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The Billionaire's Vinegar

the Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine
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Nov 28, 2016wyenotgo rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
I've shelved this book as "Curiosity" to signify that it cannot fit into any of the usual shelves; it appears to lie somewhere between social commentary (reflecting bizarre or outlandish human behavior) and outright fiction (despite the fact that the events recounted really happened). It purports to be a mystery but the only thing mysterious is the readiness of supposedly sophisticated people to be hoodwinked into paying completely outrageous sums for bottles of wine that in many cases were likely to be undrinkable and to believe (or pretend to believe) fanciful claims about the origin of the items offered for sale -- all of this in pursuit of some kind of one-upmanship over their peers. The tale told here has no relationship to the ordinary pleasure of enjoying a decent glass of wine. This is all about what Noel Coward famously termed "wretched excess". The saving grace is that the men who were taken in were willing participants in the scheme, they could certainly afford to do so and they got what they deserved.