(DO) - For a wine lover, the chance to taste 10 wines, each given a perfect 100-point rating from various magazines and well-known critics, sounds like a fantasy event not to miss.

Imagine spending two hours sipping supposedly "superior" French, Italian and U.S. wines – everything from Barolo to Brunello and Chateauneuf-du-Pape to Cabernet Sauvignon – that can cost more than $300 a bottle?

About 40 people (including me) attended the 1,000 Point Wine Tasting, a one-of-a-kind experience held last Saturday afternoon at the Hotel du Pont's Green Room.

As a food writer who has attended plenty of tastings, I've had the good fortune to sip many great wines over the years. But, in my "my-time, my-dime real life," I'm a price-conscious wine drinker who looks to pull corks (or unscrew caps) on tasty, affordable bottles, preferably in the $10 to $15 range.

Trophy wines costing as much, as if not more than, monthly car payments tend to be out of my budget. (The News Journal picked up the tab for my tasting.)

Occasionally, I'll splurge on higher-priced wine. During a February trip to California's Napa and Sonoma valleys, the $42 I spent on a bottle of 2012 Cakebread Cellars Two Creeks Pinot Noir was velvety, delicious and worth every penny. So was a crisp $30 White Burgundy from Imagery Estate Winery.

According to the government's Global Change Research Program, the increase in temperatures has also made droughts more severe and widespread than they otherwise would have been. The government also estimates over the next 40 years, temperatures in the Napa Valley area will rise about 4 degrees. Some scientists believe that means the amount of land in Napa County suitable for growing those world-renowned grapes could be cut in half. Other scientists, however, say there are several variables that could lessen the impact of climate change on Napa's wine industry, including advances in technology that would allow wine makers to adapt to the warmer temperatures.