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.

Learn · Wine words · Your saved pages

White wine

Made from the juice alone, without the skins, so it stays pale and fresh. Usually lighter and crisper than red.

Three glasses of white wine in a row, from almost clear to deep gold

Whites run from sharp and light to rich and round. Most are made to be drunk young and cold.

Tastes of
Lemon, apple, peach, sometimes butter
Serve
Chilled, straight from the fridge
Good with
Fish and shellfish, chicken, salads, creamy sauces, soft cheese

A white aged in oak barrels tastes fuller, with a hint of butter or vanilla. One made in steel tanks stays crisp and fruity.

Start with Riesling for something zingy, or Chardonnay for something rounder.

Three kinds of white

A glass of pale white wine and a plate of oysters by a harbour

Crisp

Light, dry and mouth-watering, like a squeeze of lemon.

Try Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Chablis

A glass of white wine with a cut peach, lychees and elderflower

Aromatic

You smell flowers and ripe fruit before you even taste it. Dry or a touch sweet.

Try Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Viognier

A glass of golden white wine with buttered toast, a baked apple and hazelnuts

Rich

Fuller and rounder, often aged in oak, with flavours of butter, toast and ripe fruit.

Try Oaked Chardonnay from California or Burgundy

White grapes to know

All grapes

Chardonnay

Say it: shar-doh-NAY

The white that can be anything. Lean and crisp without oak, rich and buttery with it.

  • Apple
  • Lemon
  • Peach

Riesling

Say it: REES-ling

The zingy, perfumed white. It comes bone dry, lusciously sweet and everything in between.

  • Lime
  • Green apple
  • Peach

Where the famous whites come from

All regions
France

Burgundy

Pinot Noir and Chardonnay at their most detailed.

 Germany

Mosel

Featherlight Riesling from dizzyingly steep slopes.

Famous white wines

Storm sky over the Corton-Charlemagne cross, Aloxe-Corton, BurgundyDomaine Coche-Dury, Corton-Charlemagne Grand CruBurgundyVineyards with the village of Meursault, FranceDomaine Coche-Dury, Meursault Premier Cru Les PerrièresBurgundy

The other four types

The five types of wine
A glass of red wine on a dark wooden table

Red

Made from dark grapes, with the skins left in the juice. The skins give the colour and that dry, grippy feeling called tannin.

 Two glasses of rosé on a picnic blanket

Rosé

Dark grapes, but the skins are left in for only a few hours. Just long enough to turn the wine pink.

 A glass of sparkling wine with rising bubbles

Sparkling

Wine with bubbles. The fizz comes from a second fermentation that traps gas in the bottle. Champagne is the most famous.

 A small glass of golden dessert wine with cheese and dried fruit

Sweet

Wine that keeps some of the grape's natural sugar. Rich, golden and served in small glasses, often at the end of a meal.