The owner of Total Wine & More utters a truism about South Florida's evolving taste:

"Wine's a staple, like food," he says. "People might put off building that larger kitchen, but they won't stop buying food and beverages."

What recession?

While shrewd, Fred Tasker's article is content to merely allude to the resilience of wine's patina of sophistication: ordering a glass of that merlot with the cute pink kangaroo on the label is the new what's-your-sign-baby.