Take a guess at the price for the most expensive bottle of wine that has ever sold. I wonder if you’re even within a hundred grand. The price, paid at an auction on behalf of Malcom Forbes, was $156,000! It wasn’t just any bottle of wine though; this bottle, a 1787 Lafite Bordeaux, was claimed by its seller to have belonged to Thomas Jefferson. The key word in that sentence, and what becomes the main plot of the book, is “claimed”. After all, after 200 years, proving an item’s original owner isn’t a trivial task.

“The Billionaire’s Vinegar”, by Benjamin Wallace, is a meticulously well-researched adventure into the world of the extremely wealthy who regularly spend thousands of dollars, if not much more, on very, very old wine. It reads like a mystery / suspense novel (you’ll be turning pages like crazy and scowl at anyone who interrupts you) and seems destined to be a great movie some day. Wallace teaches the reader a thing or two about wine (though not necessarily practical tips for your next dining experience) and provides a detailed account of Thomas Jefferson’s travels through France and his obsession with viticulture.

This was exactly the kind of book I was looking for during a long flight. An incredible true story, quite a bit of new knowledge gained (to think, a wine book that also hit on my current obsession with early American history), and enough mystery to make your mind obsess over the details.