One of the pernicious elements of modern-day wine life is the per sistent impression that a cheap wine can’t be good. The reason this is so pervasive is that wine producers, like parents of teenagers, are forever harping on how expensive it is to raise good wines.We have no idea, they say of the costs, cares, perils, and woes they endure. Sound familiar?

Actually, we do have an idea of what it costs to grow grapes and make wine. And you’d be surprised how little it is.

Francois Mauss, a French wine lover who as president of the Grand Jury Europeen organizes extrava gant tastings, knows quite a lot about Bordeaux. On an Internet wine chat board, Mr. Mauss flatly states, “The annual cost of a bottle of top Bordeaux reaches a maximum of 8 euros [about $10],” adding that this “includes the food of the dog of the concierge.”

“I have seen the balance sheets of the great chateaux,” he further notes. “Employee cost is included in my statement. … Annual barrels are included in my statement. Dinner travel expenses for promotion, hotel expenses are included in my state ment. … I do not count investment or land value. I just count what cash is needed to pay all direct expenses linked to the production.”

Mr. Mauss’s opinion sounds about right. My own research on the cost of production for California wines comes out about the same on a bot tle basis. And $10 a bottle, mind you, is for creating very great wine such as a first-growth red Bordeaux or a top California cabernet. Yields for these wines are (or should be) lower than for more modest bot tlings. Most wines cost far less to produce, especially when grown in areas where land values are low or yields are high.

All of which is to say that the price of a wine on the shelf, like so many other things we buy, is less about ac tual production cost and more about marketing, supply and demand, and perceived value.Winegrowers every where know the truth of what Paul Newman said to the prim Joanne Woodward in “The Long, Hot Summer”: “Life’s very long and full of salesmanship, Miss Clara. You might buy something yet.”

HERE’S THE (AUTHENTIC) DEAL

CYCLES GLADIATOR MERLOT 2004: CYCLES GLADIATOR SYRAH 2004 If you want proof that you don’t need to spend big bucks to get genuinely good wine, you might want to take note of a new brand that’s only just appearing on the market called Cycles Gladiator

The deal here is that Cycles Gladiator, which takes its name and evocative Belle Epoque label art from an 1890s French bicycle manufacturer comes from the Hahn family in Monterey County. The Hahns own about 1,200 acres in the county, roughly half of that in the now-prized Santa Lucia Highlands appellation.

In 2002, they created an inexpensive wine brand called Rex Goliath. Within three years, Rex Goliath mushroomed to sales of 500,000 cases a year and growing. In 2005 the wine giant Constellation Brands bought the brand for a reported $40 million to $45 million.

So the Hahns doubtless figured that if they did it before, they could do it again. Enter Cycles Gladiator. They’ve got the grapes, the wine-making facilities, and the know-how, plus a little extra cash in the bank.

Several reds and whites are newly issued.The whites are ho-hum. But two reds, both designated “Central Coast” and coming mostly from the Hahns’ own vineyards in Monterey County are standoust: syrah and merlot. Both are terrific wines for the money. Both taste just like they should, with the syrah delivering a deep color rich fruit, and a peppery scent. The merlot is impressively good, delivering the signature bitter chocolate scent that merlot should have and too many (often high-priced) merlots don’t.

At $9.95 a bottle, with a street price of $8.99 or even less, these are standout deals.

A word to the wise: New wine brands such as this often start with exemplary quality. But as demand increases and producers reach beyond the backbone of their own holdings, quality often declines. So what’s true for these first-ever Cycles Gladiator reds from the 2004 vintage may not be true a few vintages from now.

MINERVOIS 2004, CHATEAU D’OUPIA The Minervois district of southwest France has struggled in recent years to demonstrate to a skeptical public (especially in France) that there’s real quality in them thar hills. And indeed there is. One taste of 2004 Chateau d’Oupia will persuade even the most hardened skeptic.

Composed of carignan from vines approaching 100 years old (60%), syrah (30%), and grenache (10%), it delivers the rich, lush fruitiness characteristic of carignan and syrah. But it also adds the additional flourish of the distinctive vaguely metallic scent that distinguishes Minervois from other southwestern French wines.

This is a standout red destined for beef stews, meat loaf, and other hearty foods. It’s smooth down the gullet right now but will surely do nothing but improve with at least a few years of additional cellaring. That makes it an ideal house red. You can’t beat the price for this kind of quality: $9.95 a bottle.