For wine collectors, a bitter finish

Baltimore Sun ^ | 2/5/06 | Abigail Tucker

[LibWhacker]

Divorce can uncork nasty custody battle

Almost 300 cases of the finest wine, and it evaporated like morning mist. Five-hundred-dollar bottles. Thousand-dollar bottles. The French Bordeaux from his children's birth years, which he planned to uncork at their weddings. The 1966 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild he wanted to share one day with his brother.

The only vintage that remained in his ransacked office, Doug Eisinger said, was a single bottle of 1990 Dom Perignon. "I plan on drinking that on the day of my divorce," he said.

Eisinger, 37, who lives in Sherwood Forest in Anne Arundel County, claims that his estranged wife, Elizabeth, absconded with his $200,000 wine collection in November, breaking into the Arnold office of his construction company where the wine was hidden and then loading about 3,500 bottles into a Thrifty rental truck.

Elizabeth Eisinger's attorney says that she had her own key to the office, that she took much less wine and that she made nowhere near $200,000 upon selling it wholesale (and not through a ritzy Washington auction house, as her husband contends).

Who gets to keep the money won't be sorted out until the divorce -- a particularly messy one filled with charges and counter-charges -- is settled, probably in the summer. Until then, all that both sides can agree on is that the wine itself is gone for good.

The Eisinger saga is more dramatic than most, but custody disputes over huge, vastly expensive wine collections are bubbling up in a growing number of divorce cases in Maryland and across the country, lawyers say, as some Americans' cellars age better than their marriages.

[linda_22003]

A friend of mine used to work in the summers for his father, who was a liquor wholesaler/distributor. He said they would go to the Mogen David factory to pick up new supplies and, he said, "The bottles were still HOT!" :-P

[andy58-in-nh]

LOL!

Very nice summary description of an appalling concoction. There are far worse, however....

[r9etb]

A friend of mine once worked at a 7-11, and they sold this stuff. Somebody broke a bottle, and it removed the wax from the floor!

[Sthitch]

You just have not had the right Brut. The cheap stuff lacks character and is a bit too austere. A good Brut, is complex and can almost taste a bit sweet.

[FreedomFarmer]

An Italian Prosecco is often just the thing for cautious customers.

It is perfect with scrambled eggs or fruit in the morning, or with a light or sweet desert in the evening.

(Pistachio ice cream is an excellent match.)

[Sthitch]

Proseco is what I use when I want to make a sparkling drink. My newest favorite is a bit of Lemoncello with the Proseco.

[Woman on Caroline Street]

FF, I love wine, but I'm not THAT far into the subtleties yet! There is just SO MUCH to learn! I feel like such a newbie! :-( I'm only now just learning the difference between barrel aged vs. barrel fermented chardonnay!

Also, not quite up to drinking in the morning yet. Yet. Maybe when I'm retired and don't need to shlep into the office, I'll try the Prosecco suggestion.

[FreedomFarmer]

Ah! The original spritzer!
If you like cocktails, replace the vermouth with prosecco in martini and gibson style drinks.
Vermouth is just a nasty, salted white wine anyway, and (hard to believe) goes bad (worse) within 3 days of opening.

[FreedomFarmer]

"Mr. Sato believes that a glass of sparkling wine in the morning is good for a healthy chest. Mr. Sato enjoys a healthy chest."

"I see that he does."

[Tunehead54]

You just have not had the right Brut. The cheap stuff lacks character and is a bit too austere. A good Brut, is complex and can almost taste a bit sweet.

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What do you recommend we mixes best with orange juice? The Moet and Veuve are off the list because they're french but maybe a nice Chandon? ;-)

[Sthitch]

If you are going to mix it, don't bother wasting your money on an expensive wine, find a decent Cava or Proseco for around $10-$15. By the way, Veuve "Agent Orange" is a waste of glass, as are most (not all) current NV Champagnes. With the exception of Agent Orange (which sucks in the best years) are using grapes from some very bad years. I should note that Veuve Cliquot does make some very fine vintage Champagnes.

[Tunehead54]

Thanks for your infomative and serious reply. I was trying to pull your leg but failed. If you're mixing it with OJ, I wager the fizz is all that matters. A client of mine aleted me to Veuve Cliquot - which I would have typed out but thought I needed a grave or accent mark. That was our bubbly of choice right up to the Iraq war. Now I just drink Old Bushmills and the lady likes Clos Du Bois Merlot.

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The only thing I really miss is a good brie or camembert. Oh and in the 70's I did actually have a glass of 1961 Chateau D'Yqem (SP) - too sweet but life's like that.