Clark's Big Book of Bargains (5 page)

Some states have passed laws prohibiting their residents from buying wine via the Internet. One of those states is Georgia, where I live, and I’m so opposed to that law that, even though I don’t drink, I purchased a bottle of wine via the Internet in protest. I bought it during my radio show and told my listeners when it was shipped and when it arrived. Then I opened it during the show, basically challenging the “wine police” to come and arrest me. And nobody ever did. The laws that block online wine sales supposedly are meant to protect young people from buying alcohol illegally. But they’re really meant to limit competition and protect profits for local distributors and retailers. Most of the wine you can buy online is high end, priced at as much as $80 a bottle, not the cheap stuff teenagers could afford.

If you buy wine in a restaurant, expect to pay a lot and not get much for it, especially if you buy by the glass. Kim says a lot of middle-market restaurants offer a generic white-red-rosé selection of $5 wines by the glass that are cheaply made, mass-marketed, and not worth drinking. The quality of wine also can be ruined if the bottle has been open for a long time. The
Wall Street Journal
sampled wines from ten major restaurant chains and found half lacking in quality and/or selection, including Applebee’s, Chili’s, Hooters, Ruby Tuesday, and Bennigan’s. The newspaper liked Olive Garden, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, and Red Lobster, calling their owners “wine missionaries.” The other two, Outback Steakhouse and T.G.I. Friday’s, ranked between the three winners and the five low-rated chains.

Kim suggests going to a better restaurant with another couple and sharing a bottle of something nicer.

If you’re interested in learning more about wine, check out such magazines as
Wine Enthusiast,
which is introductory, and
Wine Spectator,
which is more advanced. To learn more about how different foods can affect how wine tastes, the magazine
Bon Appétit
can be helpful. The Internet can be helpful, too: www.oregonwine.org and www.wineloverspage.com have a lot of good advice, and so do www.intowine.com and www.epicurious.com. From the book world, there is
Wine for Dummies
and
The Wall Street Journal Guide to Wine.

• Tips on Wine •

• You can buy a very good bottle of wine for just $5 to $8.
  

• A $15 bottle isn’t necessarily better than an $8 bottle. The only way to tell is to try both.
  

• Don’t be intimidated by snobby wine etiquette. Try different wines and find kinds that you enjoy.
  

• Keep a wine journal to note different wines, and wine characteristics, that you like.
  

• Sample a number of wines by hosting an informal wine party. Ask each guest to bring a different bottle of wine.
  

• Buy wine at discount stores or warehouse clubs, such as Costco, for big savings.
  

• Many middle-market restaurants offer a generic selection of $5 wines by the glass that are cheaply made, mass-marketed, and not worth drinking.
  

• Internet •

www.epicurious.com

www.intowine.com

www.oregonwine.org

www.wineloverspage.com

* BOTTLED WATER *

I often argue about the virtues of bottled water with Christa DiBiase, executive producer of my radio show. Christa is vehemently opposed to tap water. She just doesn’t believe that the government is capable of providing clean drinking water to people.

But most tap water is clean and—here’s a surprise—it tastes good. Here in Atlanta, we did a taste test comparing bottled water to tap water for a TV report, and tap water beat bottled. Most of this group of taste testers were avowed bottled-water drinkers, and before the test they went on and on about how they hated the taste of tap water. But in the blind taste test, the tap waters won. The bottled-water drinkers were very surprised that they liked the taste of tap water.

Taste is completely subjective, and you may prefer the taste of bottled water to tap. But taste should be the reason to drink bottled water, not some sense that bottled water is more pure or better for your health than tap. In fact, many of the bottled waters actually come from municipal sources, rather than from some pristine mountain spring.

For the TV report, we tested a variety of tap waters in a lab, and the tests found nothing in the water that would pose any health hazard. It was perfectly safe to drink.

If you live in an area where the water tastes bad, like in many beach communities, bottled water may make more sense. I have a beach home in Florida, and I drink bottled water when I stay there.

Another option is to filter your water, with either a faucet-mounted, refrigerator-mounted, or pitcher-style water filter.
Consumer Reports
magazine (www.consumerreports.org) has tested water filters several times, and found that, while tap water is safe, many filters do a good job of removing “potentially harmful contaminants like lead, parasites, and chlorine by-products such as chloroform.” They also do a good job of “removing off-tastes and odors,” the magazine says. The downside is the cost of filters, which must be changed every few months. Pitcher-style filters are somewhat cheaper than faucet-mounted filters, but the real cost with either, the cost of filters, is similar. Whichever you choose, it will be cheaper than bottled water.

An alternative is a modified purified-water unit, which looks like a water cooler but really is a refrigerator with a filtration system. The water is filtered and chilled, and it’s far cheaper than a traditional bottled-water cooler.

If you do want to buy bottled water, there are some ways to save money. The popularity of bottled water has made it more expensive, but there are a number of private labels that are much cheaper than the top brand names. Wal-Mart sells one called Sam’s Choice that costs about twenty cents for a 20-ounce bottle, or about a penny an ounce, whereas expensive bottled waters can cost 3 to 5 cents an ounce. The warehouse clubs have their own private-label waters as well, and they’re at or below a penny an ounce for a single-serving size. If you buy a gallon jug, you may get the price below half a penny an ounce.

If you like the portability of a single-serving size, buy one of those and use a gallon jug to refill it.

It doesn’t matter what kind of bottled water you buy, as long as you like the taste. So try a few inexpensive varieties first, and if you find one you like, stay with it.

People really get ripped off when they buy a bottle of water at a convenience store, at inflated prices. Instead, keep some in your car, and when you get thirsty, you’ll have a bottle nearby. Most people prefer drinking water at room temperature anyway, and it’s healthier for your body.

• Tips on Bottled Water •

• Buy bottled water if you prefer the taste to tap water, not because you think it’s more pure or better for your health.
  

• Try a few inexpensive varieties first, and if you find one you like, stay with it.
  

• Private labels have some of the best prices.
  

• Avoid buying bottled water at convenience stores, where it is most expensive.