In France, Grape Growers Use Price to Punish Nontraditional Winemakers

Economists would have you believe that prices are determined by economic forces, but sometimes they’re used as rewards and punishments. In France, many of the 15,000 Champagne grape growers charge less to those among the 66 Champagne makers that fit the traditional mold of being old and independently managed by descendants of the founders, and that don’t produce supermarket brands. Makers that violate these unspoken rules typically have to pay as much as several euros per kilogram more for grapes, a substantial markup, given that the average price is 9 euros, say Amandine Ody-Brasier of Yale and Freek Vermeulen of London Business School.