You know any day that starts with a 10 a.m. wine tasting is going to be a good day. I was among about 60 or so lucky people to be invited to a Library tasting of Penfolds wines at the Ritz-Carlton in New York yesterday. Among the 14 wines on offer was a small glass of Penfolds 1962 Bin 60A Coonawarra Cabernet Kalimna Shiraz. Now, if you can find a bottle of this wine - Penfold's has only released this twice I think, winemaker Peter Gago said, the second time in 2004 -  it will set you back several thousand dollars. (And I'll be dead by the time the 2004 is ready to be drunk!) So it was with great glee that I slowly raised the glass and sipped my couple of hundred dollars worth of this 46 year old wine. Yes. It was ambrosia. Yes, it was fabulous. (it had also been double-decanted which Peter recommended for wines of this age because as he said, "It always looks better after a double decant." To which I say: What doesn't?

I wish I could wax poetic about the fruit and mellowed tannins, the silky fabric of the wine coating my mouth and the lingering finish that is now just a wonderful memory, but I lack the words. I know the odds of my tasting it again are up there with winning the lottery, but I am so glad that I did.

Ok - back to the practical. The same folks who make this wine to die for and another "collectable" under the Grange label, also produce some pretty marvelous wines that are as they put it in the tasting "commerical wines". That means we mere mortals might actually be able to afford them. You'll find in the most recent issue of Consumer Reports that one of their wines Penfolds Shiraz is going for about $11 a bottle. And their Bin 2 red goes for about $15 a bottle. So, if you really want to taste what Australia can do, step up to one of these or perhaps "E-Minor" from Barossa Valley Estates. Now, don't get me wrong YellowTail is fine for a party, but if you want to see what winemakers can do - try one of the one's I've suggested. Yes, they're a couple bucks more - maybe even $5 more - but trust me, you can taste the difference.