Uncorking a Great Deal

Despite the bad economy there are some good deal to be found, is you are willing to take a taste.

This weekend more than six hundred and thirteen lots of fine wine are up for auction at Christie's Auction House in New York. Wine consultants everywhere are calling this the best time for collectors because of the deals available, and the lower prices are bringing out the buyers. Last Saturday's Sotheby's auction brought in $2.9 million dollars, way above the presale estimate of $1.8 million. Consultant Judy Beardsall says fine wine is a great long term investment. Beardsall says wine collecting is a lot like gardening and now is a great time to turn over the soil and lay down some stock.

Alessia Antinori's family has been in the Italian wine business since 1385 and at the recent American Express Pebble Beach Food and Wine Festival Antinori told me why Italian fine wine is still a great buy despite the recession.

"Italians wines in the last years have become more and more important and there' more interest in Italian wines because Italian wines go extremely well not only but especially with Italian food and lately Italian and Mediterranean food is becoming more fashionable because it's a very healthy and genuine food."

To hear how Antinori's family has survived the cut throat wine business for six centuries click on the video link. No matter how bad the economy gets there is always room for a wine glass of wine, especialy at the right price.

(Brian Banmiller is a national Business Correspondent for CBS News Radio, free lance writer and public speaker. The former television business news anchor in San Francisco can be reached at brian@banmilleronbusiness.com .)