My wife and I had dinner at Jax Kitchen(www.jaxkitchen.com)  last week and it was fabulous, as usual.  Over a dinner of seafood gumbo for me and the chorizo spiced mussels for her, owner Brian Metzger shared his recent experience in tasting some very nice wines at a function, one of which was clearly close to or exceeding $500.00.  While he said that he enjoy it, he wondered if it really was that much better than a $100.00 bottle.  Then he popped the expected question: if I had my choice, would I opt for five $100.00 bottles or the one $500.00 gem?  

At first, I thought that if it were me (maybe he’ll invite me to go along next time), I would err on the side of five $100.00 bottles.  After all, you can get some pretty great wines for a buck and five, at that.  Brian leaned in the same direction.  But somehow, the question kept nagging at me over the weekend.  You see, I think that the answer lies somewhere in between.  It probably depends upon what you have in your cellar, what you have tasted (and haven’t), how important it is for you to sample all that you can afford.  I guess that I should also include bragging rights.  For some, this is important, but not for me.   For simplicity, let’s assume budget is not an issue.  You just won $500.00 in the lottery and the wine enthusiast that you are, it’s only a matter of which wine(s) you choose.  If you have a few (or more) $100.00 bottles in your cellar but have never sampled a great Red Burgundy or Bordeaux (yes, you can find them), and this is your rare opportunity to taste greatness, you might go for it!  While I agree that some $500.00 bottles of wine can be approached in quality by some of its lesser brethren, most possess special nuances that can only be savored in the best.  These nuances are usually a function of the terroir, the exquisite care taken by the vineyard manager and the winemaker as well as reputation and volume produced.  The best of Burgundy, for example, has it all, blessed by some of the best vine nurturing soil on the planet, ideal climate, centuries of wine making experience and very low case production.  All of this goes into that $500.00 price tag.  The expectation, thus, is that the price tag will translate into a unique wine experience likely not shared by a lesser wine.   So how would you decide what to do here?  Would you go for the $100.00 five volume  pack or for the singular “experience?”