Winemakers have many things in common. They enjoy the hobby of brewing, love to sip on their wine, and of course sharing their wines with friends and family. Of course, there is always the savings to consider as well.
The principal competitor of shops similar to ours in Manitoba is the MLCC. So we decided to do a bit of spying – given that we are not too familiar with their prices.
So here’s the deal. We divided their wines based on pricing.
Category 1 – Table wine ~$8-$10
Category 2 – Average Quality ~$11-$15
Category 3 – High Quality ~$16-$20
Category 4 – Premium Quality ~$21-25
Not included in these categories are limited run wines from small vineyards and wineries – these can have a much higher price related to the scarcity of the wine.
Now we’ve put together a table to offer insight on pricing and savings based on above categories. For home made wine, we’ve include the cost of corks and using 50% new bottles – which would be approximately $19. If you use 100% recycled bottles this cost drops by $14.50.
All figures are approximate.
| Table wine | Moonshiners | MLCC | Difference |
| Cost per bottle | $2.30 | $10.00 | $7.70 |
| Cost per batch (29 bottles) | $69.00 | $290.00 | $221.00 |
| Average Quality | Moonshiners | MLCC | Difference |
| Cost per bottle | $3.00 | $15.00 | $12.00 |
| Cost per batch (29 bottles) | $87.00 | $435.00 | $348.00 |
| High Quality | Moonshiners | MLCC | Difference |
| Cost per bottle | $3.90 | $20.00 | $16.10 |
| Cost per batch (29 bottles) | $113.00 | $580.00 | $467.00 |
| Premium Quality | Moonshiners | MLCC | Difference |
| Cost per bottle | $4.79 | $25.00 | $20.21 |
| Cost per batch (29 bottles) | $139.00 | $725.00 | $586.00 |
So in the end what is the real difference between our wines and MLCC’s?
Here are some commonalities:
1) The grape varietals are the same – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc etc.
2) The wine making process follows the same general steps. Any nuance to the creation of a commercial wine can be adopted in the wine making process at home.
3) The finishing is the same – home wine makers (same as commercial!) can choose their bottles, corks, labels and shrink caps to create their own unique presentation.
There is a key difference, however. Before a bottle of commercially produced wine makes it into the store, it has been aged by the producer. At home, for good or bad, we have access to our wines as soon as they are ready. This creates a distorting effect where home wine makers tend to drink (and serve) much younger wine than one who purchases commercial wines.
So the solution to any difference in taste, is simply aging! If you let your wine age for a year, you’ll soon find your wine standing up to the wine aged for the same time by commercial producers.
Sometimes one finds oneself with so many friends and family enjoying their wine, that one has a hard time keeping up production, never mind aging the wine! Do yourselves a favour, and let them know just how much money they too could be saving if only they’d make their own batch. 2 birds, 1 stone.