So you want to own a vineyard.

From time to time, I muse as to what I'd do if I won the lottery. I've got one friend who says he'd buy a vineyard. This article is for him, then. It talks about some of the difficulties of starting up a winery as a retirement venture/hobby: working all day in the vineyard, capital demands, marketing problems.

Would I buy a vineyard? Maybe. If the lottery win were big enough that I could also hire a vineyard manager, and enough other people that I limit myself to doing the fun stuff.

Looking for a peculiar list of presents to give your wine-loving friends?

Then Forbes.com is where you want to go. They've got a right bizarre list of gifts for wine lovers. Some of the suggestions are reasonable, like Riedel glasses or Michael Broadbent's latest book, and some are expensive but appropriate, like a $250 double magnum of Veuve Clicquot or a $600 case of burgundy. But sterling silver labels for your bourbon and gin bottles or a silver martini shaker that costs over $7,000? Well, I suppose you could always pawn them and buy good wine with the proceeds.