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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Napa Cabernet vs Bordeaux Cabernet: the economics side by side

Same grape, two continents: land per hectare, grapes per ton, farming per acre, oak, aging, distribution and modeled cost per bottle.

Two glasses of dark red wine, one beside a heap of pale gravel and one beside a heap of red earth

Published 3 September 2026 · Reviewed September 2026 · Corkonomics editorial ·

Napa and the Médoc grow the same grape for the same market and publish very different numbers. Napa's are public — grape prices, land sales, cost studies; Bordeaux's are inferred — SAFER land prices, estate statements, trade reporting. Put side by side, Bordeaux's land is dearer, Napa's farming is dearer, and the modeled cost per bottle lands in the same order of magnitude.

Land

Pauillac at about €2.5 million a hectare (SAFER 2024) against prime Napa at $741,000–1.24 million a hectare: Bordeaux's top land is roughly twice Napa's, and Burgundy's is several times both.

Vineyards and a barn below dry golden hills

Grapes and farming

Napa Cabernet has a public price — $9,146 a ton in 2024 — because most Napa wineries buy fruit; the Médoc's classified growths buy none, so the comparable is farming cost per hectare: €15,000–30,000 for a classified growth against $12,000–25,000 an acre ($30,000–62,000 a hectare) reported for Napa's premium estates. Napa's yields are similar or slightly higher in hectolitres per hectare.

Oak and aging

Both use 100% new French oak at the top for 18–24 months; Napa's barrels cost a little more landed. Bordeaux's grand vin is bottled and sold en primeur a year after harvest; Napa's cult wines are released two to three years after, so the aging and financing lines are longer in Napa.

Flat vineyard rows with roses at the row ends and a country house beyond

Distribution

Bordeaux sells through the Place at 10–20% négociant margin and then importers and merchants; Napa's cult estates sell direct and keep the whole price, while the rest of Napa gives up half through three tiers.

The models

Corkonomics' first-growth and cult-Cabernet models both land in the tens of dollars a bottle, with Bordeaux's imputed land line larger and Napa's farming line larger. The comparison page sets every input side by side with its source.

Sources

  1. Le prix des terres — vignes 2024, SAFER / FNSAFER (as reported by Réussir Vigne), 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
  2. California Grape Crush Report 2024, preliminary and final, CDFA / USDA NASS, 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
  3. Sample Costs to Establish a Vineyard and Produce Winegrapes, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa County, UC Davis / UC Cooperative Extension, 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
Last reviewed: September 2026Report an error on this page

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