Posted on 10/23/2020 6:54:28 AM PDT by karpov
Among the many ways the rich are different from you and me: Only they can afford grand cru Burgundy.
That wasnt always the case. In the 1990s, middle-class wine lovers could still afford to experience that rite of passage drinking a truly great wine, not simply to enjoy it, but to understand what qualities made it exceptional in the eyes of history.
It might have been a splurge, perhaps requiring a few sacrifices. But it was feasible, just as it was possible to buy first-growth Bordeaux, or the top wines of Barolo, Brunello di Montalcino or Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon, to name a few other standard-bearers.
For example, back in 1994, a bottle of Comte Georges de Vogüé Musigny 1991, a grand cru, retailed for $80 (the equivalent of $141 in 2020, accounting for inflation). Today, that bottle costs about $800.
In a more extreme case, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche 1990, another grand cru and one of the worlds great wines, cost $285 in 1993 ($513 in 2020, accounting for inflation). Thats no small sum then or now, but profoundly curious people might have found a way.
Today, a bottle of the 2017 La Tâche goes for about $5,000, well out of reach for dedicated students of wine, except for the most wealthy.
Plenty of other options exist: Village Burgundy rather than grand cru, or any of the many other great wines now being produced around the world. But these bottles, as good as they may be, have not been part of a conversation that has endured for centuries.
For wine lovers, drinking such renowned bottles would be the equivalent of a college course in Shakespeare, Beethoven or Charlie Parker.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
The problem is Chinese billionaires who buy grand cru Bordeaux and Burgundy by the case as an ostentatious show of weather. They drink it cold, mixed with Coca-Cola, if you can imagine such a thing.
In reality we are living in a golden age of wine. Excellent wines are being produced for well under $100 a bottle in many places around the world. Dry red wines from Douro in Portugal are my current favorites and many good examples can be had for $20 to $40.
No doubt...Just as methods of conveyance, human companions with certain physical characteristics, homes, clothing, pets, jewelry, food and just about every other thing with a price tag on it....Old Thorstein Veblen gave it the moniker "Conspicuous Consumption"...
When Jerry Jones paid Deion Sanders to lure him from San Francisco it was the beginning of the end for the Cowboys. He became convinced that he had an eye for talent, and was just one big signing away from the Super Bowl every year.
Y'know when I gave up on the Cowboys? Under Jerry's direction, the Cowboys had produced three straight 5-11 seasons. Jones couldn't get funding to build Jerry World. So, he hires Bill Parcells, and lets him actually coach. How good a coach was Parcells? He made the playoffs with Quincy Frikkin Carter.
Cowboys make the playoffs. Jerry gets deal for Jerry World signed. The next day, over Parcells' objections, Jerry signs Terrell Owens. Bill retires. That's when I quit watching the Cowboys. Later I realized I wasn't an NFL fan, I was a Cowboys fan, and quit watching pro football all together.
Cowboys run on the fumes of Parcells' teams for another season with Jerry puppet Wade Phillips as alleged coach. I never saw a Jason Garrett coached game, but did see a few clips of him icing his own kicker, etc. I don't even know who the new coach is, but the press conference when he was announced looked like a POW video.
Carlo Rossi Sangria for about $12 total.
2 buck Chuck at Trader Joe’s and/or their red was good.
Also not bad when mixed with Diet Squirt!
BOL!
50% any old grape juice and 50% EverClear 190. You won’t care how it tastes.
I’m thankful for what I DO have.
Good point...In the Navy, on shore duty, we filled gallon jugs with a couple cups of sugar, some yeast cakes, a large can of grape juice concentrate and water. Put a balloon over the jug’s mouth, and when the balloon had expanded appropriately, cut the contents of the jug with vodka to taste... We called it “cheap and sweet”.
I couldn't have said it any better. There are plenty of great wines available to regular consumers. $20 will get you a fantastic bottle of Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc; $25 a terrific Pinot Noir; and a delicious, full-bodied Cabernet can be had for less than $50.
I dare say that most people couldn't tell the difference between a $7000 bottle of wine and a $70 bottle; it's so pretentious to think otherwise.
BOL
Gargle with the EverClear to kill any CV19!
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