On Sunday, chef and co-owner of Terra American Bistro, Peter Lukes provided wonderful food to complement the baker’s dozen of wines offered by oenophile Jack Vesey, who comes down from Colorado monthly to share his experience and his wine collection with those of us privileged to receive a regular invitation. This last tasting was of French Burgundy wines, 2002 vintage, from the Corton appelation. Some very nice Pinots, that Miles would have enjoyed, I’m sure.
I’m no wine expert, but I sure enjoy drinking the stuff. Which is probably why I joined the American Association of Wine Economists. (That’s about as dull a website as you’ll find, by the way.) They have some interesting articles in their journal, including a survey of the hot topics in wine economics: wine as an investment, wine and climate change, and expert opinion regarding wine. Research on the first topic suggests that wine is not a great investment unless you choose regions, winemakers and vintages very carefully. Generally wine is a better investment in your enjoyment of life. Statistical models developed in the second topic show that climate is about the best predictor of wine prices. So global climate change should have an impact on what we will pay for wine in the future. The last topic is particularly interesting, because the analytical results show that expert opinion is insignificant in explaining wine prices after controlling for climate.
Another interesting article published by the AAWE is a funny take on all the fluff that surrounds wine by a Princeton economist, Richard Quandt. It’s called “On wine bullshit: some new software?“