Up, up and away

I just spoke with Jack Couto whose company, Grape Moments, imports wine from Portugal, among other places. I was chatting him up about items in his portfolio that might be right for our plonk column, when he mentioned -- in a slightly exasperated voice -- that the dollar had hit its lowest point ever against the Euro earlier in the day.

This comes at a critical moment for Jack's company. Later this week they will be setting the prices they will have to live with for the remainder of 2008. Those prices will be as much as 15 percent higher, he estimates, because of the weak dollar.

If you think Jack or any of his winemakers are happy about this, think again. As the Euro goes up, it makes European wine more expensive for Americans to buy and that means a harder sell in the neighborhood wineshop. To stay competitive with wine from South America or Australia, Europeans have to trim margins or find ways to cut costs.

While Jack decides, we'll be tasting some of his $12-and-under wines to see what we can recommend in Portuguese reds on the last Wednesday of January.

Sharpen that pencil, Jack!