What is QPR?
A wines Quality to Price Ratio (QPR) is an assessment of a wines value based on the ratio of how good the wine is to how much it costs. Wines with high QPR exhibit good value and are generally recommended (the quality of the wine warrants its price). In contrast, a low QPR wine isn’t unnecessarily a bad wine, just one that isn’t worth the money.

QPR based wine ratings are used either in place of, or along side, traditional numerical ratings. These tend to give consumers a better idea of whether a wine is worth the price. For instance, I would purchase what I feel is an 89 point wine if it was $15. This is a good quality for the price. Take that same wine, and put it at $25, and to me (and many people), it’s no longer worth it. With thousands of other wines avaialable, I’m better off seeking out another bottle of wine before spending this much on what I would consider 89 points.

QPR and relativity: What it’s worth to me it ain’t worth to you!

The problem with QPR is that it’s completely relative to one’s personal wine preference. I love Brunello and to me a $50 Brunello that I would score 90 points is a great QPR. But, perhaps you only like some Brunello and further, aren’t comfortable spending more than $20 on a wine that you’re not going to love. For you, this same wine offers a poor QPR. As with wine ratings, QPR is something you have to decide for yourself. It’s good to know what others think about a wine when trying new things, but when it comes down to it, trust your own palate and buy what you think are good values based on your experience, preference and most importantly, wine budget!