Following our discussion of why there are so few tasty low priced wines from America, particularly compared to imports, I put the question to wine importer Bobby Kacher. Robert Kacher Selections is strong in bargains from Southwestern France; I highlighted the Tariquet Sauvignon (find this wine) in my book, A Year of Wine, as one of 10 great wines under $10 (REDS from Patrick Campbell was also included).
Question: why there are so few good American wines under $10 while there are many more imports at that price point?
I totally agree with him and the actual cost of making most of the great California wines is a fraction of the sale price. All this talk about the love of wine is the sizzle the industry sells. They can sell the wines much cheaper but that is not what American wine industry is about. It is about profits. US is not a wine drinking country and the money will not come in from making good wines and selling them at affordable prices so the public can drink them with their meals. The public will drink the wine for reason besides being an integral part of the meal and this creates great opportunity to hype the price of the wines.
The Manilla Folder 