08/05/2026
Is a wine that costs twice the price actually twice as good?
This week, at two separate events, I showed two Soave Classicos blind to the guests. They were asked:
A) Could they tell the difference?
B) Which was their preference?
The results were very interesting...
The wines 🏷️
Asda Extra Special Soave Classico £8
The Society’s Exhibition Soave Classico £16.50
The results 🤔
At both events, the guests said there was a clear difference between the wines - in colour, aroma and flavour.
BUT! Plots twist…
At the first tasting, the room was evenly split in their preference, but were not confident picking out the more expensive wine
❗️= the costlier bottle wasn’t overwhelmingly the favourite❗️
The second tasting, however, was different. The majority preferred the £16 wine and were confident it was the more expensive one
❗️ = perhaps paying twice the price does pay off!❗️
The wines themselves
Here’s a brief description of the wines and their styles, written by yours truly - but remember, this wasn’t necessarily everyone’s perception of the flavours!
£8 Soave Classico 🍐🍏🍑
Pale lemon colour. Lots of pear, apple and peach. Medium acidity, making the wine feel smoother and softer to taste
£16.50 Soave Classico 🍈 🍑 🌰 🍞
Golden colour. Melon, peach, pastry, almonds and biscuit notes, creating a plump, rich body. BUT the acidity was high too, so was mouth-watering (some loved that aspect, others no way josé)
Interestingly, my mum - who doesn’t drink alcohol - simply smelt the wines and immediately picked out the dearer bottle, calling it “richer”.
What does this mean?
I guess it comes back to the same old mantra we usually live by: preference is personal!
More expensive wine can mean more complexity. But complexity doesn’t necessarily mean more enjoyable. Whether paying twice the price is worth it really depends on the drinker.
Thank you for all of your joyful enthusiasm at the private and corporate wine tasting events I hosted this week. As usual, I learnt so much from you all!
