Bloomberg.com: Spend

Updated: New York, May 09 18:37

London, May 09 23:37

Tokyo, May 10 07:37

Spend

Merlot Made From Hamptons Vineyard for $100 Beats Vintage Saint-Emilion After making wine since 1992 surrounded by the mansions of the Hamptons, Roman Roth got the ingredients for the ideal vintage last summer: steady sunshine and little rain.

It's Steamy in the City and the Dim Sum's Seductively Cool: Richard Vines Dim sum is turning into the all-day breakfast of Chinese cuisine, a meal taken out of its cultural context and repackaged for popular consumption at any time.

Hewlett-Packard Mini-Note Notebook Beats Asus, Intel Models: Grace Aquino Sometimes paying more is worth it. That's the case with Hewlett-Packard Co.'s new 2133 Mini-Note laptop, a sleeker, sturdier and more powerful ultra-portable notebook than Asustek Computer Inc.'s Eee PC and Intel Corp.'s Classmate PC.

BMW's M3 Coupe Stokes Racetrack Fantasies While You Run Errands Talk about love affairs gone bad. A number of guys I know -- and they were all guys -- were infatuated with BMW's previous-generation M3, the more passionate version of the already saucy 3 Series coupe. Of those who got involved, one clumsy driver burned up a succession of clutches; a second let it languish in the shop after several fender-benders; and a third never got it over 85 miles per hour, claiming he was ``still breaking in the engine.''

Big-Gulp-Size Yukon Hybrid SUV Tries to Be Green, Gets 20 Mpg How dare you lump this gargantuan 5,800-pound SUV in with all the other gargantuan SUVs obscuring your view of the road! Can't you see it's a hybrid? It says so in big block letters on the sides, in decals on the front and back windows and, well, all over. Even with three rows of seating, fitting eight, it's obviously not just another SUV.

Hewlett-Packard Notebook Beats Asus, Intel Models: Grace Aquino Sometimes paying more is worth it. That's the case with Hewlett-Packard Co.'s new 2133 Mini-Note laptop, a sleeker, sturdier and more powerful ultra-portable notebook than Asustek Computer Inc.'s Eee PC and Intel Corp.'s Classmate PC.

Seven Ways to Cut Your Electric Bill: Grace Aquino (Correct) As gas prices rise and global warming becomes an increasing threat, conserving energy has never been more important. These energy-saving products can help you cut costs and decrease your impact on the environment. Every little bit counts.

It's Steamy in the City and the Dim Sum's Cool: Richard Vines Dim sum is turning into the all-day breakfast of Chinese cuisine, a meal taken out of its cultural context and repackaged for popular consumption at any time.

Manila's Bonifacio Sheds Military Past With Deluxe Restaurants Bonifacio Global City, a high-end business and residential area in Manila, once served as an American base and the Philippine Army headquarters. Nothing about its dining scene suggests military austerity.

FBI, Scotland Yard, Billionaire Pore Over Suspect Wine: Review It was the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold, a 1787 Chateau Lafite supposedly owned by Thomas Jefferson. After heated bidding, the Forbes family paid $156,000 for it at a 1985 Christie's auction in London. But was the wine for real?

Petite Sirah (Not Syrah!) Gets Fan Club as Growers Get Serious You know a wine has an image problem when it needs its own advocacy group. Which is why there is the California-based PS I Love You Inc. The PS stands for petite sirah, a grape whose principal problem is that wine lovers too often confuse it with syrah, now increasingly called shiraz.

Fleeing Beijing Smog to Hike Great Wall, Sample Mongolian Beef Escape from Beijing: That's the plan. All week the capital has been beset by a thick scrim of pollution, followed by rain, then more thick haze. I'm shocked that I never see the sun for five straight days. So I hire a driver and flee north.

Hate Flying? Take Scenic Boston Train, Roll Past Swans: Review Just minutes from New York, my Boston- bound train climbs gently onto the majestic Hell Gate Bridge, with the towers of Manhattan emerging between the cables of the parallel Triborough Bridge. This vista alone could make you a rail convert.