The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine
by: Benjamin Wallace
List Price: $24.95
Prices subject to change.
Price: $16.47
You Save: $8.48 (34%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Product Description:
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.
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.
Alternate Versions:
Related Items:
- The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It
- Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting That Revolutionized Wine
- The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty
- Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters, and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink
- The Battle for Wine and Love: or How I Saved the World from Parkerization
- see more
Browse for similar items by category:
- Books » Subjects » Cooking, Food & Wine » Drinks & Beverages » Spirits
- Books » Subjects » Cooking, Food & Wine » Drinks & Beverages » Wine » Collecting
- Books » Subjects » Cooking, Food & Wine » Drinks & Beverages » Wine » Wine & Winemaking
- Books » Subjects » Cooking, Food & Wine » Drinks & Beverages » Wine » General
- Books » Subjects » Cooking, Food & Wine » Gastronomy » History
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- The Billionaire's Vinegar
My husband and I have had the pleasure of visiting the Bordeaux region as well as other areas of France.The history of wine, of course, was "rooted" here, if you'll pardon the pun.This is an amazing story and it's true!At times, it bogs down a bit with exhaustive detail about certain incidents, but they are important to the story.I not only enjoyed the read but learned copious facts regarding wine, it's history in Europe and America, and it's booming popularity to this day.This book also ... Read More
Rating: - Truth is Better than Fiction
This is another exhibit in the argument that truth is more interesting than fiction.Excellent history of the wine business.Good look at Thomas Jefferson's penchant for record keeping, his interest in wine and a brief look into the thoroughness of the folks at Monticello who document his legacy.
Even more fascinating is the view provided of the wine collecting and wine tasting community as well as how easily fraud can be perpetrated on them.
I enjoyed this book thoroughly. ... Read More
Rating: 
- A Great Read
Too often wine books can be incredibly stuffy and just a little too highbrow. This is a fantastic read; rather than an intense academic exercise it is a very good narrative that makes one realise the rarefied air that some in the wine industry live in and also about the history of wine.
A really easy read and an interesting (almost compelling) book
Rating: 
- Interesting subject, poorly written
Beyond the Jefferson bottle, this book reviews the world of old wines and fakes, without reaching a conclusion. It starts well, but after a couple of chapters, it changes subject and begins to use many hype words and name-dropping which for me have a negative effect. Then it get diluted and move in several directions without real aim and at the end of the book, one is left wondering what it was really about. A pity as the subject would have warranted a better approach.
Rating: - A Fine Historical Detective Mystery
In 1985 the venerable and highly respected Christie's auction house sold a two hundred year old bottle of wine.The wine came from a mysterious dealer who claimed to have discovered a cache in the cellar of a house being demolished in an historic section of Paris.Engraved on the bottle were the initials Th J.Immediately the minds of historians and oenophiles leaped to the conclusion that this bottle and the others offered for sale were part of the cellar Thomas Jefferson established while American Ambassador ... Read More
- The Billionaire's VinegarMy husband and I have had the pleasure of visiting the Bordeaux region as well as other areas of France.The history of wine, of course, was "rooted" here, if you'll pardon the pun.This is an amazing story and it's true!At times, it bogs down a bit with exhaustive detail about certain incidents, but they are important to the story.I not only enjoyed the read but learned copious facts regarding wine, it's history in Europe and America, and it's booming popularity to this day.This book also ... Read More
- Truth is Better than FictionThis is another exhibit in the argument that truth is more interesting than fiction.Excellent history of the wine business.Good look at Thomas Jefferson's penchant for record keeping, his interest in wine and a brief look into the thoroughness of the folks at Monticello who document his legacy.
Even more fascinating is the view provided of the wine collecting and wine tasting community as well as how easily fraud can be perpetrated on them.
I enjoyed this book thoroughly. ... Read More
- A Great ReadToo often wine books can be incredibly stuffy and just a little too highbrow. This is a fantastic read; rather than an intense academic exercise it is a very good narrative that makes one realise the rarefied air that some in the wine industry live in and also about the history of wine.
A really easy read and an interesting (almost compelling) book
- Interesting subject, poorly writtenBeyond the Jefferson bottle, this book reviews the world of old wines and fakes, without reaching a conclusion. It starts well, but after a couple of chapters, it changes subject and begins to use many hype words and name-dropping which for me have a negative effect. Then it get diluted and move in several directions without real aim and at the end of the book, one is left wondering what it was really about. A pity as the subject would have warranted a better approach.
- A Fine Historical Detective MysteryIn 1985 the venerable and highly respected Christie's auction house sold a two hundred year old bottle of wine.The wine came from a mysterious dealer who claimed to have discovered a cache in the cellar of a house being demolished in an historic section of Paris.Engraved on the bottle were the initials Th J.Immediately the minds of historians and oenophiles leaped to the conclusion that this bottle and the others offered for sale were part of the cellar Thomas Jefferson established while American Ambassador ... Read More
