of days capped in the fridgeLastly, the $10 bottle of wine is most likely the type your local restaurant have as a by-the-glass option, while that $30 bottle will be sold to you at a 250% mark-up! ;)And after typing the above, I thought to myself: I’ll happily drink a 4 EUR bottle of wine when in Europe… so that $10 bottle of red is probably quite ok!The best answer — $20 — has already been given by Walt Huber, and the other answers are on point, but I’d go a step further and start to examine farming and labor practices. When we talk about sustainability we should always consider the human cost of goods and items and wine is a labor intensive product.

It takes months of intensive work in the field to encourage a quality product. Harvest comes fast and furious. Supporting a labor force capable of producing high quality wine (or really, any wine) is an expensive proposition. So consider that very low-cost wine (which I’d consider a $10 wine to be) is probably machine harvested or the result of exploitative labor practices or, most likely, both.wines of italy ukSo the same way as a sweatshirt can cost $10 or $150 dollars but still be made of cotton a bottle of wine can cost $10 or $150. glass of wine standard sizeIf you are comfortable buying a $10 sweatshirt made of inferior materials and possibly assembled by exploited workers, the by all means, enjoy your $10 bottle of wine as well.best way to drink pink wine

Sometimes the difference is no difference at all. I believe it all goes into the skill of the winemaker, coupled with the conditions during the growing season.For instance, I found a 2011 Spanish red - I’m sorry but at the moment cannot recall the label - that was selling for $11.49 at my local wine discounter - that had received 91 points from wine critic Stephen Tanzer. buy wine online in njTanzer is a tough critic - one of the toughest if I compare his scores to mine - and a score of 91 from him means an outstanding wine. best wine bars in italyI have also tasted an Italian red - Oasi degli Angeli “Kurni,” a Montepuliciano that in 2007 earned a well deserved 96 points from Robert Parker. wine for me party animalThat wine retailed for $119 a bottle. best wine for fish

The previous vintages had all scored between 90 - 94 points, but the ’07 was almost an ethereal experience. The following vintage was, sadly, terrible. Same family of winemakers. Parker gave it a very generous 85. To me, the grapes tasted stale, the wine too sweet and more like a dessert wine gone off the rails (kind of pruny but not in a good way). names for wine dinnersThat vintage retailed for a few dollars more than the spectacular 2007. red wine cheap dressesI had a client who was waiting not so patiently for the ’08 vintage, having purchased 4 cases of the ’07 from me. Much as I would have loved to earn a hefty commission, I wanted to keep my client more, so I advised him against purchasing the wine. He later told me a friend of his had bought a case and he thanked me profusely for saving him a lot of money on a bad wine.

So it isn’t always how much you pay for a wine.But yeah, for the backyard barbecue, don’t pull out all the stops. and don’t be afraid of buying a wine with a twist cap (or Stelvin closure as they call it in the wine world). By the way, some pricey wines are now going for the twist caps to prevent cork taint, a bacteria that can make a wine smell and taste like wet cardboard. Be a bit more discriminating when it comes to bringing a bottle to a dinner party - and if you have access to a wine shop that has tasting facilities, take advantage. You never know what gems you’ll find at a really good price.From California not much, although theoretically the ingredients are better quality.From most other vineyards, they are typically using the best fruit from specific vineyards that the owners and winemakers admire for the quality of the fruit they produce. (In my experience the $30 CA wines will be from specific bits of land but very little else changes.  Fermentation, aging and release age are often identical to the wineries cheapest wine.)

Also the barreling regime will involve more French oak usually (for reds and Chardonnay.)  French barrels are running near a thousand bucks these days, and they’re only good for one or two uses.From France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and a handful of other countries the wine will also be released a bit older.  (Unfortunately the business plans of almost all American wineries preclude late release.)A Ruffino Chianti, world-wide price average pre-tax is about $9.  Ruffino Ducale Riserva Chianti is released 2 years older, with another year plus in a barrel; average world wide price ex-tax is $21.  Post tax these would fit your profile although the base model is more expensive than your example.A true example from the same vintner I can’t think of quickly. Most $10 tax included wines are released about 1 year to 18 months old, and usually you can smell the yeast in your glass.  If there’s any oak involved at best it will be a slat or two inserted into the fermentation tank.That is easy to calculate.