A considerable numbers of wine collectors come to Iceland specifically to to purchase quality wines at lower prices.
“Our stores have attracted foreigners who clearly know wine,” Skúli Magnússon, a specialist with The State Alcohol and Tobacco Company of Iceland, tells Fréttabladid [05.09.2008]. He adds, “They see that Iceland offers some rare wines at prices that are much lower than in their homelands.”
According to Magnússon, the reason foreign collectors come to Iceland is that wine sold by the state company is priced by alcohol content, not quality. As a result, it’s often possible to buy good wine for relatively little money. For example, the state company’s most expensive bottle of cognac costs ISK 300,000 (USD 3,650, EUR 2,430) while the coast abroad is ISK 450,000 (USD 5,480, EUR 3,650).
However, it seems that most Icelanders are not always as aware of this fact. Einar Thoroddsen, an Icelandic wine collector, claims that Icelandic collectors have long been aware that the price of fine wined is lower in Iceland.
