With apologies to Robert Hienlein, every generation thinks that it's invented good taste. The audience for nice things has always been there looking to be informed. They might not start buying a bottle of sherry every week, but they (we) like to know or be reminded the option is there. Better for the writer, critic, content creator, whatever, to find and serve the people who care.
16g per liter! It's funny because if someone says they find wine intimidating and they show up to the store and want to buy a bottle but don't know what, I will normally tell them to buy apothic. I wouldn't buy it for myself, but I think it does what's it's trying to do, is extremely beginner friendly, and is in most (American) wine stores.
If someone knows a bit more and wants some recommendations that are good for the price, I typically say wines from south France, Spain, Argentina, or non-napa/Sonoma California (at least in the US). But lots of such people just want you to affirm that their go-to isn't too plebian.
I do think once you get into... Anything more deeply, you can see how sugar sort of overwhelms complexity. And lots of times, beyond even a very good wine that you've had a dozen times, you do start to just crave novelty. But you don't actually lose the ability, IMO, to separate better and worse sweet wine or better and worse basic wine.
I see this all the time on social media (I do social media marketing for UK wine brands.) As someone in marketing and very new to the wine industry, I always see things first through the lens of a consumer and so often wine producers don't have a good understanding of what consumers want to know. I can't help but feel there's a whole group of eager wine lovers out there who care about drinking wine they like but don't really know how/where to find it, and aren't being given any directions towards the right path. But maybe the wine producers in question are not interested in attracting the "unknowing" consumer? Who knows.
Thanks for the Engel book recommendation Henry. Wasn’t aware of it. Used to enjoy his cricket reporting in The Grauniad in the 80s/90s (?). So erudite and entertaining 👍😃
Love this! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking.
Great stuff. Once again your argument also applies to beer - Guinness is insipid IMO and there are far better stouts out there but who am I to argue with a battalion of influencers?
I will plead neutrality in the Guinness wars but I was enjoying the recent instagram battle between that Devonshire Arms McMoop guy and violent skeptics of whether there can be a "best Guinness in London" given it's an industrial product
Thre Last Englishman is indeed tremendous -- but have you read Rogers's book about RS Thomas, The Man Who Went into the West? A strong contender for the funniest book I have ever read
The comments about Pinot Noir chimed nicely with Brian Elliot’s free MidWeek Wine website- that has been going for over 10 years- and his recent posting on May 8th - “Reasonably Typical Pinot Noir Without Spending A Fortune”
The three recommended PN ‘s are below a tenner.
They are not Burgundy PN ,but if there was such a thing as a Pinot Noir piano, then the music is Boogie-Woogie as compared to Chopin.
A lot of people are entertained by Boogie- Woogie.
Inter alia, but drinks-related, Matthew Engel, and his wife Hilary, own and operate the last remaining working horse-drawn cider press in the country at their beautiful house in Herefordshire. They do occasional open days and it's well worth a visit. Stunning views over the Golden Valley.
Spot on! Wine is so tricky, I think, because of its cultural AND biologic complexity. Ex:
I have friends who are always apologizing for putting ice in their wine when visiting me. I have to remind them I don't give a flying f*ck what they put in their wine - it's their palate, their taste, and I am not the boss of that. Just don't put ice in my wine and we'll get along fine. (kind of a universal life lesson there I wish more Americans would learn). Biologically, there's so much to know and learn about wine, if curious, or you can also just open the bottle and drink what tastes good for you. I am a curious person, so I do like to read qualified reviews with terms I have to look up and adjectives I never would have thought to use with a food/drink item. And for the record, I am of the Country Joe and the Fish group. Thanks for the enlightening read!
19 Crimes is indeed a crime.
With apologies to Robert Hienlein, every generation thinks that it's invented good taste. The audience for nice things has always been there looking to be informed. They might not start buying a bottle of sherry every week, but they (we) like to know or be reminded the option is there. Better for the writer, critic, content creator, whatever, to find and serve the people who care.
16g per liter! It's funny because if someone says they find wine intimidating and they show up to the store and want to buy a bottle but don't know what, I will normally tell them to buy apothic. I wouldn't buy it for myself, but I think it does what's it's trying to do, is extremely beginner friendly, and is in most (American) wine stores.
If someone knows a bit more and wants some recommendations that are good for the price, I typically say wines from south France, Spain, Argentina, or non-napa/Sonoma California (at least in the US). But lots of such people just want you to affirm that their go-to isn't too plebian.
I do think once you get into... Anything more deeply, you can see how sugar sort of overwhelms complexity. And lots of times, beyond even a very good wine that you've had a dozen times, you do start to just crave novelty. But you don't actually lose the ability, IMO, to separate better and worse sweet wine or better and worse basic wine.
Reminds me of this:
https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/friendly-and-hostile-analogies-for -- I personally strongly buy the E analogy, lol.
The E analogy is excellent 👌
Thanks I'll take a look at this link
I see this all the time on social media (I do social media marketing for UK wine brands.) As someone in marketing and very new to the wine industry, I always see things first through the lens of a consumer and so often wine producers don't have a good understanding of what consumers want to know. I can't help but feel there's a whole group of eager wine lovers out there who care about drinking wine they like but don't really know how/where to find it, and aren't being given any directions towards the right path. But maybe the wine producers in question are not interested in attracting the "unknowing" consumer? Who knows.
Thanks for the Engel book recommendation Henry. Wasn’t aware of it. Used to enjoy his cricket reporting in The Grauniad in the 80s/90s (?). So erudite and entertaining 👍😃
He is very erudite and entertaining
Love this! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking.
check us out:
https://thesecretingredient.substack.com
Great stuff. Once again your argument also applies to beer - Guinness is insipid IMO and there are far better stouts out there but who am I to argue with a battalion of influencers?
I quite like Guinness once in a while. Does that make me basic?
I will plead neutrality in the Guinness wars but I was enjoying the recent instagram battle between that Devonshire Arms McMoop guy and violent skeptics of whether there can be a "best Guinness in London" given it's an industrial product
Thre Last Englishman is indeed tremendous -- but have you read Rogers's book about RS Thomas, The Man Who Went into the West? A strong contender for the funniest book I have ever read
Hello Henry,
The comments about Pinot Noir chimed nicely with Brian Elliot’s free MidWeek Wine website- that has been going for over 10 years- and his recent posting on May 8th - “Reasonably Typical Pinot Noir Without Spending A Fortune”
The three recommended PN ‘s are below a tenner.
They are not Burgundy PN ,but if there was such a thing as a Pinot Noir piano, then the music is Boogie-Woogie as compared to Chopin.
A lot of people are entertained by Boogie- Woogie.
Inter alia, but drinks-related, Matthew Engel, and his wife Hilary, own and operate the last remaining working horse-drawn cider press in the country at their beautiful house in Herefordshire. They do occasional open days and it's well worth a visit. Stunning views over the Golden Valley.
That's fascinating. World's colliding.
Spot on! Wine is so tricky, I think, because of its cultural AND biologic complexity. Ex:
I have friends who are always apologizing for putting ice in their wine when visiting me. I have to remind them I don't give a flying f*ck what they put in their wine - it's their palate, their taste, and I am not the boss of that. Just don't put ice in my wine and we'll get along fine. (kind of a universal life lesson there I wish more Americans would learn). Biologically, there's so much to know and learn about wine, if curious, or you can also just open the bottle and drink what tastes good for you. I am a curious person, so I do like to read qualified reviews with terms I have to look up and adjectives I never would have thought to use with a food/drink item. And for the record, I am of the Country Joe and the Fish group. Thanks for the enlightening read!
I saw Country Joe and the Fish live at the Houldsworth Hall on Deansgate, Manchester in 1969. I like wine but don’t know what I like.
… sorry. I get “mineral” and like it, so keep on using it!
I use it too.
Haha! Miles doth protest too much. I don't think he'll be serving Bread & Butter Chardonnay in his sky eyrie anytime soon...