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Originally Posted by Doug_1970
(Post 13433145)
If I'm in a restaurant or eating on a flight and order some wine, most of the time the waiter/waitress will pour a little bit in the glass for me to taste first. Why ?
If it's to check that the wine doesn't have anything wrong with it, then surely it doesn't matter how much has been poured into the glass - it has to go back. |
Originally Posted by Showbizguru
(Post 13433293)
Some are better than others but rather like one car is more comfortable than another ultimately they're just a means of getting you to a certain place.
Have to agree with you that there's plenty of good, cheap wine. But there's much more wonderful, life enhancing, better wine. Some of it from Argentina. ;) Can't believe your choice of words above. :confused: |
Originally Posted by BiziBB
(Post 13434571)
Noticing the OP is based in the UK, I'd be interested to know if your experience in these 'taste check' servings is primarily of wines of a certain country and if they are mainly red wines with corks - and the age of the vintages that you buy.
. If I asked the waiter/waitress if I could try it before I bought it, then yes I would want a taster first, but usually I just order a bottle using my rudimentary wine knowledge to select the one that I would like the most. Unfortunately my rudimentary knowledge is often greater than the person serving me (certainly in the UK, very less so on the continent); I was in an Italian restaurant last week and ordered a bottle of Verdichio, the waiter asked me 'the sparking wine?'. I said 'I don't think it is unless there's something wrong with it'. Good job it wasn't otherwise I'd have looked pretty stupid. |
Originally Posted by dhammer53
(Post 13435802)
How do you feel about Hersheys chocolate vs better chocolate from Europe?
Originally Posted by dhammer53
(Post 13435802)
Have to agree with you that there's plenty of good, cheap wine. But there's much more wonderful, life enhancing, better wine. Some of it from Argentina. ;)
I'm not sure if Showbizguru will think I've now started talking bollocks. I do think he's got a point however, but I'm not sure if I agree with him entirely. Tesco in the UK introduced a bottle of wine in their Value range several years ago (I thought it was a joke when someone bought it to a party, but I subsequently found some in Tesco) that while not being great, wasn't that bad. It was definitely as good as other sub £5 bottles with fancy labelling and advertising. Which does go to prove his point to some degree. However, I won't be swapping it for a crate of verdichio/sancerre/chablis/fruili etc anytime soon. |
I agree with showbizguru; there's good wine and there's bad wine. I've never seen much value once you go over $25/bottle (from a bottle shop not a restaurant). I've tried a my share of expensive wine's usually from my parents cellar as they're more into it than me. I even bribed my year 12 maths teacher to give me an "A" in return for a bottle of Grange from dad's collection (he never found out;)), but IMO the majority of wine writing/blogging is BS, because 99% of people won't appreciate the subtle caramels and boysenberries on the back of the palate.
Originally Posted by violist
There's more to wine than the showbiz person imagines (his/her vehemence
bespeaks someone who hasn't got a palate but is jealous of those who might), but most of the people who make a show out of the stuff are in fact just pretending. |
Originally Posted by BiziBB
(Post 13434571)
Noticing the OP is based in the UK, I'd be interested to know if your experience in these 'taste check' servings is primarily of wines of a certain country and if they are mainly red wines with corks - and the age of the vintages that you buy.
I ask because an interesting cultural difference is the tradition and prevalence of cork these days. In Australia/New Zealand, the Stelvin alumin(i)um closure has been tested, provben and used for at least five years, initially on whites and now almost always on all but the top reds, too, in order to eliminate almost all the spoilage previously attributed to corks. Many red wines exported from down under are sold under cork (to US/UK/Ireland etc) even though they are much more popular now in their home markets under a twist cap! My other point is that now that the cork is history (for us anyway, 80% of the time), we still have the taste test tradition, to ensure that the buyer/tryer is happy with the condition of the bottle of wine (as opposed to just liking the taste). We're still enjoying some Hunter shiraz from 2002, still under cork. So far, bottles from this case of wine has been OK, but one other red also from 2002 had a tainted cork on one we opened on NY Day. You probably won't agree with this but the wine stopper is the perfect example of why most wine is aimed at snobs and show-offs. Plastic stoppers and screw-caps have been the simple answer to corked wine for years yet many " traditional " wine makers won't introduce them because they spoil the aesthetics of a wine waiter opening a bottle with a great flourish and presenting the cork to be sniffed. The result is bad wine being drunk by restaurant customers too over-awed to send it back. It's not about the wine it's all about the hoopla. I remember being in a restaurant once in Soho in London at a table next to a pompous Englishman who was loudly trying to impress a sophisticated French woman with his knowledge and choice of wine. The waiter opened the bottle but before he could pour some the man told him rather bluntly " Let it breathe for a while before you pour it. " The woman looked at him with barely-concealed contempt and said " You know, it can breathe in the glass as well as the bottle. " Collapse of stout party.Diners all around cheered inwardly and smiled at the waiter. It made our dinner. |
Originally Posted by MisterNice
(Post 13433234)
I actually prefer to try a sip before I buy it. About 20% of the time I decline more and ask for a different wine to sip before ordering. There are zillions of wines out there, quality varies by lot and year and it is rare to find familiar wines at many restaurants.........especially the ones I prefer.
MisterNice second, a number of cellars have been contaminated and the wines produced have a strong corked taste, regardless of how they are sealed. a number of the italians and the french had really major cellar problems back in the 60's and 70's. third, wine storage and shipping can ruin a wine. i recall a container of mosel that was submerged on the way over to the us. did not harm the wine, but raised havoc with the labels. had another that was carried across near the boiler. summer in usa, wine is frequently cooked on the delivery truck or in cross country transport or the container is left on the dock for a day or two. |
Originally Posted by slawecki
(Post 13437233)
the way i read this post, if you order and get a perfectly good, wine of the type, but decide it is not quite to your liking, or not quite up to the hype, you would send it back?
second, a number of cellars have been contaminated and the wines produced have a strong corked taste, regardless of how they are sealed. a number of the italians and the french had really major cellar problems back in the 60's and 70's. third, wine storage and shipping can ruin a wine. i recall a container of mosel that was submerged on the way over to the us. did not harm the wine, but raised havoc with the labels. had another that was carried across near the boiler. summer in usa, wine is frequently cooked on the delivery truck or in cross country transport or the container is left on the dock for a day or two. MisterNice |
Please let us not forget that the poor cork is many times not to blame for wine spoilage.... corked wines can very well have nothing to do with the stoppers but rather with winery hygene issues. Yes, cork can have issues and has developed a lot of poor press over the years, but its not always the culprit.
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Originally Posted by bensyd
(Post 13436585)
. . . but IMO the majority of wine writing/blogging is BS, because 99% of people won't appreciate the subtle caramels and boysenberries on the back of the palate.
I've been on too many winery tours and the usual wine tastings, where pretentious jerks love to loudly go on and on about hints of this and aftertastes of that, only to be told, by those manning the bar, that no such flavors exist. |
Originally Posted by Gaucho100K
corked wines can very well have nothing to do with the stoppers
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Originally Posted by uncertaintraveler
(Post 13439949)
I think that most people just make all those flavors up.
I've been on too many winery tours and the usual wine tastings, where pretentious jerks love to loudly go on and on about hints of this and aftertastes of that, only to be told, by those manning the bar, that no such flavors exist. :p ;) |
tsutton makes good points. Especially when you're having wine that has been shipped a long way or stored in hot conditions there are many many bad bottles. Luckily technologies have improved and there's much less spoiled wine around that there used to be. So, the tasting process is a huge affectation, absolutely, and a wonderful opportunity to be pretentious too, but it does actually have serious benefit.
For those who think it's all hype: I recently served two wines to a small group of very pretentious guests who consider themselves experts on all things wine. A bottle of Chateau Lynch Bages '98 was one and a bottle of Bettu Meritage '02 (maybe the best Brazilan producer) the other. I decanted both, cleaned both bottles well and exchanged the contents with each other. Obviously the Lynch Bages won. A second set were tried, not switching this time and the Lynch Bages again won. My two experts hadn't a clue. Of course they both were excellent wines both, and had some strong similarities in style, but not even the same grapes. I'll be in trouple if any of them happen to read this thread and recognize me! |
To declare that roadside wine in Italy is equal or superior to something with a fancier degree only exposes the lack of sampling size of the poster.
One of the great joys in Italy is the general quality and exploration of "house" wines in even moderate restaurants. However, the quality is far from uniform. I've had some which greatly enhanced the meal, others which were little more than strong grape juice (with corresponding grapey taste) which I think were so young as to have needed to be properly served with napkin diapers on the glasses. I'm far from a connoisseur, but I do enjoy a good wine. Good doesn't always equate to price, and there is much enjoyable <$25, from all over the world. I've enjoyed sampling local wines in France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Chile, Argentina and looking forward to NZ and Australia when there next month as well. Each has their own character and strength. However, if one is simply looking for the buzz, Thunderbird is every bit as good if not better than any of the fine wines mentioned in this thread. |
Originally Posted by uncertaintraveler
(Post 13439949)
I think that most people just make all those flavors up.
I've been on too many winery tours and the usual wine tastings, where pretentious jerks love to loudly go on and on about hints of this and aftertastes of that, only to be told, by those manning the bar, that no such flavors exist. |
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