Wine Critics - best taken with a glass of wine?
Posted: 10/02/2010 4:54:49 p.m.
If they are telling us what to drink, then no, we don’t. How sad to only eat and drink what we are told. And how arrogant of anyone to think they can tell us. But they can certainly share their opinion, advise, recommend or point us in the direction of wines that they feel we may enjoy.
When I talk about wine at events, I always start by saying, ‘Hey, just because I stand up here and get all gooey eyed and enthusiastic about a wine I adore, it doesn’t mean you have to like it. Like food or fashion, we don’t all like the same things and neither should we – how boring would life be!’ The point is to try new things, new styles, new wines and to drink what you enjoy.
One of UK’s most respected wine writers, Tim Atkin has a favourite cartoon showing a punter tasting a sample in a wine shop. "This is disgusting," he tells the manager. "The Wine Spectator gave it 96 points out of 100," replies the manager. "OK, I'll take 10 cases," says the punter. What?! (I wonder what the equivalent to ‘fashion victim’ is in vino speak?) At least the character in this cartoon got to taste the wine (even worse that he still bought it!) but for the most part we don’t get to try the wine before we are confronted with having to make a decision as to whether to buy it or not. That’s when we look for a recommendation, a few comforting words or some other indication that the wine is ‘OK’.
This is when a wine critic or wine writer can do wonders for the average confused wine buyer (who wouldn’t be with thousands of labels to choose from) by helping them choose a bottle of wine. The same applies to the little sticker on a bottle that denotes the wine has won a medal. It oozes security and safeness. It emanates credibility and wisdom (both of which we could always use more of) by saying, ‘hey, I’m good – because someone who knows a lot about it says so’.
But as mentioned earlier it doesn’t mean you’ll like the wine. The chances are it’s a good one and a good example of its style, so if you know you like Chardonnay and you see one with a good review or medal sticker, then it’s quids in you’ll like it. Well, that’s the idea anyway. But also, if you have come to trust a wine critic, or your local wine merchant (I know a few still exist), you will likely be happy to try something new that they recommend. It’s important to try new things – expand our experiences. I met a very la-de-da woman one day who, when I offered her a glass of wine, said ‘Darling, I only drink French Champagne (as if there is any other). How boring! How dull! Sure, Champagne is delicious but consider what you’d be missing out on if you only ever drank one style of wine!
It’s like books, music or movies – if you enjoy the reviewer’s comments and agree with their recommendations after trying them, you are likely to give something a go you haven’t heard of but that they rave about. For example, I put quite a bit of store in Kate Roger’s film reviews on TV3 – she doesn’t suffer fools and will speak honestly about whether she thinks a movie is good or not, and most importantly, she’ll explain why. It may have a wonderful script or cinematography in the same way as a critic may give a wine a favourable review and quantify it by talking about the wonderful ripe fruit flavours or the silky texture. Wine, books, movies, cd’s, TV programmes – nothing is more powerful than a recommendation from another human being. All the marketing in the world (and therefore all the $$$) cannot beat a personal recommendation or third party endorsement.
I have a very good friend who I don’t hear from very often, and whom I’m equally lax at contacting – but when he does call, chances are he’s in a wine shop and wants some advice. He’s understandably cautious when it comes to spending lots of moolah, particularly if it’s on something he feels he knows little about such as wine. So we chat as he picks up bottles of wine and reads out names. It works – I’m his kind of real time iPhone app and he trusts me. And it works the other way - he’s a mega muso and I really take note when he tells me about great new music – he’s responsible for much of my music collection in the way that much of his wine collection has been as a result of my recommendations.
Other recommendations I have taken up for the better include the excellent TV programme Spooks (when oh when is it coming back?), the music of Sola Rosa, Kasabian, Muse, The Mint Chicks and more and books from the Whitcoulls Top 100 list. But…as with wine, I look through the Whitcoulls Top 100 and because I don’t like to read romance, even though it is in the Top 100 I won’t buy a romance. Just because it’s made it into the list isn’t suddenly going to make me enjoy it. But it does point me to great books.
Thinking of Top 100’s, you can’t go past the Liquorland Top 100 – the most comprehensive range of top quality wines available on the New Zealand market. A fantastic one-stop-shop for all your vinous needs. I trust it whole-heartedly – but then I would as I’m the director – but my point, and here it is, is that I don’t particularly enjoy Sauvignon Blanc (a bit of a generalisation) and no matter how many are recommended or make it into the Liquorland Top 100, it isn’t likely to make me enjoy them any more than I did before (but I can recommend them with confidence and buy them for others).
In summary, drink what you like and like what you drink, but don’t be afraid to try something new. Life’s too damn short.