I noticed that as Italian wines increased in popularity there was a point when the prices went up and then later the quality of some went down. There is a popular Pinot Grigio that gets $20.00 plus a bottle and there are several for $10.00 that are better. Then some of the big red seemed to skyrocket in price too. Part of the success and popularity of the Italian wines for quite some time was the value factor. The scandal in Brunello did not help matters either.

Good thing that many are modernizing and making well balanced wines now.