CorkonomicsThe economics of wine production, collection, and vineyards
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Vineyard land · Pauillac≈$2,798,250 a hectare▼ down 17% on 20232024Opening price · Château Lafite Rothschild 2025≈$376 a bottle▲ up 17% on the year beforeSold at auction · Romanée-Conti Grand Cru, DRC 2019$22,917 a bottleSotheby's, Sep 2026Cost to make one bottle · Burgundy grand cru (Pinot Noir)$48–283US duty on wine from · Canada+50%since Aug 2026Everyday bottle in a US shop$13.77 a litre▼ down 1.3% in a yearSep 2026Vineyard land · Margaux≈$1,567,020 a hectare▼ down 7% on 20232024Opening price · Château Cheval Blanc 2025≈$376 a bottle▲ up 22% on the year beforeSold at auction · La Tâche Grand Cru, DRC 2018$5,417 a bottleSotheby's, Sep 2026Cost to make one bottle · Champagne prestige cuvée$26–89US duty on wine from · Australia+12.5%since Jul 2026Vineyard land · Côte-Rôtie≈$1,511,055 a hectare▲ up 8% on 20232024Opening price · Château Mouton Rothschild 2025≈$336 a bottle▲ up 19% on the year beforeSold at auction · Richebourg Grand Cru, DRC 2012$3,542 a bottleSotheby's, Sep 2026Cost to make one bottle · Bordeaux classified growth (2nd–5th)$17–61US duty on wine from · New Zealand+12.5%since Jul 2026Vineyard land · Côte de Nuits grand cru≈$7,275,450 a hectare2019Opening price · Château Palmer 2025≈$268 a bottle▼ down 19% on the year beforeVineyard land · Pomerol≈$2,238,600 a hectare2023
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New to wine? Start with the short lessons, then look up any word you do not know.

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How wine is made, in five steps

Wine is fermented grape juice. Yeast eats the sugar in ripe grapes and turns it into alcohol. Everything else is detail.

5 min read · For beginners

How wine is made, in five steps

1. Grow and pick

Grapes ripen through the summer and are picked in early autumn. That is August to October north of the equator, February to April south of it. Picking day matters. Earlier means fresher and lighter. Later means riper, fuller and more alcohol.

A picker cutting a bunch of dark grapes into a wooden crate at sunrise

2. Crush and press

The grapes are gently crushed to release the juice. For white wine the juice is pressed off the skins straight away. For red, the skins stay in to give colour and tannin.

A wooden basket press with pale juice running into a steel tray
A basket press. The juice runs out and the skins stay behind.

3. Ferment

Yeast turns the grape sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. This takes from a few days to a few weeks. When the sugar is used up the wine is dry. Stop early and some sweetness stays.

Hands pushing a wooden plunger into a vat of fermenting red grapes
Pushing the skins back down into fermenting red wine, to draw out the colour.

4. Age

The young wine rests for a few months to a few years. Steel tanks keep it fresh and fruity. Oak barrels let in a tiny amount of air and add flavours such as vanilla, toast and spice. New barrels are expensive, which is one reason some wines cost more.

Oak barrels stacked in a stone cellar

5. Bottle

The wine is bottled and sealed with a cork or a screw cap. Most wine is ready to drink as soon as you buy it. Only a small share is built to improve for ten years or more.

Hands laying a bottle into a straw-lined wooden case beside loose corks

A screw cap is not a sign of cheap wine. Many excellent producers use them because they keep wine fresh and never cause cork taint.

Curious what each of these steps costs? We added it up for sixteen styles of wine, from the farming to the box. What each step of making costs

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