How Do You Define 'Value' in Wine? (I Think It Is Mostly Made Up)

I've been thinking a lot about what 'value' means in regards to wine. I have probably been thinking about this because as I explore and learn about wine I tend to drink inexpensive wine. Juxtaposed against some of the great wine I get to taste occasionally I am firmly aware that there tends to be a price to quality correlation in wine, and by spending less on wine I am usually sacrificing some elements of quality. Of course this is not always the case, and maybe that is where value exists, but lets dig into it a little bit.

subjective - a judgement that takes place in the mind or is influenced primarily by individual observations

objective - something that exists externally, actually exists, or is real

So if wine value is found at the intersection of quality and price then it can be an objective observation. I have argued before that a wine's quality is not subjective. Good structure, integration, complexity, terroir expression, etc. DO exist and are real. Price is also an external occurrence. One can track the average price of a certain varietal or blend, from a certain region, within a certain quality range, and use a mathematical calculation to ascertain where the specific wine's price point falls in the continuum. This would be a measure of the wine's value and could be argued to be objective.

However, while quality may exist objectively it is only ever able to be expressed as an experience from an individual palette that translates this experience into a score. So at this point subjectivity is introduced. Then an individual's willingness to part with their dollars to repeat the experience is so obviously subjective that the idea of defining a wine's value as an observable reality seems to me to fly right out the window. (Stop me if I am rambling, or writing run-on sentences.)

I say this because we folks who discuss (or review) wine regularly attempt to define a wine as a good value, or not worth the money. Some reviewers include a wine's price point as an element in their overall score. I argue that the value of the wine becomes so subjective through the individual's experience that this almost becomes pointless. What we are really saying is that for my experience today, in this moment, with all the influences I had on me when tasting this wine, this $15 Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon came across more like a $20 Cab that I have had in the past. If advice on a value wine is kept in check, with an understanding of its subjectivity, then I think it is worthwhile. But as a constant pursuit to actively search for the best 'value' I think it is a waste of time and has the potential to drain out some of the joy that experiencing wine is supposed to provide in the first place. So I promise that when I score a wine it is based on my experience and is aside from the price point. I may subsequently comment on whether I personally found it worth the asking retail price or not, but that will be a separate and identifiably subjective judgement.

The value of a wine ONLY exists in an individual's experience and how they feel about their decision to trade their dollars for the product. We can make observations and statements like 'people will tend to feel that this wine was worth more than they paid', but beyond this wine value is not measurable or objective.

Do you agree? Disagree? How do you tend to define value for yourself? Do you just spend what you feel comfortable, sit back and enjoy and not really think about it too much?