To me it is a matter of timing. Barter items will be of value according to their importance for survival and scarcity. In a long term event it may go something like this:
Day 1 No shortages of food, water, bullets or anything else for that matter.
Day 7 Shortages of food and water. Barter items will be food and potable water.
Day 30 Shortages of just about everything. Barter items will be anything necessary for survival. Plus Alcohol, tobacco and drugs.
Day 365 Survivors will have worked through initial challenges. Shelter and potable water food will not be as critical although food will still be challenge. Barter items will be things like food, fuel, working electrical sources, bullets, hand tools etc. Also ANYTHING that people have missed in the last year and reminds them of how life used to be. Now this is where the wine comes in (assuming you haven't prepared it and drank it 🙂 ). At this point I think a good bottle of wine would be quite valuable.

What are your thoughts?

I have to disagree with Gravlore on Absolut, it is quite smooth. I would also humbly submit Crystal Skull for consideration too.

LOL I knew I might get an Absolut fan. To each his own. I do take it when there is nothing else though. Like I said, I drink it straight and chilled. Bit of a Vodka snob. Ciroc is good but its in another category. hmmmm vodka thread?

I like the sound of that thread. I like it straight on the rocks too.

I think in a long term grid down scenario, once the initial challenges have been met, you may have a market for your wine.. Once people's needs are met, they go after their wants. As small communities stabilize their food production and meet the challenges of survival, they will strive to improve their standard of living.. Those who have an excess of food beyond their ability to preserve it will trade it for items that improve their standard of living.. And as mentioned above, weddings and celebrations will be a part of any culture that is even moderately stable.. I'll trade you 500 rounds of .22 lr right now for two bottles of your finest red.

I was going to type almost exactly what IIRC and Hades already said ... it all depends on if we're talking immediately after the fact or once society has started to rebuild. Celebrations and tradition will be very important to a ragtag community living on the edge of starvation. As Antsy has pointed out (and I agree); this is very low-probability and the generator should come first in our land of blizzards, grassfires, and severe wind storms.

(I drink my vodka with Mountain Dew so I wouldn't even be invited to the campfire 😳 )

I'm curious where the "rocks" for the vodka are going to be coming from in the summer. But, with wine wouldn't it be better to be learning how to make it from scratch? Your kits have a good shelf life, but will eventually run out. Just a thought about long term solutions.

icehouse=rocks

Could use an ice house if I had to. However rather than opening the freezer often I would use a little icemaker that we have. That way ice production would be more energy efficient. If they lights go out they won't here. 😀

I have canned butter and cheese etc for bartering and toilot paper will be like gold...I know how to make cherry wine, apple wine, dandilion wine or any fruit wines in a 5 gallon water bottle in a dark closet for a few weeks if things seemed to call for it but truth be know my husband and I need to learn how to barter...where do you learn that?

Interesting point lgs, I think that in a situation where fiat currency has lost almost all of it's value and commodities (especially essentials) rule we are going to see a drastic 'reset' in the values of specific goods. For example, a live young chicken that comes from an egg producer will have far more value as a potential ongoing source of food than a ready for the oven butchered chicken. I would well imagine that chicken feed prices would be going up as well. Health related products with either sanitary or healing properties would be going up in value as too, after all as the saying goes 'without your health you have nothing'.

I read somewhere that bartering should be something that you practice on a regular basis. As a society we are used to paying what the vendor is asking for most items in most retail establishments especially chain retailers. We do barter on some larger ticket items (vehicles and major appliances for example) especially if they are used. For those of you familiar with an agricultural setting a live stock auction is a prime example of bartering where the customers compete to purchase an animal that they assign a value to. The person who thinks that particular animal or group of animals has the highest value wins the competition and takes said animal/s home. The livestock vendor wins by finding the customer that believes that his livestock has the greatest value.

Learning to barter isn't rocket science and can be practiced on a regular basis. My shopping motto is "Retail pricing is for suckers." With exception of chain retailers and vendors of certain commodities barter can be practiced on a regular basis. Today for example I will be looking at an uncommon prep item that the retailer is asking $250 for. I'll open up my wallet and pull out a couple of $100 bills to show I am serious about purchasing that item but verbally indicate that I think the price is too high. Now we barter. The vendor wants whats in my wallet and I know it. I want the vendors item and he knows it. If I am not willing to walk out of the store with a discount on the item I am interested in, I lose. If I do walk out of the store with my cash the vendor who wants to deplete his stock of that item loses. If we come to an agreement on a reset value of that item, we both win.

In a post fiat currency meltdown situation you are simply replacing currency with commodities. The rules of supply and demand will come into play. As the supply of given commodity dries up the value rises. If supply of a given commodity increases the value goes down. Grain farmers deal with that every year when they sell their crops. 2012's drought in the midwest USA increased the price of wheat in Alberta. Granted that barter economies will be more localized the same principal comes into play.

If you are purchasing a non essential item that you use quite a bit, ask if there are volume price breaks. For example, if I buy two 1/2" bolts that are 2 1/2" long I expect to pay retail. If I buy 2000 of those bolts I would expect a price break. If the retailer offers no discount on 2000 bolts I would take my business to a retailer that would give me a better price based on volume. Smaller stores are more likely to offer bulk purchase discounts than big box retailers.

Product discount introductions and or free samples can create a customer base. Larger liquor stores do this on a regular basis. For example, who knows what kind of wine is in the bottle? A small free sample and/or introductory price might close the initial sale. If the customer likes that wine they will probably purchase or barter for it in the future. If they really like it they would assign a higher value to that particular wine compared to it's competition. (see the Vodka comments above) It's the very reason that both $25 scotch and $500 scotch can both be purchased today.

That's my take on 'Barter 101'.

"Civilization begins with distillation" - William Faulkner

I think regardless of the drink you have for barter, that it will be an item in demand, when choice is limited people tend to take what they can get.

I agree with belowtheradar. Retail is a scam. Many years ago, my boss and I were looking for parts to repair some equipment. While we were out, he decided to stop at a local furniture place to buy some table lamps his wife was interested in. I went in with him and I was instantly humiliated by him as he insisted on bargaining on the price. He made a huge scene. He got the manager involved and he would not stop. He ended up getting two lamps for $50 instead of $120. A $70 savings! His mother was Greek and "from the old country'. She taught him that a price tag is nothing more than an 'asking' price. I quickly decided to put my humiliation in my back pocket. Good lesson!

Yep, we should all learn to barter effectively.

We live in moonshining contry. I previously lived in pot growing country. Even if its lovingly grown by gentil hippies or lovingly hidden by toothless farmers....It will eventually be distributed by organised crime...that might demand a slice of your action.

We have grapes on our land, some we put in jars as juice this year. Apples aplenty for cider and vinigar. Correct me if I am wrong but doesnt shine mash require a huge amount of soon to be gone sugar.

Tobacco grew like a weed for us this year but it takes some forthought because you have to let it cure for a year with regular wettings.

C5,

According to Volume 1 of The Foxfire Book by Eliot WIGGINTON

"HOW THE BEST OF THE BEST WAS MADE
as told by the men who made it
For this section, two men who are reputed to have made some of
the best moonshine to come out of Georgia tell exactly how they did
it. The process for making "pure corn" is the base of the discussion.
Use of sugar in a run to increase the yield is also included, but in
parentheses, as the addition of sugar would not allow the mixture to
be labeled as pure corn whiskey."

Sugar is not needed. Like Yeast, sugar is used to expand the yield of a run, not to make a good shine. Thus, sugar is needed if you are greedy. Of course, they are speaking of pure corn whiskey. Other alcohol may have different recipes.

Mountainman.