Why Expensive Wine Tastes Better (and What That Means for Your Club)
Here’s something the wine world has known for a while:
When people believe a bottle of wine is expensive, it actually tastes better to them — even if it’s the same wine as the cheap bottle.
It’s not marketing fluff. It’s neuroscience.
In fMRI studies, the pleasure centers in the brain light up more when people think they’re drinking a $90 wine instead of a $10 wine — even when it’s poured from the same bottle.
They don’t just say they enjoy it more.
They actually do.
Now, let’s talk about your club.
You may think pricing is about affordability, benchmarking, and amenities.
But pricing — especially in the private club world — is also part of the experience.
What members believe about your value shapes how they feel when they’re there.
Raise your dues thoughtfully?
Your club feels more valuable.
Drop initiation fees too low, or run too many discounts?
Members may not say it out loud, but their perception shifts.
When members believe they’re part of something premium,
they enjoy it more.
They defend it more.
They invest in it more.
Just like that “expensive” glass of wine.
Here’s the irony:
Most clubs worry about whether their price pushes people away.
But the greater risk is when your price — or your brand — undermines the very experience you’re trying to deliver.
You can’t sell exclusivity and affordability in the same breath.
You can’t talk about lifestyle, legacy, and belonging — then act like you’re running a promotion.
This doesn’t mean you raise prices without a plan.
It means you understand the psychology of perceived value
- Members don’t just evaluate a club on what it offers.
- They evaluate how it feels to belong.
- And that feeling is shaped by context, price, and story.
If you're offering a premium experience, your pricing should reinforce it.
Not just because it makes the business model work.
But because your members will enjoy it more — if their brain believes it's worth it.
It’s not trickery.
It’s human nature.
And your job, as a club leader, is to design experiences people feel great about.
Sometimes, that starts with giving them something worth tasting —
and charging accordingly.
Until next Monday,
