Wine Women Song and Lots of Money

In the past two weeks I've read a small library of books, including The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Story of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine. What a read! And what a fascinating glimpse into the billionaire world of the Forbes family, who once paid in excess of $156,000 for a single 1767 vintage of Lafitte wine that had suppossedly been purchased by Thomas Jefferson when he was ambassodor to France.





Now, I'm no wine expert, but the most expensive bottle I ever purchased was a half-used bottle of Coppertone (vintage 1979) from a garage sale in Hymera, Indiana (population 900). I didn't really want the bottle, but there was a nice-lookin' girl sitting on a lawnchair who was beggin' me to "come see what she had in her garage." I did. And I walked out with the bottle and ten dollars less in my wallet. She was quite a saleswoman and I was quite a nerd. I don't think the bottle purchase was at all what she had in mind.




Still, you have to admire Kip Forbes and his daddy's deep wallet. When old pop told him to go bid on the bottle, he told him to bring back the goods at any price. Too bad the bottle turned out to be a clever forgery. But I know how he felt. The only thing I ever got from that bottle of Coppertone was a bad burn.