And that's the point. Some people think theirs is, and some don't. It's really that simple (as I see it).

I know what I can taste, and a $12 bottle is fine for me. I have no idea what you can taste.

you also left out the extreme labor costs for a top wine - besides trimming the vines & dropping fruit, some top Bordeaux houses actually put ALL the grape clusters on sorting tables and instead of removing the worst grapes, go thru and individually pick out only the very best grapes for their wine. I'm told they use Arab labor for this BTW.



You can always find a reasonable wine for a fairly low price to make your dinner more tasty. That is not the same as find a really tasty wine and some food to enhance the wine...

I'd wager that anybody could discern the difference between an average red wine and a great one, if they were to drink them at the same time. It's really isn't hard to tell the difference. I'd also suggest that many of the negative characteristics of red wine, that prevent many people that are new to drinking red wines from enjoying them, are not as prominent in the good ones.

JR

I drank a $500 bottle of Chateau Lafitte Rothschild once. It was really f'ing good.

I was a bartender, and a large group of people came in following a wedding rehearsal dinner. Some dude asked me to hold his bottle of wine behind the bar, so I did. Come 5:30 that morning, I'm leaving, and notice the wine is still there. So, I did what anyone would do, brought it home and drank it the next night. The night after, back at work, dude comes in looking for his wine. I was like "i dunno". He then advised it was a $500 bottle he was giving to the bride and groom. oops!

Hyundai vs. Bentley
Swisher Sweets vs. Montecristo
Ground chuck vs. Prime strip
Sears Silvertone vs. vintage Les Paul
PBR vs. Lagunitas

We all make our choices, sometimes for value, sometimes to splurge. It makes life worth living.

And no discussion of wine can ignore the need for aging. That $50 bottle of wine that you bought & thought is no better than a $12 bottle was probably just a baby. Throw it in a cellar for 5 or 10 years & you might have formed a very different opinion. Unfortunately, most restaurant wine lists & retailer’s shelves are filled with young wines because it costs money to store wine - which is reflected in the price you pay for the older ones.

Ian

Was listening to something on the radio a few months ago. Bloomberg radio or something like that.. Guy being interviewed was a former distributor/importer, of high end sunglasses. the interviewer asked him what the real production/ shipping, etc, etc... cost was for a pair of $300 glasses. He stated probably about $15 Interviewer ask why do they charge so much for them?

His answer was.. "If they only cost $15, people wouldnt buy them"

Portagee.

Man, that brings back a lot of memories from the Valley.

Wine-wise? I worked as a waiter in more than one mid to very good French restaurant, one where I knew the owners family very well.

Wine, like many things, does take, as RPKESQ wrote, some education to appreciate. I was a diffident student: There is just so much to know. Odd that with some wines my palate absolutely responded. Others, the sommelier was speaking French.

Now, I like my wine like I like prefer the valve gaskets on my 356: Dry.

I've had some good wine and some not so good wine, cant tell the difference. And to add to the story, I just had a few Havana cigars, a Monte Cristo, and others, and I will say I can't tell the difference between them and my $2.00 cigars. These were bought in Europe and they were not that good.

you are a VERY lucky man!


If only you could not tell the diff. between an expensive German exotic Sports/GT car and a Yugo or Hyundai (or not care about it)... THEN you could save LOTS of $$

I also like to "discover" a $15 or $20 bottle that is as good as a $50 one.

I'm really fussy and I only drink pinot noirs from a certain area, then when there is nothing else to drink I'll have another red wine of a completely different type and think "hell this is GOOD". So no rationale for what you like.

Friends have asked me to come along to wine tasting night classes, but I don't want to learn tosser statements about wines, and more to the point, I don't want to overly critique the wines I enjoy.

Hell "KT" you live in the middle of a vineyard
 

KT
The best thing is to find and serve a inexpensive wine at a party and have a "wine expert" tell you it's the great thing since sliced bread. I live in the Santa Rita Valley of Santa Ynez, belong to at least 15 wineries and taste 8-10 times a month, if not more. Pinot is what most of our wineries are about due to the soil, sun, and sea breeze. I'm about the pairing of the wine to the food and enjoy the meal with good friends. Yes I have been called a snob for serving fresh glasses after every bottle at a party. But I easily have five times the amount of my car in wine at the house. If not served correctly or paired with the correct dish any wine will fall short>$15.00 or $1500.00. Everyone has likes or dislikes; but it's the wine makers idea/blend that makes a good wine, drink what you like for life is short! :D Just don't drink and drive.
art

I do live in the middle of the vineyard.

There are nearly 400 wineries within 45 minutes of my house.
There are at least six wineries within walking distance.

I guess it's not that big of a deal to me.
Drank two buck tonight...


KT

is it called Romanee-Conti?

I wish. No I'm a pauper and my pinots are from Central Otago here in New Zealand. I can taste the Otago in a pinto noir somehow.

But, I bet Romanee-Conti wines are great.

Have one bottle of La Tache.... don't know when I'm gonna open though. I drank a bottle of Grands Echezeaux a number of year's ago....when it was merely expensive. It was VERY good... nowadays way out of my league though. Cheers

I like the local wines from California, mostly from El Dorado county. I pick up a couple bottles every time I cross the Sierras in the Porsche and haven't brought a bad bottle back yet.

KT:
Two buck chuck has it's place, which would you prefer; great wine and poor tires or great tires on a great running car finished off with a cold beer at the end of good event?
art

I get my Goodyear radial race slicks for free. ;)


KT

Open offer
 

KT
I will trade you wine for radials anytime. As you remember I purchase your tire rack to store them on! Have a great Holiday weekend; will you be around Laguna on the 8/9th?
art

Popular Jewish whine: "So when are we going to Miami?"

Marriage is pretty scary when you think about the statistics.

They say 50% of all marriages... last forever.