Oh god, right there with you on scotch, all whiskeys (and whiskys) in fact. But wine can be hit or miss, even at the high dollars. Years ago I found an amazing cabernet with a full body and heavy chocolate notes for $2.12, and dank it for a year. But I agree that as you get up to $20-100, the likelihood of something terrible is less, and over $90 very rare.
I’ll have a glass of something with Glen in the title in your honor tonight.
If you’re reading this and curious about wine, a couple of things.
1 - Drink what you like. If you want red wine with fish, fine. The people who care, care more about rules than enjoyment.
2 - Drink what you like. I opened a $500 red for my dad’s birthday, it was so-so to my palate. I love $12 NW pinot noirs. Don’t fixate on a price.
3 - When you find something you like, take the bottle to a wine store and ask for a description of the notes of that wine. Ask them to suggest similar wines, and learn to pick out the notes that matter to you. People who don’t know wine talk price, but your sommelier really wants to hear “I’d like something full-bodied, no acid, heavy tannins, smooth finish with some fruit notes.”
4 - Your waiter is rarely a sommelier and just wants a region and type of wine. West Coast pinot noir generally makes a table happy.
I agree about the wine; I was just going on like the broadest scenarios because of course when it comes down to it, there’s nothing objective about it. And I agree with the pairing if I see someone bring up the issue of this wine with that protein I take pity on someone who is so stuck to these absurd notions they don’t know what enjoyment actually is.
Oh god, right there with you on scotch, all whiskeys (and whiskys) in fact. But wine can be hit or miss, even at the high dollars. Years ago I found an amazing cabernet with a full body and heavy chocolate notes for $2.12, and dank it for a year. But I agree that as you get up to $20-100, the likelihood of something terrible is less, and over $90 very rare.
I’ll have a glass of something with Glen in the title in your honor tonight.
If you’re reading this and curious about wine, a couple of things.
1 - Drink what you like. If you want red wine with fish, fine. The people who care, care more about rules than enjoyment.
2 - Drink what you like. I opened a $500 red for my dad’s birthday, it was so-so to my palate. I love $12 NW pinot noirs. Don’t fixate on a price.
3 - When you find something you like, take the bottle to a wine store and ask for a description of the notes of that wine. Ask them to suggest similar wines, and learn to pick out the notes that matter to you. People who don’t know wine talk price, but your sommelier really wants to hear “I’d like something full-bodied, no acid, heavy tannins, smooth finish with some fruit notes.”
4 - Your waiter is rarely a sommelier and just wants a region and type of wine. West Coast pinot noir generally makes a table happy.
Awesome.
I agree about the wine; I was just going on like the broadest scenarios because of course when it comes down to it, there’s nothing objective about it. And I agree with the pairing if I see someone bring up the issue of this wine with that protein I take pity on someone who is so stuck to these absurd notions they don’t know what enjoyment actually is.