Wine is a major industry all over the world. From famous wine-growing regions such as Napa and Sonoma in Northern California to Tuscan vineyards, many people enjoy wine on several levels. You might think that wine is simply for drinking, but you’d be incorrect. Many people don’t care to actually drink wine so much as they enjoy the art of collecting wine. It’s an item that has a prestigious connotation, ensuring that people all over the world build their wine collection for the simple extravagance of having it.
Those who know little about vino assume that spending more than $15 per bottle at the supermarket means they’re getting a good bottle. Whether or not the price of a bottle of wine makes it better or worse than other is debatable and entirely personal, but what is certain is that some wine is just worth more than others.
The Most Expensive Wine Ever Sold
A bottle of Chateau Lafite bottled in 1787 sold in 1985 for $156,450. Those familiar with math know that this is an exceptionally old bottle of wine. Those familiar with wine know that this is not a good bottle of wine. Why? Because it’s Bordeaux; Bordeaux is typically only good for around 50 years. Yet, this 200 year old bottle of wine was the most expensive bottle ever sold.
Obviously, this bottle is for collecting and not for consuming. The reason the price tag on this particular bottle was so high is the fact that it’s adorned with Thomas Jefferson’s initials. Known for being an oenophile, a bottle from Jefferson’s personal collection is an expensive addition to any wine cellar.
The Most Expensive Wine Not Sold
Another of Thomas Jefferson’s personal bottles is worth approximately $225,000. Also a bottle from 1787, this Chateau Margaux was never sold, but it was valued at this price. In 1989, wine collector William Sokolin was issued this amount as an insurance settlement after the bottle was broken in a collision at a New York City wine dinner.
The next time you’re attempting to choose a bottle of wine, remember that just because a bottle is more than what you’re comfortable spending doesn’t make it a superior bottle. Just ask the man who spent more than $150K on a bottle of wine he’ll never even drink because it’s no good.
(Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for The New York Culinary Experience)
