Checking a hunch about wine prices, I started at the top with a 100-pt Parker rated
cabernet from Abreu Vineyard in California.  I don't doubt the quality.   But the price?
$473 was the average for one bottle.   Yes, I know there are people whocollect and put wine aside, or buy in lots, never touch the bottles, and re-sell it at a profit.   They affect the price for the rest of us, and we're not offended because we can't afford Abreu.

A brief aside:  whether you revere Parker's system or not, it's useful to see what he considers the most desirable wines.  His current list includes a lot of French selections from the past 40 years, beginning with a 2003 Chapoutier Ermitage L'Ermite and ending with a 1921 Chateau L'Eglise Clinet, peppered in between with Lafites and Margauxs and Gigondas and Cuvees.   All great wines, I am sure.  I'd love to find out, without spending a nickel.  

Since that is unlikely, I dial down my price barrier to $50.  It's a number I can swallow, even if I am not likely to spend it.   Searching a different index for those, I see the
following:
                  The top ten include
---an 09 Fin du Journee Cab from Napa for $49.
---an 09 Novy Vander Camp Pinot Meunier from Sonoma for $49
---an 09 Vavasour Pinot Noir Marlborough from New Zealand for $49
---an 09 Seguinot Chablis Vielles Vignes from France for $49
---an 09 Foradori Myrto Bianco from Trentino, Italy for $49
---an 09 Stuhlmuller Chardonnay from Alexander Valley for $45
---an 09 Venta La Ossa from Spain for $45
---an 08 Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc from Sonoma for $45
---a Caymus Vineyards Conundrum from Napa  for $44

I poked around and found a Marin Wines Textbook Vineyard Fin du Journee  for $25.
I'd try that one instead.  It gets multiple rave reviews.  A blend of cab & merlot.
But shop for even lower prices.  I saw the same wine for under $20.
The NOVY Family website says they built a reputation for their Meunier grapes, but are happy to tout several other wines like their Vineyard Syrah and their Russian River Barbieri.   I found the Pinot Meunier for under $22.   I found the Caymus Conundrum at three locations for under $20.

Confused?  Me, too.  The current economy may explain the wide variation in part, but the industry is full of erratic practices and pricing, which is the main reason so many American drinkers shrug and buy beer.  The  idea of standard pricing of their products wine is apparently unthinkable among wine insiders.  

They would rather bamboozle us with claims that certain terroir, particular vintners, or certain prestige vintage years justify this chaos.   I agree with Seattle wine merchan Richard Kinssies, who has worked in the field for 30 years, and makes his living by purchasing what the vineyards trhemselves can't market. He sells them at a reasonable price, which irks the winemakers but puts more good wine in our mouths.