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

Throughout this well-written and thoroughly researched book is the timeless truism known by every con artist in history...people are taken in because they WANT to be taken in! Hardy Rodenstock...an alias, and a moniker Charles Dickens would have loved...knew he could count on the greediness and the inflated egos of super rich wine snobs who wanted only to have the BEST, the MOST EXPENSIVE, the RAREST wines in existence. Rodenstock got away with his blatant sleight of hand because no one wanted his cover blown, not the rare wine expert at Christies, not the billionaires slapping down mind-boggling sums for those dusty bottles inscribed with "Th.J" not even the representatives of the prestigious wineries in question. It was all good for business, and so long as none of the marks ever questioned Rodenstock's provenance or expertise, they could count on inclusion on the guest list for the biggest wine orgies on Earth (Ahem...men only, don't you know. Women were "...a distraction" sniffed one participant). It brings to mind the more recent Madoff scandal, and how common sense and due diligence are so often sacrificed on the altar of greed. In "Billionaire's Vinegar," it took an American oil tycoon, Bill Koch, with determination of steel to finally reveal the German emperor's shoddy wardrobe...maybe. As previous reviewers have noted, the book ended before the elusive Rodenstock could be brought to justice.

The book is peppered with great characters, true eccentrics, and some of the best drawing room cat fights I've read in a long time. The evil glee that Michael Broadbent from Christies felt over the upbraiding his Sothebys rival received from Philippine de Rothschild for her "pretentious" use of French was a visceral delight! And the gung-ho investigators hired by Bill Koch to nail Rodenstock once and for all were right out of a "Sopranos" episode.

For us mere wine mortals who get a thrill from pouring a simple glass of good Oregon pinot or a fine Leonetti, this was a happy vicarious ride through a whole other world. But in the end, one I would prefer to read about rather than know first hand! Get more detail about The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine.