As I've mentioned before, I have a weakness for any kind of auction where all the lots come from one impassioned collector. Much of a person's character is revealed in the things they have deemed precious. Steve Verlin, one of the founding partners of the New York restaurant Veritas passed away in 2006 but he left behind an expansive wine collection which is being auctioned on May 4th and 5th by Hart Davis Hart Wine Co. in Chicago. His wine collection rivals the Park B. Smith auction in terms of the amount of quality French wine.

Verlin was a true wine lover and often created non-traditional wine pairings such as hot dogs with the Spanish classic Unico from Vega Sicilia, popcorn (popped in truffle oil) with his many top Champagnes, and Krispy Kreme donuts with his Sauternes from Château d'Yquem. To honor Verlin Hart Davis Hart will duplicate some of these pairings at the auction. He was also passionate about wine storage and his subterranean cellars were strictly temperature and humidity controlled. The auction includes many French wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Rhône and Champagne. He and his wife Grae also collected large format bottles including imperials, jeroboams and double magnums. Wines up for auction include the 1970 Pétrus, 1982 Cheval-Blanc, 1989 Haut-Brion, 1971 La Tâche, DRC, 1978 Châteauneuf du Pape, Rayas, Dom Perignon and Cristal. The presale estimate for the Verlin Collection is $4,000,000-$6,000,000.

The most unique wine collection in the world has been stolen. In July, the Ulriksdals Wärdshus restaurant in Sweden, lost their complete collection of Bordeaux wines was stolen. The collection featured wine from Château Lafite Rotschild, Château Mouton Rotschild, Château Latour, Château Margaux, Château Haut Brion and Château d'Yquem. The collection of over 600 bottles of wine included almost every vintage from the 18th Century. The oenophile thieves were well-prepared and packed up the 600 wine bottles into boxes and put them into a van outside the garden entrance. They also took the tape from the surveillance and used gloves. The collection is worth close to a $500,000.

[via Sveriges]