cover image Keys to the Cellar: Strategies and Secrets of Wine Collecting

Keys to the Cellar: Strategies and Secrets of Wine Collecting

Peter D. Meltzer. John Wiley & Sons, $29.95 (258pp) ISBN 978-0-471-47359-6

Seasoned wine critic and Wine Spectator auction correspondent Meltzer unlocks the secrets and strategies of wine collecting, teaching readers how to create a cellar to fit one's lifestyle, store wine, and buy and sell at auctions and on the web. The book's references include lists of the top auction houses and auction records, as well as a glossary of wine collecting terms which will help beginners ease into the world of wine collecting. Fervent aficionados will enjoy trivia ranging from the winemaking's origins in Turkey, Persia and China, to noteworthy record-breaking auction sales, including Christie's $11 million Grands Crus, at which a jeroboam (an oversized bottle) of Mouton-Rothschild 1945 was sold for $114,614. Readers will feel armed with the proper expertise to take part in bidding at auctions, find wines online, store collections properly and enjoy prized labels with kindred palates.