Why wine? 
Why eat steak/shrimp, when peanut butter and day-old bread will serve to feed me? Why breathe?
Objectively, we spend way too much on this--a bigger budget category than food or, in most years to date, even vacations. Built a cellar when I redid our present house, and am glad that I limited its capacity to 1200 bottles (as George Carlin noted in a different context, you will fill up what you have!).
But, 95% of our meals together (evening is our only joint meal most days), we linger over the bottle and turn a chicken breast and salad (for example) into a 90 minute chat session. And, as I noted on the restaurant thread, being able to bring your own "$35" pinot to a restaurant when the same vintage is on the menu for $125 is kind of cool.
DW is diligent about taking notes on the hang tags as the cases age, watching how the wine changes (both on the racks and in the glass), and what it should pair well with for now. It has become an avid hobby for her, so even if I wanted to cut it off, I'd fail.
To each their own. We drive Hondas into the ground and wear our clothes until they have unfixable holes in them, which helps to offset this enjoyable extravagance. But, if push comes to shove (particularly after we retire), we recognize that it is indeed an extravagance....
Why eat steak/shrimp, when peanut butter and day-old bread will serve to feed me? Why breathe? Objectively, we spend way too much on this--a bigger budget category than food or, in most years to date, even vacations. Built a cellar when I redid our present house, and am glad that I limited its capacity to 1200 bottles (as George Carlin noted in a different context, you will fill up what you have!).
But, 95% of our meals together (evening is our only joint meal most days), we linger over the bottle and turn a chicken breast and salad (for example) into a 90 minute chat session. And, as I noted on the restaurant thread, being able to bring your own "$35" pinot to a restaurant when the same vintage is on the menu for $125 is kind of cool.
DW is diligent about taking notes on the hang tags as the cases age, watching how the wine changes (both on the racks and in the glass), and what it should pair well with for now. It has become an avid hobby for her, so even if I wanted to cut it off, I'd fail.
To each their own. We drive Hondas into the ground and wear our clothes until they have unfixable holes in them, which helps to offset this enjoyable extravagance. But, if push comes to shove (particularly after we retire), we recognize that it is indeed an extravagance....
