The National Wine
UnClub
Newsletter
May/June 2007
A Review on Wine Reviews
"Wow! A 95 pointer!" (A comment heard by one wine geek as expressed by another while browsing in their favorite wine shop.) "Too bad it didn't get a 100..." is the predictable snobbish reply. The impression left here is that the review given the wine is the ultimate deciding factor in the wine's overall quality which happens to be patently untrue.
How often have you heard someone raving about a certain restaurant's food when your opinion is that the place is quite dismal; or what about your favorite film, panned by the official critics, but extremely popular with the masses? Favorite color anyone? Fashion conscious or fashion fool?
It's simply a matter of human nature that I might like something that you just hate and vice versa. That is what makes the world go round, as the saying goes (doubtful about the veracity of this assertion!). Still, diversity of taste allows our world to be a fascinating place of color, style, and culture.
I can't count the number of times that I've had a wine aficionado leave my shop disappointed that his/her favorite label wasn't in stock, leaving behind a store full of other wonderful taste opportunities. In some cases, like the Alexander Valley Jordan Cabernet for instance, there's almost no availability of highly-ranked wines in retail stores, so the disappointment level is quite high for such wines.
What's most sad about this situation is that there are so many undiscovered gems in the very category that an aficionado might be interested. However, if the new wine presented hasn't been reviewed favorably by Robert Parker, Jr., or The Wine Spectator, there's little chance of the wine being picked up by the score-conscious shopper. What a shame!
Wines are typically sold to stores originally on this same by-the-numbers basis with similar dissatisfying results for the multitude of narrowly-focused buyers in these shops. Many lovely wines are passed over due to the buyers' own inability to determine quality for themselves and make their purchases accordingly.
While I fully understand the connoisseur's infatuation with certain labels, it's obvious that those rarities will only be accessible on special order on infrequent occasion. The thrill-of-the-hunt enters in to the picture here and collector internet searches are incessant until a bottle or two can be turned up for purchase at prices that are usually rather inflated.
I don't know about you but when I see a forest of shelf-talkers in a wine shop I begin to doubt whether the wine buyer has a personal belief that the wines selected for sale are really the best one can find in the category. It's a bit like cheating when the wine shop buyer relies on someone else's opinion of each wine to sell that brand above others less well known.
You don't expect this kind of presentation in a fine restaurant when you open the wine list. Here you expect a limited number of fine wines that are hand-picked (hopefully!) by a qualified staff member (usually the owner or wine waiter/steward). However many restaurants cheat as well; you'll find the biggest names on the wine lists of your finest restaurants so they don't have to work hard at recommending a new wine to the patron.
How delighted I am when I see an open-minded wine enthusiast who is devoted to discovering for themselves what is best (in their opinion of course) across the wide range of categories available in today's market! These folks are the ones who seem to enjoy the subject of wine free of the frustrations of not being able to get the preferred brands. They're also excited about what's new in their favorite category as opposed to fretting over what they can't get.
Cheers!
Donald W. White