Freakonomics on Restaurant Wine Prices

The guys who wrote Freakonomics (a fun read if you've missed it), write a blog.  Since their whacky brand of economic research touches nearly everything, I wasn't completely suprised to see a post on the economic underpinnings of wine prices in restaurants.

I think the point that gets missed here is that there's only so much Joseph Phelps 2002 Insignia to be had.

Comments

[Mike]

The issue is not that scarcity leads to higher prices, but that there is a surprising difference from restaurant to restaurant, where the same bottle in the same market can go for $50 at one, and over $100 down the street. See, for example, http://www.dis-equilibrium.com/2007/09/restaurant-wine-prices.html

[Jim Viall]

what is a fair way to price restaurant wine, by the glass and by the bottle?

Thanks