| Some of you may know me from my wine | | | | am dying to know how sixty-dollar wines taste. |
| article series "I Love Italian Wine and Food," similar | | | | Needless to say, some of them will be |
| French and German series, and travel articles that | | | | disappointing. But in some ways it is worse to find |
| always manage to discuss local wine and food. It's | | | | an excellent sixty-dollar wine. As much as I want |
| true; I really do love wine and food from Italy, | | | | to, I can't spend sixty dollars a bottle on a regular |
| France, Germany, and other countries as well. But | | | | basis. |
| I also hate wine and many aspects of the wine | | | | My wife gave me her generous permission to buy |
| scene. Let me explain my top ten reasons for | | | | a single one hundred dollar bottle of wine per year. |
| this love-hate relationship. | | | | Such a bottle will cost me at least two hundred |
| The unconscionable expense. Don't let anybody | | | | dollars; my wife is not a wine lover, and in all |
| kid you. Good wine is expensive. Great wine is of | | | | fairness she will want a one hundred dollar item |
| course even more expensive. There are surely | | | | for herself. But that's not the end of my wine |
| bargains out there, but finding them is like kissing | | | | expense problems. One of the most wine-savvy |
| scads of frogs to find a prince. You have to kiss | | | | people I know recently described the pleasures of |
| a lot of frogs (yechh) before you get to kiss a | | | | a $600 bottle of Chateau Petrus; a top of the line |
| prince. Believe it or not, I have absolutely no | | | | French red wine. I asked him if it was worth the |
| desire whatsoever to kiss any princes. | | | | money. His response was short and sweet, |
| I do, however, want to drink fine wine. And I find | | | | absolutely. I am still far from that stratospheric |
| that the more fine wine I drink, the more fine | | | | price point, but... |
| wine I want to drink. Before I started writing wine | | | | Here are the other reasons: |
| reviews, twenty dollars was more or less my limit | | | | The embarrassing lack of knowledge |
| for a bottle; now I almost feel like apologizing | | | | No wine cellar |
| when I spend less than twenty. Having tasted | | | | I can't get the ... |
| some excellent wines in the forty-dollar range, I | | | | |