"...may I suggest Veuve Clicquot '26? A good French wine..." -- Captain Renault in 'Casablanca'

 

I wasn't aware until this evening that Veuve Clicquot was purchased by Louis Vuitton back in the 1980s. I guess it makes sense, Veuve being one of the premier Champagne labels and based in Reims. Clearly this is not a photo of one of their bottles, though I can get one next door. Denise loves champagne (little c) and other bubbly, so Cava and Prosecco and others are always on hand here. I should drink more of it because it really is a celebration and life should be that every day. But it also goes flat in a hurry and I'm afraid of that metaphor.

The point of this is our discussion over the past few days of various costs of things. We're in an Airbnb, so our monthly cost is set and prepaid, including utilities. I have already mentioned how much cheaper it is per month to live here than in the US. I won't reiterate. Utility costs are rising sharply everywhere.

...but y'all. The wine.

Basically I drop $5 on, say, a Montepulciano here that would be $12 in the US. I can get an Amarone for $19 here that starts at $40 at Total Wine and the other day I saw a Chateauneuf du Pape at $28 that would be $55. At the same time, some very good California and Washington wines are in the 25% off bin here.

I know some of this is simple bigotry and labeling. The wine industry rivals politics at fronting a great label then delivering a disappointing product. I am far from a wine expert and my mantra is simply to enjoy what's available. There are decent boxed wines and price is certainly no indication of what might be in the bottle. I have had great white wine with a steak and tremendous red with fish, so "rules" are only words. I have at least two friends with much more experience in tastings and terroirs.

Grocerying here is the same but different. There are a couple of major chains, each with its generic brands, plus the independent Asian and Middle Eastern stores. The major difference for me is the produce section, where in the US I can buy just one bigass onion or orange or lime. Here they're smaller and packaged together in threes and fours or more -- aggravating when you don't want to overbuy. The variety of fresh vegetables is smaller (no asparagus for example). Russet potatoes don't exist. But there are wide varieties of plums, berries and other fruits. We're used to currants as raisin-like afterthoughts in boxes but here they are fresh and a frequent garnish.

The variety of various wursts and processed meats is mind-boggling in even the most mundane grocery store. Bacon as we know it in the US is simply not here, though they try. We actually had some at the hotel in Copenhagen during our two days there, but it has been lost since. Beers, as you might expect, are plenty but the selection here is limited. We can get Corona and Sol and about six local/regionals but after that things drop off. I can get bourbon and other spirits (Jim Beam, Barcardi) easily plus a host of Cuban products unavailable in the US because of that idiotic embargo.

....which brings me to Cuban cigars and yes they are easy to find here and yes they are wonderful and yes they are affordable at like $5 per stick. Denise and I have made it a point to go out each evening to the park across the street and smoke a bit -- her with her cigarettes and me with either a cigar or a pipe. Health issues be damned, it is civilized and highly enjoyable. It's another reason why we're here. Folks in much of the US would go batshit over that and, well, you know my two-word response.

The big old-school designer labels like Gucci and Versace are big shit here. Even Joe Blow on the Metro has a Dior t-shirt. I've never kept up with them but Denise says they are like half the cost here of what they are in the US. She knows this stuff. Plus they have their own Europe labels like Jack and Jones, Camp David and a few others. German, mostly.

We're down to less than a month before all this changes when we go to England -- not only for a change in language, groceries and approach but also in weather. It has been sometimes unusually hot here in Vienna this summer. Liverpool has largely avoided the heat wave in Britain and we'll be there through the holidays. To say we're staying flexible is an understatement, weatherwise and otherwise.

Once we vacate this place in late September, I will have a lot more to say. But any difficulties we've had here have certainly had nothing to do with Vienna, the EU, Austria, this neighborhood or our neighbors. We have grown to seriously love it here and, as mentioned in the last post, we wish it was a potential landing spot for the longer term. I have mentioned before I've been lucky to have three homes -- Texas, Florida and New Orleans.

 I now have a fourth.