Auren relieves some pressure and rants about the inflated prices and priorities for wine.

First, why is it so important to drink alcohol at a proper meal? I mean, is it so important that we need to alter our state-of-mind while we engage in discourse over a nice meal? Is the company of the others at the meal so bad that we need to mollify it with some alcohol?? Of course not. So why the attraction to ALWAYS have alcohol with a nice meal. Can you imagine a similar fad forming around grape juice (wine without the alcohol)? Imagine buying a bottle of grape juice for $200 ... you'd be laughed out of town. (even when you retort, "but this grape juice was made by Baron de Rothschild!")

There are tons of studies on wine drinkers. They all think they are better wine experts then they really are. Poll 20 of your friends and most of them will be able to tell you why they prefer a $100 bottle to a $10 bottle. But if the labels were switched, they might give you a similar answer. Is it all just a fad??

Auren argues that wine is overvalued and there seems to a wine bubble at its peak. Not quite at the peak but wine is certainly a tad overpriced and overrated.

Growing up in wine happy Germany and closeby France - wine is a part of most home meals (and you can officially start drink by the age of 16) but it's CHEAP. Without much digging you can find pretty agreeable wine for EUR 2. Prices certainly range in teh teens in most shops but that is the end of grocery wines.

Incidentally you will find a lot of wine from California (yeah Zinfandels) as well. The same (well differently packed and probably slightly different grape qualities) are sold in Europe for EUR 3 a pop. Similar wines cost you $10 at safeway and $20 directly in Napa.

There is no doubt wine can improve food but paying $70 for a standard wine in a restaurant seems excessive - bad ROI :)