What's the deal with expensive wine?

[trekkor]

I'm doing a job for a high end wine sales company.

The owner has been tipping me with expensive wines.

He gave me this one bottle. I didn't care for it at all. Very oaky. Bitter oaky.

I told him I didn't like it. He said: "Oh, it's was 'too big' for you".
What does that mean?

Then he goes on to say: "That was a $135 bottle of wine. You're becoming a real wine snob!"

Anyway, he's super generous and has given me several bottles over the last couple of months.

I like 'Two-Buck-Chuck' just as well. Don't tell him



KT

[DanielDudley]

Sometimes you have to air them.

[Noah930]

You like what you like. Who cares what the pricetag says?

I took a wine class in college. The instructor joked that everyone who ever has an expensive bottle of wine says that it's spectacular--otherwise they'd look like an idiot for blowing that type of coin on something that tasted like crap.

[alf]

I do not know enough about wine beyond red and white, but I know what tastes good and what does not. From my limited personal experience, price and taste are not perfectly correlated for wine.

[m21sniper]

I don't like any wine or beer. I think it sucks.

[Vipergrün]

Perhaps the wine is 'too young' and needs to lay down for a couple of years. Agree, it may also need to 'breathe' a bit. Personally, I like to find the good wines in the 20 dollar or less price range. With the exception of "The Prisoner", I rarely spend over 30 bucks. Many expensive wines are expensive due to limited release, success of prior vintages, or snobbery

[Whtnkls911]

On cabernets, they need to breathe for at least an hour. Open the bottle and let it sit. From the time that a bottle is opened it mellows and will change in taste and fragrance. A heavy or “bold” cabernet may have heavy oak flavors and be slightly bitter right after opening but as it has a chance to breathe and mellow it will be less bitter or have less of a “bite”. Because the wine is aged in oak barrels it takes on a heavy oak flavor until it has been exposed to the air, then it will mellow and the other flavors will become more prevalent. Many cabernets will have a cherry or chocolate finish after breathing for some time.

P.S. Just because a wine is expensive doesn’t mean it will be fantastic, there are a lot of good wines to had for 20 bucks.

[red-beard]

If you continue having this problem, I can help you out. Just send them to Red-beard. Heck, I'll even pay shipping!

[vash]

tell him you cant buy diesel for your duallie with wine. well, maybe in napa you can.

either way, save it for the next Bap-a-palozza!

[Aerkuld]

I know with Single Malts, so I assume the same is true for wine, that rarity is a major driver of high prices. You can often find a VERY nice budget priced bottle that is easily as good, if not better, than a high dollar one. I think that you will find that there is a price band over which quality probably increases, whether the average consumer can actually tell the difference is another matter.
By the "...too big for you" comment, I think he is refering to the flavor profile. The very oaky wines are often very complex in taste and may need a lot of tasting experience to be fully 'appreciated' otherwise they do just come across as bitter. I understand that the two buck chuck stuff, and I'm thinking particularly about the Trader Joes (was it Charles Shaw?) was actually highly acclaimed and offered exceptional value for money.

[Gogar]

Chuck Shaw is THE MAN. Although in some areas, he's three bucks now.

[cstreit]

I'm a big fan of Three Buck Chuck. I've long ago realized that any wine over $30 is probably over my head and taste buds. I've perfected my Single Malt Snobbery but while I like a good wine, you couldn't sell me on the difference between a $30 and a $300 bottle.

[Komenda Fan]

I like a big, complex wine. That's why I can't stomach the cheap stuff, it lacks everything I like in a wine. I blame it on my taste for quality rums and scotches - same idea.

[HardDrive]

I think you can get inexpensive red wines that are drinkable. White wines tend to be pretty nasty in the sub $10 catagory.

There are some decent cheap wines, and not every expensive wine is good. But that doesn't mean that wine drinkers are fools. Some of the more expensive wines need to be put down for a few years to come into their own. We put down a bottle of 1998 Far Niente in 99. Openned it this year and it was fantastic. I don't think we were just having hopeful taste buds. It really was a step beyond anything you are going to taste fresh from the bottle.

[Don Plumley]

I hesitate posting, but here I go:

Speaking as a vintner, what I think is most important is that people drink what they like. Not what they are supposed to like, or what has a big "score", or what their friends like. Wine is a beverage, and like all food products, there are significant quality and taste differences across the spectrum. Some people like Miller Beer, some people like Anchor Steam. Some people like house vodkas, others will only drink Grey Goose. Pick your poison.

So two main comments:

1) As you drink more wine (and as you age) your palette changes. What tastes good to you this year in five years might not be drinkable. If you have not consumed lots of wine, a huge meaty red is probably untouchable. Or put another way, if you have driven 1,000's of track hours in many cars, taking a GT3RS out to the track and driving it feels great. If you've only driven a couple of laps, it would be an overwhelming experience and the potential of the car would be lost on you. Same holds for wine.

2) Be true to yourself. If you really prefer two buck chuck - fantastic! Think of the money you are saving and can spend on other stuff - like parts from our host.

Years ago we did a blind tasting with my father in law who swore he preferred TBC over the nicer bottles we tended to bring. Wines ranged from 5Gal jug wine to $50. He was wrong. He actually preferred the jug wine over TBC, and far over premium stuff.

I agree that wine price in and of itself is not always directly correlated with quality. Personal preferences aside for the moment, there are actually a bunch of $100 napa cabs that are no better than $20 bottles. But this is a luxury goods market - I'm not sure that a Louis Vuitton bag carries your clothes any better than Samonsite, but for some, there's a big difference.

I must say, great wines are sublime - they don't hit you over the head with an oak hammer, vanilla punch, or fruit bomb. They have balance - what we strive to make is wine with balance, nothing sticks out, but with complexity, nuance, and that goes with great food. The industry is lost on this today.

Cheers,

Don

[Moses]

I've had Screaming Eagle at $1000/bottle that I didn't really care for. (I would have HATED it if I had actually paid for it.)

I recently had a bottle of 1997 Gemstone cab ($150) that was beautiful. I've also had $30 bottles of local meritages that were just as good. (to my palate.)

[Don Plumley]

Thought of something: Trek, this post could have easily been titled, "What's the deal with expensive cars"

I mean, why do you need a $150K Porsche GT3 when a $2K Ford Focus gets you to work, around the track in the same way? Just like a bottle of TBC or a bottle of Opus One can both get you lit.

How about if you defend that position, and maybe that expensive wine will make some sense.

In the interim, pm me what the wine is and maybe I'll make you deal...

[pwd72s]

The finest wine in the world

Is still only booze

The finest car in the world

Is still only transportation

[Moses]

By the way, that '97 Gemstone sat at the table alongside a PERFECT bone-in ribeye at Delmonico's. That could have something to do with it.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

I don't like any wine or beer. I think it sucks.

That's helpful.