The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine

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The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine

Editorial Review

It was the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold.
In 1985, at a heated auction by Christie's of London, a 1787 bottle of Château Lafite Bordeaux--one of a cache of bottles unearthed in a bricked-up Paris cellar and supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson--went for $156,000 to a member of the Forbes family. The discoverer of the bottle was pop-band manager turned wine collector Hardy Rodenstock, who had a knack for finding extremely old and exquisite wines. But rumors about the bottle soon arose. Why wouldn't Rodenstock reveal the exact location where it had been found? Was it part of a smuggled Nazi hoard? Or did his reticence conceal an even darker secret?
It would take more than two decades for those questions to be answered and involve a gallery of intriguing players--among them Michael Broadbent, the bicycle-riding British auctioneer who speaks of wines as if they are women and staked his reputation on the record-setting sale; Serena Sutcliffe, Broadbent's elegant archrival, whose palate is covered by a hefty insurance policy; and Bill Koch, the extravagant Florida tycoon bent on exposing the truth about Rodenstock.
Pursuing the story from Monticello to London to Zurich to Munich and beyond, Benjamin Wallace also offers a mesmerizing history of wine, complete with vivid accounts of subterranean European laboratories where old vintages are dated and of Jefferson's colorful, wine-soaked days in France, where he literally drank up the culture.
Suspenseful, witty, and thrillingly strange, The Billionaire's Vinegar is the vintage tale of what could be the most elaborate con since the Hitler diaries. It is also the debut of an exceptionally powerful new voice in narrative non-fiction.

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
• A Story Worth Following
  This is an interesting investigation into the phenomenon of a number of very old wine being discovered after most experts and wine collectors assumed the supply of 18th century wine was exhausted. The billionaire of the title is Bill Koch, of the Koch company, the largest privately held American corporation. Unfortunately, Koch was a purchaser of this wine and as its provenance became suspect, Koch mounted an expensive investigation into whether the wine was counterfeit. The book spans from the early 90's... more info
• Good book, but diffuse ending
  This book opened my eyes to how wine is traded, sold, and drunk. Told as an investigative journalism peice, The Billionaire's Vinegar reveals all of the interesting and bizzare facts about the rare wine craze of the 1990's. Afterwards I felt nearly compelled to go out and sample some good wines.
  ....although the ones I sampled were substantially cheaper than those described in this book.
  My only problem with the book is the ending, which I felt was too "diffuse" and unresolved. It needs a tighter... more info
• Interesting true story told as a thriller
  This is a good read.
  I prefered the first half which was very catching and thrilling. I think the author really did a good job telling these amazing facts in this exciting manner.
  The second half was a little too factual and repetitive. I guess the beginning was too good with the surprise effect ( I didnt know the story) so it would have been hard to hold it on.
  I disagree with the comments regarding the timing of the release. The important is not to know who is right or wrong regarding... more info
• Wine Sleuthing
  Very well researched, well structured and reads like a detective story. Interest for Brits, Europeans and Americans as the story and the characters shuttle back and forth. Many gurus of the wine world play a part and the reader lives the narrative, its twists, turns and surprises, plus some wry humour. After much detailed case work, the story ends rather abruptly and readers will be curious to know what happened to the key players next. A post script to the second edition, perhaps?

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