Many people immediately associate cost with the characterization of wine, but Cedrone argues that shouldn't be the case.
"There could be fine wines that are $30 because the vintage of that year produced excellent quality wines and another year you could have a $150 wine that most experts would not consider fine at all, because it comes from a prestigious area and it's expensive to produce the wine. They could have a bad growing year and the wine tastes worse than a $10 bottle. I have had some really fine wine [that] only cost $12 a bottle."
He also advises against trusting sellers who advertise many varieties as fine wine. As with everything, do your research before buying into their claims.
"Just because somebody is selling you fine wine doesn't that certainly mean it is fine,there is no real price range that could determine that."
Because the taste of wine is ultimately subjective, a variety may be classified as 'fine' to one person and 'average at best' to another.
Cedrone suggests learning about the regions and climate conditions of the wine production before you make your final determination.
"Some producers do specialize in really high-end wines and they are paying a lot of attention to the land that the grapes are grown in and the weather conditions that occur."
He also emphasizes how certain winemakers will go to great lengths to care for their vineyards and discard lesser batches of grapes, which should also be taken into consideration.
"Some years they might throw away the entire crop because it is not deserving of their vintage or producer labels. Wineries that do that sort of thing are going to be more expensive and are going to be the ones that you can count on year after year to produce wines that are really good and worth the money that they are charging."
In addition to researching the areas of origin, pay attention to the year and the reputation of the brand. Through Internet searches or a chat with a local winemaker, you can better understand which varieties are truly quality choices.
There are also dozens of fine wine guides published each year, listing top choices by country, region and maker. Again, these are subjective resources, but they are a great way to make comparisons or cross-reference varieties that are mentioned in several places.
Above all else, just keep and open mind and enjoy yourself. Don't be too concerned with categories, ratings and popular opinion. Purchase wines that you would characterize as 'fine' by your own definition.
Cedrone emphasizes, "Fine wine is one of those terms that's been around for a long time and it doesn't technically mean anything at all."
