What does a pricing strategist know about wine? More than you'd think. Claire Wang joins Forrest Kelly to break down the psychology behind why we pay what we pay — and why our brains are doing a lot more work than we realize every time we reach for a bottle.
Claire unpacks the famous Stanford and Caltech MRI study that proved people's brains literally experience more pleasure when they think they're drinking expensive wine — even when the wine is identical. She introduces the concept of the "magic number of 99" and explains why premium wineries deliberately avoid it, opting for clean price points like $18 or $19 to signal quality rather than bargain.
The conversation takes a sharp turn at Château Pichon Baron in Bordeaux, where managing director Christian Seeley shared his pricing philosophy in a single sentence: "I charge the highest price my regular customers will enthusiastically buy." Claire calls it a perfect summary of everything pricing strategy is built on.
The episode closes with a fast and sharp True or False round on the psychology of pricing — and Claire goes undefeated.
Her book The Price of Influence: How to Move Anyone to a Yes drops in September, 2026.
@thebestwinepod
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