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What recession? Wine nuts go wild over top drops

Mark Hawthorne

Penfolds adds 25 per cent to the price of its Grange.
Penfolds adds 25 per cent to the price of its Grange.Penny Stephens

Victoria might be in a "technical recession", according to economics boffins, but there's no sign of it at the very top end of the wine market.

Just a day after Penfolds announced it was adding a whopping 25 per cent to the price of a bottle of Grange – lifting it from $625 to $785 a bottle for the 2008 vintage – United Cellars has sold out both nights of its Melbourne Grange masterclasses in a day.

The four-course dinner and masterclass, held at The Botanical next month, costs $295 a ticket. Wine lovers snapped up the chance to try the 1978, 1983, 1996 and 2004 vintages of Australia's most famous red wine on the one night.

"We limited the dinner to 60-odd people per night, but could have taken many more," said Tom Stockell, marketing manager at United Cellars. "We capped the numbers just to make sure people on the night felt well cared for, but we could easily have sold many more places. The demand for these wines is incredible."

United will be holding Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Mount Mary and Gianconda masterclasses later in the year. Check out www.unitedcellars.com.au for details.

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