At What Price Should Bordeaux Wines Be Released?

This paper models optimal release prices of an experience good recurrently issued on markets. Using a large sample of Bordeaux wines, we find that not only intrinsic but also extrinsic attributes affect release prices. We observe a significant relationship between primary market release prices and secondary market prices and general economic conditions. Release prices can deviate from secondary market prices in the short run but remain aligned over the long run. On average, Bordeaux wine producers have excessively increased wine prices leading to an 18% overpricing between 2004 and 2018. Finally, following the COVID-19 pandemic, Bordeaux wine should be offered at a 20% price discount in 2020