Wine Economist Challenges Wine Snobbery
- Karl Storchmann, an economic expert at New York University, has long held a passion for wine.
- In 2004, Storchmann accepted a professorship at Whitman Collage in Walla Walla, Wash., an area rapidly becoming known for its wine production.
- He and several wine-keen colleagues approached the university with a proposal to fund a Journal of Wine Economics.
Wine snobbery gets a reality check! Karl storchmann, a New York University economic expert, transformed a winemaking hobby into a career, challenging assumptions about wine pricing and quality. He launched and now manages teh Journal of Wine Economics, a peer-reviewed publication with thousands of subscribers. The article delves into how supply, demand, and perceived value heavily influence wine prices. Storchmann highlights consumers’ reliance on indirect cues like bottle design, questioning their true impact on taste. Uncover what the founder of the American Association of Wine Economists has to say about this world. Find more insights in this piece from News Directory 3. discover what’s next for the industry.
From Hobby to Highbrow: Karl Storchmann and the World of Wine Economics
Updated June 03, 2025
Karl Storchmann, an economic expert at New York University, has long held a passion for wine. This interest took root years ago in Germany, where he briefly pursued winemaking. From 1994 to 1999, while working for the Rhine-Westphalian Institute for Economic Research, Storchmann cultivated a small vineyard. He recalls the experience fondly, noting that he produced around 350 bottles.
This early hobby indirectly shaped his career. In 2004, Storchmann accepted a professorship at Whitman Collage in Walla Walla, Wash., an area rapidly becoming known for its wine production. Surrounded by vineyards, Storchmann saw an opportunity to explore wine economics.
He and several wine-keen colleagues approached the university with a proposal to fund a Journal of Wine Economics. Storchmann said thay initially envisioned a small publication for about 50 people. The first issue,released in 2006,had a print run of only 100 copies.
Now published by Cambridge University Press, the peer-reviewed journal boasts roughly 3,000 subscribers from academic institutions worldwide. Storchmann serves as managing editor.
Storchmann, a founding member of the American Association of Wine Economists, which oversees the journal, said that initially, colleagues mocked the idea, joking that they where simply seeking an excuse to drink wine. However, the study of wine economics has since evolved into a thorough discipline, intersecting with marketing, law, and environmental science.
What Determines the Price of Wine?
Basic economic principles play a role. Supply and demand are key factors: limited-production wines command higher prices, while more abundant wines are less expensive. higher quality wine should also cost more. Though, assessing quality presents a challenge in wine price.
“Wine is made up of some percentage of grapes, but then there’s also a lot of bullshit.”
Storchmann likens buying wine to buying a peach: appearance alone cannot guarantee quality. Similarly, with wine, consumers often rely on indirect cues, such as bottle thickness or cork size, which may not reflect the actual taste but signal perceived value.
What’s next
storchmann continues to explore the complexities of wine economics, researching the factors that influence consumer perception and market trends in the ever-evolving wine industry.