Chasing Down the Dream Wines - How to Make Higher Priced Wines Affordable

There are a host of top wines for any region – but they command prices in upwards of $60.00 to $200 and beyond!  Are the high dollar wines really worth the price?  And how can anyone afford them?  But if you COULD afford them for a modest price, would you be willing to do it?  

Gene and Fran Shapiro wanted to find out.  So they gave me a call.  “We want to see just how far we can go with this”, said Gene, “A High End Wine tasting, featuring some of the star wines of their own respective regions, beginning at about $40.00 per person for the wine.  We may never do this again, so let’s go for it!”.  So the search began on what can we find, what can we buy, and in what quantity.  Then 12 wonderful guests pitched in and made this a gourmet group dinner.  After all, this would be a once in a lifetime event for most everyone!  

At the end of the journey was an impressive and exciting “wine list” for this groups evening.  Mostly red drinkers, the “wine list” reflected this with 3 super impressive reds.  We began the night with the pride of New Zealand, 2004 Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc for the reception and appetizers.  Next came the Italian Brunello di Montalcino from Banfi, with a wonderful Italian pasta and red sauce appetizer.  With the main course (heart meat dishes), I was able to obtain 2 of the stars of Napa Valley and Bordeaux – 1997 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, considered one of the top 5 Cabernets in Napa.  This was preceded by a 1988 Chateau Cheval Blanc, a top First Growth of Saint Emilion in Bordeaux.  We fnished the evening with a 1990 Chateau Rieussec from Sauternes with a wonderful baked fruit dessert.  

“Every single wine showed exceptionally well”, said Lynn Hunsicker, the new chairperson of the Raleigh Newcomers Wine Group.  “Several of these wines I had always heard of, but never enjoyed due to the price.  They were such great wines that we wanted to sip and enjoy slowly, along with the company”.   

“This was an evening to remember”, said Joey and Rhonda Anstett.  “We’ve never considered such an evening as possible, since the cost of these wines is so high.  But when you get a group of people together that want to share in the experience, it really makes it affordable. “  And were the hosts happy with the evening?  “Where can you go to spend $40.00 a head to enjoy over $500.00 of wine!"    

The Wine List