I am completely re-evaluating my collection of wine memorabilia in the light of the news that empty bottles that once were filled with valuable wine have been traded on eBay for as much as 100 euros apiece (see this report in the New York Times ). I have dozens and dozens of empty bottles that once held fine and rare wines. I thought I was hanging on to them for sentimental and decorative reasons, with the additional pleasure of inciting envy in other wine collectors whose partners are less tolerant of these dust-catchers. But perhaps I subconsciously knew I could trade them in in order to buy more of the magic liquid itself. In his...