The other day I read an article in a major Indian newspaper that explained that Indians shy away from spending more than Rs 1,000 on good wine because they have difficulty in understanding the value of it. While we are all entitled to our opinions, I wondered whether that was indeed the case. What do you think? Would you spend more than Rs 1,000 on a good bottle of wine?

I believe that as Indians, we are value conscious but that doesn't necessarily mean we don't know our wine. I've found that the informed wine drinkers across the country are very comfortable paying more for good wine. But many of them purchase their wines abroad when they travel. That way they spend their money on the wine itself not on taxes too.

Having said that, I also believe that you can get a lot of happiness from wines that cost $10 (Rs.500) or less. Just ask Eric Asimov who explains how rationality and irrationality factor into wine purchasing decisions. For example, did you know that the second cheapest wine on a wine menu is usually the most popular? This is because no one wants to appear cheap when they are ordering wine. However, wine purchasing in a retail store (sans judgmental friends and business associates) is a different story.