There is a certain standard that is set for wine by the wine industry. They represent the Vineyards and are made up of the Vineyard owners themselves in some cases. A Merlot should taste like this a Cabernet Sauvignon should taste like this. I understand that and I do agree with that. Since a type of wine is created to be that type of wine there are standards set for what that wine should include. Here is an example. A "Merlot" is a Red wine. A Riesling is a White wine. These things cannot change. There can be a "White Merlot" such as Sutter Home wines make and these are fine for a cheap, non serious wine however the wine is a "White Merlot" NOT a Merlot. This wine is a blend probably of inferior or reject grapes of different types. To put it simpler a white Merlot is like saying you have a 100% electric car that also runs on gas. Bottom line it isn't happening. A Merlot is a Red wine, a Riesling is a White wine....Period. I hope this makes what I am trying t say clear.
Having explained the above should not make or cause you readers to think that there isn't any merit to at least some of the "wine snobs" thinking. Lets take storing wine as an example. I don't want you to think that you can store a wine anywhere or any way you like, you can't. If you store a wine to hot the wine will be ruined. If you store a wine to cold it will be ruined. For more on wine storage see my blog please. If you store a wine standing up then the cork can dry up and allow air into the bottle. Remember cold food or drink effects what we taste. There are people talking about the shape of the glass. Does the shape of the glass matter? I have to say to an extent, yes. A good wine glass is shaped to force the bouquet to come together at the exit point (the top of the glass) so that as much of the bouquet is directed at your nose. will that be instrumental in determining a good wine from a bad? I say no, but it does help.
Lets deal with tasting a wine. There is protocol for pouring a wine.The protocol does not effect the taste of the wine if the wine is stored properly. The location of the server (left hand of you or right hand) doesn't matter. The amount of pour the wine server pours doesn't matter. These things are done so that wine can maintain it's uppity feel, so you will believe that you have the best. Remember that for most people perception is reality and the wine industry knows this. There are parts of the wine tasting that do serve a good purpose. We swirl the wine because it releases the aroma (bouquet) which does add to the taste. If you don't believe me hold your nose and taste some wine while keeping your nose sealed off. You will taste nothing. Go ahead I'll wait. O.k your back now, good. There is a lot of tradition in wine and that is O.k just don't mistake these things for tradition forcing you to determine what makes a good or bad wine.
Lets talk about the price of the wine. Oh boy here we go. Does the amount of money we spend on a bottle of win mean that we have bought a good wine? I say no way. I made the mistake of purchasing a $100 bottle of wine at the store (Total Wine & Spirits) and I thought "wow this is going to be great". Boy was I wrong. The wine was nothing and I do mean nothing special. The wine tasted like a $5 dollar bottle of wine I once drank. The wine should have tasted better though going under the assumption that the more expensive the wine is the better it is. This is another tradition or belief that money means a good wine, don't believe it.
There are a couple of ways to determine if a wine is good or bad. At the risk of putting myself out there I will tell you a wine secret. Are you ready to hear it? The first step is to pour a taste in the glass. The second step is to swirl the wine. Here is the third (secret) and final step......TASTE THE WINE. Wow that was crazy wasn't it? One other good way to determine if you will like a wine is to pick a reviewer (say for instance The Desert Wine Guy) that feels a particular wine is good. You then should go buy that wine and drink it. If you like that wine and taste the same things in it that he tastes then you know can trust his opinion. You know that your tastes are similar to his so you have a starting point. If you have company coming over and need a wine really fast then go to his recommendations and you can be reasonably sure that you are serving a good wine. On the other hand you still risk the possibility that some in your company might not like a deep Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon or a semi-sweet Riesling. One or two or even more or more might like a sweeter wine. What I am trying to say here is that a good wine to you might not be a good wine to me. There are plenty of people who like Jug Wines, the wines in the boxes. You might be one of these people, I am not. To me Jug wines are junk wines, to you they might be the best wines.
I know I'm coming across sarcastic in a lot of this article but I'm just being funny because I think a lot of the tradition surrounding wine has lead to wine being avoided by "regular" people and has allowed vineyards to put prices on wine that really shouldn't be there. The wine industry is separating drinkers by creating this artificial separation by price. The industry, however is starting to smarten up to a large extent by expanding the "middle of the road" price for a bottle of wine. They realize that here is a market that is or has been largely untapped. That market is where my blog http://desertwineguy.blogspot.com/ fits in. I might do an article on higher priced wine one day I'm not sure but for now, at least I will stick to wines of the "common Man" lie you and I.
The Desert Wine Guy
No comments:
Post a Comment