One of the greatest problems facing true wine lovers is in deciding precisely how much a particular wine is worth. There are commercial on-line wine sites that give prices (Berry Brothers & Rudd; The Chicago Wine Company being among the very best of these), and there are on-line magazines (the Wine Spectator, for example) where one can find such information. The problem with such sites is that those in the first category list only the prices for which THEY are selling wines, and that magazine information becomes too quickly dated.

One of my own solutions to the problem is the encyclopedic, 2 volume, 2,000 page "Wine and Price", an invaluable aid in determining how much they should spend at auction or in stores here or abroad for the wines they are considering buying for either pleasure or investment. Incorporating all of the prices from over 300 wine auctions in the past year, as well historical data, the book includes, among other items, Bordeaux wines from 1784, Burgundy wines from 1858 and California wines from 1875. Once one has mastered the easy to read system, it is possible to quickly determine the lowest, highest and average prices paid at auctions for any of 30,000 different wines in the last year.

Books may be ordered from Sotheby's Bookshop, 34-35 New Bond Street, London W1A 2AA or by fax to 171 408 5909. The price of 116 pounds sterling (or 186 U.S. Dollars) includes shipping to Israel. The book, which is published annually or bi-annually receives my highest recommendation.

(Note: You can look up over 85,000 wine prices in the database on Strat's Place by Clicking Here )

© Daniel Rogov