Poll - The most you spent on a bottle of wine

[funnybone]

Seeing the "wine tasting" section of the June issue, the first sentence is "Is $30 too much for a bottle of wine?" It made me think of the most I have spent for a bottle (not counting at a restaurant or champagne). I don't think I have paid more than $20. Usually I spend up to $15 without hesitation.

How about the rest of you???

[This message has been edited by funnybone (edited 05-24-2001).]

[pmmahan]

I usually spend as much as everyone else does - $8-15, but I have spent $40 on a bottle of wine and a little more than that on champagne.

[Mandy]

I love Champagne and sparkling wine. I could drink it at every dinner. So about a month ago my husband surprised me with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot (a REAL Champagne!). That was about $55. It was wonderful. The bubbles were so small. We tasted it back to back with a bottle of Freixenet (a sparkling wine at $10 a bottle). That was a lot of fun.
I think the most we've spent on wine was for our wedding we brought our own bottle for just the two of us I think that was about $40 a bottle.
Great question!

[KathrynY]

gobluem82 - LOL! We call the $8 for 1.5L bottle of red wine "pizza wine". Some of the Chilean reds are really nice for that price.

The most we've ever spent has been probably $28 or so for a fabulous Logan Chardonnay several years ago. In general we stick to $7-$15 per bottle like a lot of others. Much beyond that and the price/taste ratio maxes out for me.

TheresaM - would love to hear about the wineries you like on Long Island. We've been meaning to do that for years and are thinking about planning a trip this summer. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Anne]

We are mostly in the $8-$12 range but we did splurge on a $60 bottle of champagne for New Years eve a year and a half ago (Y2K scare year). We could definitely tell the difference, nice aroma, tiny, tiny little bubbles, and wonderful flavor. Still, I suspect it will be a very long time before we splurge like that again.
Woops - just reread that champagne didn't count. I spent about $30 on a bottle of wine but couldn't really tell much difference from the $12 variety. I suspect its a cultivated taste that I have not developed (yet).

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[Gail]

Not restaurant or champagne, hmm?

I'm guessing probably around $42.00 then. I am a Gary Farrell addict, and some of his wines are pretty pricey, and I seem to recall this forty-something bottle of Pinot Noir we bought a few years back. Heap good stuff, worth every penny.

[Mbart]

I know nothing about wines, but we usually spend about $10-15/bottle. While out for dinner with another couple, we ordered a $30 bottle, and didn't pay much attention when the waiter presented it to us/had us sample. We enjoyed it, but didn't think it was anything special. A short time later, our waiter came to inform us they'd made a mistake and served us the wrong bottle...we gotten an $80 bottle of wine. That was the most expensive bottle I've had. And as I said, I didn't think it was that great! Fortunately, they only charged us the $30!

Oops...just reread this thread, and saw I was to EXCLUDE restaurant bottles...sorry!

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[browneye]

On our honeymoon in the Napa Valley, my DH and I bought an $80.00 bottle of wine-to put away and open on our 5 or 10 year anniversary. That was October of 1998. We stored it wrapped in bubble-wrap in a cooler, in a storage area in our garage that has a relatively constant temperature. The wine is currently retailing at about $130.00.... I do not know if it will be good or not. I'll have to wait and see!

Other than that, we spend between $12-$20 routinely, but on occasions such as holidays we'll spend $30.00 or so for one of our favorites!

[Beth]

Okay, Kim has me out-posted, I don't have the most cookbooks, but I at least get temporary lead in this category. But it was a gift. I bought a bottle of a Bourdeaux that was rated 99 or 100 by Wine Spectator for DH one Christmas. It was about $100 and a good buy at that. We haven't drunk it yet, but I figured once in life, you ought to go for something that's "perfect." The wines we drink on a regular basis are MUCH less, and I love finding offbeat and inexpensive discoveries. I recently found a $4.99 wine at Cost Plus I liked.


[This message has been edited by Beth (edited 05-24-2001).]

[Leanne]

We like wine alot & drink it alot. There are a couple of bottles of 10$ or less wine that we keep around all the time. We have paid as much as 40$ for a bottle. There is also a couple of 26-28$ bottles that we keep around all of the time too. We have found that the price really does reflect the tatse in most cases.

Ones we keep around the house that are consistently good (We buy these by the case, with the exception of Matanzas Creek b/c it's too hard to find):

Los Vascos (red zin I think - maybe a merlot) 6$
Columbia Crest Merlot 10$
Ravenswood Red Zin 12$
Primus Red Zin (I think - maybe a cab) 28$
Girgch Hills Red Zin 26$
Matanzas Creek Merlot 40$

[This message has been edited by Leanne (edited 05-24-2001).]

[emilycat]

During my senior year of college, I routinely bought $20-30 bottles. Now that my father isn't stocking my account, I tend to spend about an average of $15 a bottle. My greatest find is Hogue's Chenin Blanc, which is excellent for the price and goes for $8.
Most expensive? My ex-boyfriend and I bought a $50 of champagne once, and I kept the bottle for a while because it was so lovely. Other than that, probably a $35 bottle of Mitte-Klack Gewurtztraminer, an Alsatian Grand Cru I haven't been able to find since.
When I can afford it, I fear I'll truly be out of control in the wine store. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by emilycat (edited 05-24-2001).]

[SandyM]

I love Hogue wines - I'm a reisling lover, and their late-harvest reisling is really good. You simply cannot beat their price. Go to www.hoguecellars.com (http://www.hoguecellars.com) to view their products.

I generally stick to the $8.00 - $15.00 range. We went to Napa in 1994 and we bought two bottles of Cuvaison cabernet (1993, I believe was the year, but not certain). We basically forgot about it, and since we lived in a 3rd floor apartment, we had no reasonable place to store it. I thought I cooked it in the closet.

Imagine our surprise when we opened it last Christmas - we almost passed out, this wine was so good! I spoke to my local wine purveyor, and he said we were extremely lucky to have had that wine. It was a very good year for that winery, and we would pay a fortune to find any of it now (if there was any left that wasn't in someone's personal stock).

The point of this story is that I found a peeno nooowah by Cuvaison for $35.00, and bought it on a whim. It was really good, but it didn't par up to that cab. I will never forget that.

I think that's the most I've spent (not in a restaurant).

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[TheresaM]

DH and I have been wine lovers for years. We generally spend $10 and would not hesitate to spend $15. When we have spent more we both thought that the wine was truly not that much better. I have a trip planned to North Fork, Long Island, next weekend to do alittle wine buying. I can't wait, it's so great to talk with winery owners. A few of our favorite wineries have changed hands. It will be interesting to see if the quality of the wine has changed..

The local Shaw/Star Market has a beer and wine section (lucky for us) and they have great prices. These are all wines I get for under $10.00:
Clos du Bois(Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon),
Estancia(Chardonnay,Cabernet Sauvignon)
Camelot(Chardonnay,Cabernet Sauvignon),
Beringer(Cabernet Sauvignon),
Mirassou(Chardonnay,Cabernet Sauvigon)

[This message has been edited by TheresaM (edited 05-24-2001).]

[sneezles]

I usually spent between $10-$15 a bottle. But I love Sterling Vineyards Chardonnay that around $22 and Kendall Jackson's Grand Reserve is about the same, so those are for gifts or dinner with guests.
We recently have been drinking Fall Creek wines (it's "local" in that it's an Austin winery) and they run anywhere from $5-$15. Plus there are quite a few of Llano vintages that we like and they are in the same price range.

[lindrusso]

Like many others, we usually stick to the $10-$15 range. The most we've ever spend it about $42 - I think for Chalk Hill Chardonnay. But for wines we drink regularly, I can't see shelling out this kind of money.

It took us a while before we could even shell out $10 or $15 - we used to go really cheap - like boxed wine cheap http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif !! But then we started trying better wines and never looked back...

[gobluem82]

We generally spend in the $7-15 range, and we generally cheap out for "spaghetti wine" and buy the $8 1.5 L bottles.

After each of our kids were born, though, we spent about $40 or so for cellarable wines from the year they were born, so we could open them up on their 21st birthdays. Hopefully they won't taste like vinegar!

[SusanL]

We also bought a wine for our 10th anniversary - $100 for Mondavi's Uno! It was the best wine I had ever had -guess we'll have to buy another bottle for the 20th anniversary!! Our usual allowance affords us $10-20 a bottle, hey, we live in PA http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif (LCB)

[kwormann]

We also love wine, but cant spend very much right now....we usually stay around 10, but are looking for en "economic lift" soon, and wouldnt you know it, a more expensive bottle of wine is on my list http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Kim http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[Beth]

Knew I'd get topped, but had to 'fess up so I wouldn't feel all alone. Thanks Julia. We bought a lot of wine while we were living in the Sonoma/Napa area, but we've slowed down now. Kids might have had something to do with it too.

[Julia1Pin]

Beth-

Just re-read your first post. $100 for 100 in WS. Am I the only one who thinks that that is VERY CHEAP?

[funnybone]

Gee, I don't think we have expensive wines in PA (or many wines at all - lol - but that's another story).

I used to see some expensive wines in Costco in Duluth, GA when we lived there, but never had the guts to try them. Most of the time it is only me who drinks it, as DH does not really like wine much. Now he does drink the occasional glass (but does not enjoy it like I do) for all the health benefits you hear about these days.

Come to think of it, I should have splurged when it was only me drinking it!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Beth]

Originally posted by Julia1Pin:
Beth-

Just re-read your first post. $100 for 100 in WS. Am I the only one who thinks that that is VERY CHEAP?

Nope. I snapped it up at a warehouse store, of all places. I think it was the same year that we had to cancel a trip to the 96 Olympics due to a new arrival and an unexpected move. There is only so much you can do with a 3 wk old and a 3 yr old in tow, so we sold our tickets and bought wine futures. Watched the Olympics on TV and are still drinking the wines.

[Julia1Pin]

For once, I think I have everyone on the board beat!

Let me first say, we don't have any kids,we don't eat out alot and we don't go clothes shopping often.

My husband just built our wine cabinet to hold 300 bottles. We have it about 2/3 full. The averages price per bottle is ~$80. We go to Napa often (in fact we're going this weekend) and don't really refuse ourselves much when it comes to wine purchase.

We don't drink most of these bottles on a daily basis, mind you, but we also have no problem opening one up if we feel like it.

Our red wine is DEFINATELY much more expensive than the white. Our favorite Chardonney is St. Suppery, Diamondranch Chardonney (~$30). There is also a great Heitz Chardonney for $12. In reds, Culler has an amazing Cabernet for $40, but my favorite has to be Caymus for ~$70. One of my favorite wineries is Villa Mt. Eden - most of their Merlots are pretty cheap (~$20).

Any questions on Napa/Sonoma wineries - please feel free to email me. Any other region - not so great.

Most expensive bottle - for our dating anniversary, I got my husband a bottle of Rojas (I think that's what it's called) that cost ~$150. We're saving that for a special occasion http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Julia1Pin (edited 05-25-2001).]

[Holly in KC]

We're usually in the $15 - $25 range, like most posts.

Our splurge is 2(!!) bottles of 1996 Mondavi Opus One for $115 each that we have sitting in our cellar (in other words, in an old stereo cabinet in the basement). We had ordered a bottle of the 1995 Opus at a restaurant to celebrate a birthday a while back and loved it! I think the '96 got a 98 from Wine Spectator, and we can start thinking about drinking it next year. Mmmmm

[sisofmamasue]

Well first I would like to thank everyone for their input. I am a wine drinker...I have paid up over $40 for a bottle of wine. Cakebread Cabernet...Unfortunately it is very hard to find and when you do find any Cakebread wine...I usually buy at least 6 bottles of both Cab and Chard's..I have spent over $50 for a Champagne. However, I don't necessarily go by price it does not necessarily relate to a better wine..It really depends on your tastes. My sister (Mamasue) likes a sweet but light wine...Yes, I brought Ravenwood (Reisling) on mothers day at her house and my mother and mamasue loved it...My boyfriend did also. He likes a sweet wine...He actaully brought a grapey wine on one of our first dates. Bully Goat..Great for just a glass with some crackers and cheese...It grows on you..haha. The winemaker is one of the Taylor brothers that got booted out of the family business. He owns a vineyard in upstate NY and this is where my guy found it and now orders it by the case from a store in NH. I prefer Poulet Fuisse (sp) Jabot has a great taste to it. Almost nutty flavor to it. I first got hooked on this at a Rest. in Ogunquit, ME (Hurricane).If you are ever there please make reservations and get there. Fabulous rest. Anyway, it's about $17-20 a bottle. Poulet Fume is also a very good wine. When I went to Paris they served both of these wines like water. I was very disappointed...NOT I also got a great wine at Trader Joe's $5 bucks. Barefoot wines it was very good. It was recommended. So see Price does not necessarily mean better...Again it all depends on everyones preference of taste. I think the best are recommendations from others. I will definately try some of your suggestions..Good Question..haha
Sister of Mamasue