The cost of being an epicure in...

The cost of being an epicure in New York rose last year at more than twice the rate of the consumer price index, with Beluga caviar (up 14.7%) showing the most increase, according to a champagne producer’s survey. The CPI rose 4.4%; the life of luxury in the nation’s most expensive big city went up 9%, according to a survey compiled since 1983 by Moet & Chandon Champagne.