How to get the wine you really want
economist.com
How to get the wine you really want
1–10 of 164 posts
Re: How to get the wine you really want
#2Winemaker here. I would like to try those wines, but I don't think you will get good results out of it.
Taste of wine is mostly structural thing: it is created during fermentation by polymerisation of different compounds. Even mixing different wines don't give you good results, unless you fiddle with different ratios (I do as much as 10 for cuvee of two wines, trying to find sweet spots) and then letting it settle for some time.
Well, it might be fun activity, but I am sceptical that you will create wine that you will actually like.
Re: How to get the wine you really want
#3Twenty years ago I was a tea-totaller, but there was a group of people I wanted to hang out with who would get together to drink wine so I decided to try to develop a taste for it. I eventually got to be a pretty hard-core wine snob. My wife and I even ran a wine-tasting group for several years. Then one day we decided to start doing blind tastings, and we soon learned that there was very little correlation between what we liked and what the wine critics and the market liked. The real turning point came when we did a blind tasting of Cabernets, all from California. The wines ranged from a $5 bottle of Barefoot cab up to a $100 bottle of Silver Oak. There were twelve of us in the group and every single one rated the Silver Oak dead last, and the Barefoot either first or second. Since then we've repeated similar experiments many times, usually with similar results. We can still freak out wine snob friends on occasion by sneaking a bottle of Barefoot in to a high-end tasting.
On another occasion we were at a bed-and-breakfast that served afternoon wine and cheese. The whole room (including us) was raving about how complex and delicately nuanced the white wine was. It turned out to be Gallo Rhine Wine in a box.
(BTW, it's absolutely not the case that all cheap wines taste good. We tried the notorious two-buck chuck and thought it was absolutely horrible.)
The point is: wine snobbery is bullshit. Find what you like and drink that, and don't pay attention to anything that anyone else says. If Beringer white zinfandel is what turns you one, more power to you. (Actually, the worst possible outcome for a real wine fan is to discover that they really do enjoy Romanee Conti or Screaming Eagle. I really like Opus 1, but I wish I didn't :-)
So I think this roll-your-own-wine blender is a terrific idea. I can't wait to try it. (I wish I'd thought of it!)
Re: How to get the wine you really want
#4Twenty years ago I was a tea-totaller, but there was a group of people I wanted to hang out with who would get together to drink wine so I decided to try to develop a taste for it. I eventually got to be a pretty hard-core wine snob. My wife and I even ran a wine-tasting group for several years. Then one day we decided to start doing blind tastings, and we soon learned that there was very little correlation between w…
One thing you wrote made me curious: That good wine box -- will a wine box from another batch also impress as much? I assume one of the problems with the cheap stuff is the std deviation values?
I might add that I got a Moldovan 2 bucks wine in a PET bottle this week and quite liked it. :-)
(I prefer dry red Spanish that you almost have to chew (I think the English term i s "rich"?). I should probably just admit defeat and replace the wine with a bit of vodka in espresso. :-) )
Edit: Hmm, I guess the cheap stuff is blended in giant volumes and hence consistent? Thanks for the information, lisper. I should try to widen my experience.
Re: How to get the wine you really want
#5Winemaker here. I would like to try those wines, but I don't think you will get good results out of it. Taste of wine is mostly structural thing: it is created during fermentation by polymerisation of different compounds. Even mixing different wines don't give you good results, unless you fiddle with different ratios (I do as much as 10 for cuvee of two wines, trying to find sweet spots) and then letting it settle fo…
If I understood the article correctly, this machine will probably not create wine that you (dejv) will actually like, but may well succeed in doing so for the >99.9% of people who are not winemakers :-)
Re: How to get the wine you really want
#6I have developed a new theory about wine and selecting bottles you/I like.
The theory is that pallets for wine develop over time as you drink more, similar to how beer will change. When I was 16, all beer tasted terrible. Then at 19 we 'upgraded' to bud light.
Now 15 years later I drink for taste and I like IPAs,or other non standard pilsner.
For me, I'm a beginner wine drinker so I do not want the complexity of fancy wine. I ask for 'beginner, fruit forward' and not expensive wine and have had amazing results. The problem is that pallets are different so blind taste tests won't solve the problem
In 15 years, I'll probably 'upgrade' again.
Re: How to get the wine you really want
#7Twenty years ago I was a tea-totaller, but there was a group of people I wanted to hang out with who would get together to drink wine so I decided to try to develop a taste for it. I eventually got to be a pretty hard-core wine snob. My wife and I even ran a wine-tasting group for several years. Then one day we decided to start doing blind tastings, and we soon learned that there was very little correlation between w…
You might also enjoy:
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/10/you-are-no...
Re: How to get the wine you really want
#8Twenty years ago I was a tea-totaller, but there was a group of people I wanted to hang out with who would get together to drink wine so I decided to try to develop a taste for it. I eventually got to be a pretty hard-core wine snob. My wife and I even ran a wine-tasting group for several years. Then one day we decided to start doing blind tastings, and we soon learned that there was very little correlation between w…
Former wine store worker here. Was it the case that the Silver Oak bottle probably needed some time to open up?
Still, I agree with your general thrust. I find that my favorite wines, especially per dollar spent, are between $8-20.
Re: How to get the wine you really want
#9I guess I'm spoiled. I get the wine I really want by living in Portugal.
There's so much good wine here that even the cheap stuff is good quality (we're talking $3 for a bottle). Unfortunately, I've found myself slightly allergic to reds (unless I only have a single glass) so a lot of the local market is off-limits thus I stick to white and 'green' (sweet wine).
I know of some local places here in Lisbon where a small glass of red is 75 cents. The best are Porto's wine 'caves', though, where one can try some really great varieties - five for 12 bucks. Great value for the quality and with prices that don't break the bank, it's of course possible to explore more of what the national market has to offer.
Re: How to get the wine you really want
#10I was hoping this would be a guide to tweaking the linux wine. This does sound neat though, kind of like the paint mixing machines at department stores with a personality test on top. I wonder how far this could go, maybe something could suggest different ingredients based on your mood, and what mood you want to be in. Or maybe even using various biometrics to determine your overall "state" and the best way to alter it.... Just Friday afternoon musings.