Sunday, February 22, 2009

The Billionaire's Vinegar -- Benjamin Wallace -- 4 STARS


While watching a video on ted.com recently (really cool website with great videos about the future of technology and such), I saw a guy who was talking about the most expensive things in the world and he referenced the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold. In the book, The Billionaire's Vinegar,Benjamin Wallace explains the selling of this bottle of Chateau Lafite 1787 sold at Christie's London in 1985 for $160,000.

I gave this book 4 stars. I was a bit unsure going into a book like this but it was far better than anticipated. Wallace does a great job starting with the auction and then diligently explaining the mystery behind a bottle purportedly owned by Thomas Jefferson. He then goes into great depth about the story of the bottle going through today.

To help arouse your curiosity, I will let you know that there might be a possibility that bottle is in fact............FAKE! Actually, a lot of the book questions that authenticity of a number of expensive, old wines sold recently but you will have to read the book to find out the final result.

Overall, very fun, cool book. More than I ever wanted to know about wine, but it certainly makes me appreciate red wine much more now. Think about it, wine is one of the few foods/drinks whose taste actually changes and improves as it encounters oxygen... so cool and enjoyable, just like this book.

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