From Sartorial to Satirical: Wall Street Professionals and Their Wines
My Sunday morning ritual is to read the weekend newspapers. (some digital, some print; I’m still transitioning to the 21st Century). Two of my favorite sections are Off Duty and Review in the Wall Street Journal. This week I came across an article entitled “Secrets of the Banker’s Suit.”
It analyzed the buying habits of wealthy bankers who seek out luxury goods, in this case clothing, to distinguish themselves from the masses. Only interested in the best of the best, they develop a trained eye for identifying the crème de la crème of business suits that garner envy among fellow bankers.
Certainly, these professionals have all recovered quite well from the Great Recession. Their desire to impress in a suitably sartorial fashion (pardon the blatant play on words) is at times overwhelming. The article noted the high cost of being well-dressed. These titans of the financial stratosphere don’t think twice about indulging their desires: $6,000 bespoke suits, $7,700 handmade shoes and $495 custom-made shirts.
Having travelled in these circles, strictly on the periphery, I recall investment bankers sizing each other up, checking collar stitching or looking for telltale signs of a Super 200 merino wool suit. These indulgences didn’t end with bodily adornments. The Masters of the Universe indulged their vanity in other luxury goods, including homes, cars, and wine. Being on the receiving end of several expense account deal-closing dinners, I witnessed their vanity and their insatiable need to impress others when ordering wine.
I also noticed that the various subsets of bankers I interfaced with favored specific types of (expensive) wine.
Herewith my anecdotal assessment.
Investment bankers (“I’m from Goldman Sachs; I’m here to help you.”) will typically favor Bordeaux. The most highly regarded, and generally most expensive, wines in the vast world of wine, they may also be the scarcest. Bankers are attracted to them simply because of these factors. Ordering a $6,500 bottle of Chateau Petrus is the pinnacle of egotism, certain to impress clients, colleagues and competitors equally. The wines themselves tend to be powerful, with overstated panache but appropriate balance. Sound fitting for the occasion?
Private equity principals (“I’m from Bain Capital, I’ve got a great deal for you.”) favor wines that may be flying below the radar at the moment but have significant upside potential. They enjoy established wines that others see as a bit stodgy, which they believe can be tweaked to become highly regarded. Several Spanish Rioja wineries may be particularly attractive. Centuries-old and typically family-owned, they have been languishing in relative obscurity in the refined circles of wine connoisseurs. Ordering a $2,600 bottle of 1951 Vega Sicilia will certainly get the attention of everyone at the table.
These same investors may be equally interested in obscure wines that need an image overhaul and a high-caliber marketing push to gain prominence and financial success. A number of French Cotes du Rhone fall into this category. Châteauneuf-du-Pape wineries have had a small following for centuries. These rich, intense, balanced wines are prime marketing targets to bring to the forefront of the wine world. The $2,500 1990 Chateau Rayas is the ultimate pleasure for their discerning palates.
Hedge fund managers (“I’m from SAC; you need my help, even though you don’t know it yet.”) will likely favor red Burgundy. Seemingly free-wheeling and aloof, beneath their number crunching veneer and sometimes ruthless activist campaigns, there is a certain need for creature comfort. Their unbridled competitiveness notwithstanding, many seek out Burgundies for the underlying nuances and finesse that satisfy the most discerning palates. The relative scarcity of these wines has driven up prices, resulting in a frenzy of one-upmanship for bragging rights.
The most sought after is the small winery of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. The very young 2009 sells for over $13,000 and will not mature for decades. Those seeking instant gratification in life should look elsewhere (a 1990 bottle perhaps, for $20,000).
Whether obsessed with impressing us with their sartorial splendor or their spending prowess, investment bankers continue to be the masters of Wall Street, equally admired and envied by the masses.
Nick Antonaccio is a 35-year Pleasantville resident. For over 15 years he has conducted wine tastings and lectures. He is co-host of “Glass Up, Glass Down,” a local cable television series on wine and food; he also offers personalized wine tastings and wine travel services. Nick’s credo: continuous experimenting results in instinctive behavior. You can reach him at nantonaccio@theexaminernews.com or on Twitter @sharingwine.
