Most expensive cities for wine are all in the US

All five of the world’s most expensive cities for a bottle of wine are located in the US, according to a new study.

New research analysing data from 190 cities has found that eight of the top 10 most expensive cities to buy a bottle of wine are in the US.

All five of the most expensive cities are also in the States. In comparison, no UK cities ranked in the top 20.

The study is an analysis of information from cost-of-living database Numbeo compiled by Magnet Kitchens. It identified the 190 largest populated cities in the EU, US, Australia and Canada and analysed data from Numbeo to find the most and least expensive cities for a bottle of wine (750ml).

New York City tops worldwide ranking of the most expensive city for a bottle of wine, costing an average of US$20 per bottle, according to the research. New York City is over five times more expensive than the cheapest bottle of wine at $3.55 which can be found in Cordoba, Spain.

New York has high excise taxes for wine (30% per gallon) as well as additional tax on sales of wine with over 24% alcohol by volume meaning prices are higher than in other cities. Rochester, also located in the state of New York, is 47.5% cheaper for a bottle of wine charging $10.50 on average.

San Francisco and Oakland rank joint third for the most expensive city in the world to buy a bottle of wine. Coming in at $2.25 cheaper than New York City, San Francisco and Oakland residents can expect to pay $17.75 for wine.

Much like the Big Apple, California has high taxes for alcohol, especially wine. The excise tax is $0.20 per gallon for wine and the state has a sales tax of 7.25%.

Launceston and Hobart in Tasmania, Australia are the only two cities in the top 10 which are located outside of the US.

Victoria, British Columbia, ranks tenth out of the cities for having some of the most expensive bottles of wine. People living in Victoria can expect to pay $15.29 for a bottle of wine which is four times more expensive than the Spanish city of Cordoba, which ranked as the cheapest.

Wine can be expensive in Canadian cities due to production costs being higher. British Columbia also has some of the highest alcohol taxes in Canada at 15%.

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