The Economy and Your Wine Budget

Has the recession and the falling Dow Jones average affected your wine budget? I know it has mine. The other night at The Night Thing, I had to replace several dozen price tags on our bottles with new (higher!) prices. Some of the prices haven't changed for months. And , all categories in our store saw increases. Even our "budget" bottles and some of our hidden Spanish and Rhone gems won't be immune.

I know I will be watching my budget more carefully; probably buying much less than before, but trying new varietals and countries and maybe raising the quality of the bottles a little. And taking much smaller sips, so the bottles will last longer!