The wonderful world of the big spenders

There are some people who can spend thousands of euro without batting an eyelash, even for wine. However, this does not necessarily mean those wines are so much better and enjoyable than others that cost a whole lot less.

Our reader Matteo Merlotti, commenting on my last editorial, offered an appropriate quote from his friend (Max from Milan): “Life is beautiful but a beautiful life is something else”. This works above all if, as I will do here, a “beautiful life” has to do with having ample economic means.

Those in that category are the so-called big spenders, people who the world over make more than a thousand times what a normal person can put in their pocket and can thus set their acquisition sights at a much higher level. For them, spending 1,000 euros is like one euro to us and this determines what they may decide to buy.

In the world of wine, this means they can satisfy any whim or desire. Romanée Conti? Why not? It only costs 15,000 euros a bottle that for them is like 15 euros, which is a little less than I would spend going to the movies. In theory, there is nothing wrong with this, as long as those who are super rich became so in a legal way, paying taxes and not breaking the law. At most one can be envious of them but this never a good thing.

However, there is a downside to all this. Taking the example of Romanée Conti, I can remember how at the end of the 1980s six of us pooled our money to buy a bottle, each contributing 80 old lire. A bottle then cost almost half a million of the old lire, close to 250 euros today, and I earned, if I remember correctly, around 800,000 lire a month. So it was less than my monthly earnings.

To have that same purchasing power today, I would have to be earning at least 20,000 euros a month, which is certainly not the case. And so buying a bottle now is totally out of the question. But then I would never spend that much for a bottle of wine, even if it is my passion. However, what this does mean is that for me and many other people, wines like this one have become totally out of our reach. And this because of those damn big spenders, in order to obtain something exclusive, including wine, engage in a bidding wars that drive prices into the stratosphere.

So what can a poor man do? Not much because, as the old saying goes, “who has more money wins”. Nevertheless, there are alternatives. It is not necessarily true that those pricy wines are so much more exclusive, valid and enjoyable than others that cost a whole lot less. With 50 or 60 euros, which is a considerable sum but much less than 15,000 euros, you can buy some exceptional wines, you just have to know where to find them. They can even come from smaller regions that are much lesser-known than the now untouchable Burgundy, at least for me. What comes to mind are Cannonau Vigna Franzisca from Montisci, Barolo Palladino and Taurasi Perillo, just to name a few. These are formidable wines that I can still afford and as for that Romanée Conti, a vintage 1985, I remember it was good but I don’t miss it, so fare thee well Burgundy.