Don't turn to Trader Joe's for a bottle of Two-Buck Chuck if you're looking for a good price on wine. The Wall Street Journal (subscription) reports that more and more wine lovers are heading to auction houses like Christie's to shop - not for the ultra-expensive or rare bottles of wine, but for bargains. Many lots of good, ready-to-drink wines, perhaps "from overzealous collectors, who bought more than they [could] drink," sell for well under $100 per bottle.
When people consign their collections to the auction block, they almost always have several lower-ticket items in addition to the really expensive bottles of Chateau Petrus that the auction houses take one either because they must, or because they're hoping to attract new bidders. Whatever their reason for offering the wines, the budget bottles are a boon to wine fans who find cases of their favorite vintages for less than retail. The self-described "bottom feeders" say that it just takes a little research on the catalogue listings to sniff out the best deals, but to come home with some good wines at even better prices, it is worth the effort.
Domino magazine, "the guide to living with style," has a fun column called "The Deal Hunter," penned by young Columbia alum Nick Olsen, that features a plethora of style for (mostly) low prices. I know here at Luxist we're often about the high-end, big ticket items, but I think it's OK to watch the finances now and then in order to keep affording the big stuff. Olsen writes in that chatty, bloggy style (which I haven't mastered, alas) and regularly finds things from all ends of the home decor spectrum. Just to show he's not all about the cheap stuff, he recently featured a $950 table from Mecox. Check out his blog if you're looking for a deal but still want lots of style or something colorful for your home.
