Have you ever bought mediocre wine? No, really think about it -
has every wine you have bought been great or did the atmosphere make the wine great? Case in point - bought a cheap & chipper Orvieto from a large, well-known Italian producer, bought an already roasted chicken from the pre-cooked meals section of the local super market and made some pasta-feta salad to go with, sat down and ate dinner and watched a news program. The food was comfy, the news was the shits (well GS was worth watching) and the wine was okay. And by okay, it was just okay.
This made me think about how experience changes wines. Take Matues Rose ('70's bottle floating upside down...) I never would have bought this and looked forward to the experience - went to the lake this summer & a friend brought it. It was humid-hot & getting close to dinner, we decided to open it as our appetizer wine. We were all laughing eating munchies and the wine tasted great. And by great, we bought a bottle when we got home. The second bottle was good but not great. The laughing and camaraderie really made the wine. Will I buy it again? Yes, every time I taste it I remember the lake. Sometimes you need that memory when you see your car covered in snow and the pile of ice 20cm high the plow has left for you to navigate over, after you've uncovered your car...
So was the Antinori Orvieto really just okay? Probably, but I'm going to try it again. I had a crap day at work, was grumpy, the news was the news and I didn't pair the best food with it; it deserves a second chance. I know from experience that all of these factors added to my wine tasting reaction.
I'm not going to 'Sum it up' as I usually do - I am going to try the wine again. Fair is fair, and if it's okay I'll blog it as okay, but on its own terms.
...I mentioned to Wine in the Peg we are going to try (again) the Thornbury Sauvignon Blanc in the next few days. My next post will probably be a series of different wines (mostly white) that we have tried over the last week or two.
2 comments:
Groovy! A review of some whites would be interesting since I'm trying to expand my palate.
For the atmosphere for the wine to taste great, I heartly agree! I've had the same experience on the Pasqua Terre del Sole Sangiovese 1.5L's. Was great at the lake with a bunch of friends in the spring, sucked in the city out of the bottle in frot of the computer in the summer.
Was that just a run-on sentence?
Anyway, great site. Look forward to those reviews!
I think you're absolutely right. The enjoyment of some wines (and other things like food and music) can be such a product of the environment it's enjoyed in. Wines you've enjoyed at the lake - but don't enjoy back in the city - that's the perfect example. Same goes for a wine you enjoyed at a dinner party, or a song you liked at a friends. It often doesn't have the same resonance out of the context you originally enjoyed it in.
Any news on the Thornbury? I'm curious to know what you think of it.
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