Been in Portugal and Spain for the past 3 weeks. Order a Vino Tinto or a Crianza and the wines are universally drinkable to go with your tapas or pinchos- I am not there for a wine analysis.
I wish this was the case back home where plonk is more often that not is what you get.
2
Nothing wrong with elegant simplicity. When every night has to be special, nine of the nights are.
1
Wine:thirst-quencher::novel:movie
Different genres. They don't belong in the same conversation not because one is better than the other but because they are not the same subject.
Different genres. They don't belong in the same conversation not because one is better than the other but because they are not the same subject.
2
You want to test for thirst quenching ability? Come to the Midwest and mow a residential lawn in the afternoon to beat a thunderstorm. The best a High Life ever tastes is after yard work and pre-shower.
Oh Water Cold we may pour at need
Down thirsty throat and be glad indeed.
But better is beer if drink we lack
And Water Hot poured down the back.
--Tolkien
Oh Water Cold we may pour at need
Down thirsty throat and be glad indeed.
But better is beer if drink we lack
And Water Hot poured down the back.
--Tolkien
3
I totally get this, and I am a wine snob. Tomorrow night on the lawn at Tanglewood, I'll be drinking Liquid Geography, a lovely Spanish rose. It's delicious, inexpensive, and they donate their profits to a cancer research charity. So would I drink a wine just for the charity thing? No. But given a choice of two thirst quenchers, for casual summer picnicking, I would drink this one in a heartbeat! (I am not affiliated in any way with the company that sells this wine.)
1
Thirst-quenching, quaffer or vin de soif, those wines are the coincidence of simplicity and the occasion. I call them Netflix wines (you mention it). The bottle is empty but the episode is not finished, so we uncork a further one. However, there's still some wine left by the end of the episode so we go for the next one. And it goes on like that in a perfect bliss. It is a bit like bread and cheese, they never match..
But there is something more, as I grow older I feel more inclined to simple wines.
But there is something more, as I grow older I feel more inclined to simple wines.
The article makes many valuable points (although maybe with more elaborate redundancy than vin de soif calls for?).
But it sets up a somewhat false dichotomy and allows for too little middle ground in the way that informed, curious enthusiasts can and do approach their experiences of drinking. On one side: pleasure-averse Somm-suckers overly consumed with proving their insight, and/or trophy-hunters who confuse power for intrigue and complicatedness for worth. On the other side: ignorant I-know-what-I-likers, and/or lightweights looking to deflate oenophile pretension by pushing their beverages toward an ideal that looks like Vinho Verde.
But I just got back from a wine trip to Italy and France (I'm in the industry), and most of the vignerons, sellers and enthusiasts I met with take a much more vibrant, searching perspective. Whether a Chenin from Saumur, a Syrah from Côte Rôtie, or a rosé from Nîmes, they treat pleasure seriously -- because they understand that pleasure, as much as labor, is crucial to sustaining a culture. In a cellar or around a table, they discuss their reactions and consider the wines in relation to context. But they don't beat it up, over-analyze, or miss the forest. Flavor notes are absent; all is just lively appreciation. That's different from drink-don't-think. And applies to all wines.
These experiences have inspired me to work more consciously toward emulating their spirit: attentive and carefree, serious and humble, thirsty and thoughtful.
But it sets up a somewhat false dichotomy and allows for too little middle ground in the way that informed, curious enthusiasts can and do approach their experiences of drinking. On one side: pleasure-averse Somm-suckers overly consumed with proving their insight, and/or trophy-hunters who confuse power for intrigue and complicatedness for worth. On the other side: ignorant I-know-what-I-likers, and/or lightweights looking to deflate oenophile pretension by pushing their beverages toward an ideal that looks like Vinho Verde.
But I just got back from a wine trip to Italy and France (I'm in the industry), and most of the vignerons, sellers and enthusiasts I met with take a much more vibrant, searching perspective. Whether a Chenin from Saumur, a Syrah from Côte Rôtie, or a rosé from Nîmes, they treat pleasure seriously -- because they understand that pleasure, as much as labor, is crucial to sustaining a culture. In a cellar or around a table, they discuss their reactions and consider the wines in relation to context. But they don't beat it up, over-analyze, or miss the forest. Flavor notes are absent; all is just lively appreciation. That's different from drink-don't-think. And applies to all wines.
These experiences have inspired me to work more consciously toward emulating their spirit: attentive and carefree, serious and humble, thirsty and thoughtful.
6
Lunch or diner at a French bistro, if wine is ordered, is usually a carafe of whtever the owner has on the chalkboard menu. It's always drinkable, a good value, and frequently "interesting". Ask for the wine list and your fellow (French) diners will look at you with puzzled looks.
It may come a French wine commune where the restaurant owner brings a couple of 20 liter carboys and the winery pumps (actually drains) the wine out of a barrel with a hose. Wine without pretense. Wine to be enjoyed.
It may come a French wine commune where the restaurant owner brings a couple of 20 liter carboys and the winery pumps (actually drains) the wine out of a barrel with a hose. Wine without pretense. Wine to be enjoyed.
2
Thank you for turning readers' attention to these wines, which are an important feature of the French table (including the tables of vignerons), and which we've been enjoying in the States now for the past few years thanks to more forward-thinking wine stores. In my house, they have become our any-night wines: fresh, fun, easy, and wonderfully versatile, wines that frankly take the piss out of the culture of American drinking, buying, worrying, and posturing.
3
As a wine importer, a wine lover and self professed 'a guy who knows nothing and is learning everyday' I think it is a shame that so much about wine is contemplative and not about drinking and 'enjoying the damn thing'. Today I feel like we are going backward in the wine world especially with so many young people looking to emulate the stars of the movie Somm and creating the sort of pretension I think wine is heading toward -again. Why is it that craft beer has blown up and not wine. I see and hear tons of people willing to try a new beer without any thought of guessing is it kumquat or tomato leaf? Let it go people! When I am with Italian winemaker friends and we order a bottle rarely is there a discourse about everything going on in the glass only, does it taste great with this dish. Usually they want that 'quaffer' that we are discussing and not the big trophy wine that is prized outside of the area it is made in. I hope we can move forward without the pretension of yesteryear and just enjoy. I agree with NK 'wine should be fun'!
6
Exactly.
Nowadays for the average honest vintner here in Europe it´s a matter of professional prestige and dignity to make the best product they can make under these conditions they have got so one can rely on them no matter if they produce a base wine or a 10 % top product. They even love to sell you their "base wines" because this is the real thing they stand for.
Also when you walk through the vineyards: On the right side of your path you see extremely well-kept vines for "Chateáu Comte Marquis du Truc-de-Truc Prémier Cru" of a media hyped supervintner - on the left side of the same you see also extremely well-kept vines from "Les Forts de Je-ne-sais-pas, AOC" de "Caves Coopératives des Duponts du monde" having implemented a recent quality system learned by the new cellarer when he was educated by some wine university. Locals know that the quality gap are usually is not so big as the price gap. They also know that sometimes a simple "Le Fort Régional" has more character than an over-sophisticated "Chateáu (pour) Pape du Vin" produced to hit the taste of people who prefer reading or talking about than doing.
It´s an object of utility, that´s all.
Sometimes it looks like people who can´t use wine with good feelings when they are always thinking about three digit prices - or want to overtrump their business partner by this prstigious label - have to rant on all the time instead of simply valuing a good stuff by drinking it.
Nowadays for the average honest vintner here in Europe it´s a matter of professional prestige and dignity to make the best product they can make under these conditions they have got so one can rely on them no matter if they produce a base wine or a 10 % top product. They even love to sell you their "base wines" because this is the real thing they stand for.
Also when you walk through the vineyards: On the right side of your path you see extremely well-kept vines for "Chateáu Comte Marquis du Truc-de-Truc Prémier Cru" of a media hyped supervintner - on the left side of the same you see also extremely well-kept vines from "Les Forts de Je-ne-sais-pas, AOC" de "Caves Coopératives des Duponts du monde" having implemented a recent quality system learned by the new cellarer when he was educated by some wine university. Locals know that the quality gap are usually is not so big as the price gap. They also know that sometimes a simple "Le Fort Régional" has more character than an over-sophisticated "Chateáu (pour) Pape du Vin" produced to hit the taste of people who prefer reading or talking about than doing.
It´s an object of utility, that´s all.
Sometimes it looks like people who can´t use wine with good feelings when they are always thinking about three digit prices - or want to overtrump their business partner by this prstigious label - have to rant on all the time instead of simply valuing a good stuff by drinking it.
1
Thank you for taking a break from scolding us about "unthinking drinking." Sometimes "ahhhh...that's good!" is all the analysis required.
4
"As a wise old friend once explained to me, “Sometimes a good Beaujolais is a better choice than La Tâche.”
(....)
He meant that at certain times, perhaps almost always, the simpler, more easily available bottle is preferable to the rare and precious wine."
That´s one reason and I agree with that. It´s the same with "Grüner Veltliner" for example. A straight forward well made "base" Grüner Veltliner is great when you have Wiener Schnitzel with potato salad or French fries on a hot day after a hike. This is even superior to a "tuned up" more expensive snobbish Grüner Veltliner or a mediocre Riesling. A Riesling state-of-the-art "Qualitätswein" is also a better choice than a "Spätlese" on an normal day .
Another reason is that tasting "base wines" reveals the skills of a vintner better than "top-wine" made with a great deal of effort. Does anybody believe that someone who cannot make a sturdy wine out of, say, 80 -90 % of his core harvest could really be a top skilled producer? I don´t - and officials in this business here all the more.
The problem of US is that most European base wines, particularly from young generation of vintners and cooperatives, are not available for a lot of reasons. Exporters also focus on top wines so there are few opportunities to check it in US.
US expats refer to these base wines when they are refering to appreciated European "5-8 €" in their NYT-comments. Good DOCs, AOCs, QbAs! Even in Europe this will never buy you a Top-Spätlese.
(....)
He meant that at certain times, perhaps almost always, the simpler, more easily available bottle is preferable to the rare and precious wine."
That´s one reason and I agree with that. It´s the same with "Grüner Veltliner" for example. A straight forward well made "base" Grüner Veltliner is great when you have Wiener Schnitzel with potato salad or French fries on a hot day after a hike. This is even superior to a "tuned up" more expensive snobbish Grüner Veltliner or a mediocre Riesling. A Riesling state-of-the-art "Qualitätswein" is also a better choice than a "Spätlese" on an normal day .
Another reason is that tasting "base wines" reveals the skills of a vintner better than "top-wine" made with a great deal of effort. Does anybody believe that someone who cannot make a sturdy wine out of, say, 80 -90 % of his core harvest could really be a top skilled producer? I don´t - and officials in this business here all the more.
The problem of US is that most European base wines, particularly from young generation of vintners and cooperatives, are not available for a lot of reasons. Exporters also focus on top wines so there are few opportunities to check it in US.
US expats refer to these base wines when they are refering to appreciated European "5-8 €" in their NYT-comments. Good DOCs, AOCs, QbAs! Even in Europe this will never buy you a Top-Spätlese.
2
Wine is diuretic. It does not quench thirst.
Poignée de raisins / Domaine Gramenon, Terres de Galets/ Mrcel Richaud
These two should be in the Eric Asimov list
These two should be in the Eric Asimov list
Learning how to drink/enjoy wine, "red wine" BUT how to buy them? What should I look for? And what kind that should test the same if I don't find the same as say....as I bought the last time ?. Not too expensive thou . Thank you.
Hmm, thanks for this lesson, Eric.
At first I the thought this whole idea seemed nutty, as I don't think of wine as a thirst quencher - generally doesn't do much for thirst. Then I thought back to a Cote de Province rosé that I had on a warm evening in Nimes after a long day of site-seeing. The rosé did indeed quench my thirst. And even Beaujolais Nouveau, which in my view almost doesn't qualify as wine, can be very pleasant and refreshing in some circumstances. So I suppose you are right - there is a time and place for every good wine.
At first I the thought this whole idea seemed nutty, as I don't think of wine as a thirst quencher - generally doesn't do much for thirst. Then I thought back to a Cote de Province rosé that I had on a warm evening in Nimes after a long day of site-seeing. The rosé did indeed quench my thirst. And even Beaujolais Nouveau, which in my view almost doesn't qualify as wine, can be very pleasant and refreshing in some circumstances. So I suppose you are right - there is a time and place for every good wine.
1
Oh good lord, you drink what you like and you drink what is available, not necessarily in that order. Sheesh!
4
"Instead of making an insipid $18 cabernet sauvignon, doctored with flavorings, tannins, enzymes and wood chips to badly imitate a rich, expensive Napa Valley cabernet,..."
Sadly I fine far too many US wines fall within this category. Especially those labeled, ahem, 'Pinot Noir' (or chasing the latest fad). Too much wine below $25 I see should be labeled "Red Table Wine with Additives" not Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, et al. flavors of the week.
Thanks so much for this list of very drinkable wines of good quality at a fair price. There is nothing un-serious about creating a wine straightforward enough to be enjoyed in good company, with pleasure and without guilt. (Indeed, isn't that really what this game all about?)
Sadly I fine far too many US wines fall within this category. Especially those labeled, ahem, 'Pinot Noir' (or chasing the latest fad). Too much wine below $25 I see should be labeled "Red Table Wine with Additives" not Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, et al. flavors of the week.
Thanks so much for this list of very drinkable wines of good quality at a fair price. There is nothing un-serious about creating a wine straightforward enough to be enjoyed in good company, with pleasure and without guilt. (Indeed, isn't that really what this game all about?)
5
Sometimes on a Friday night, you just want a nice Italian table red with pizza. Or something bubbly and buttered popcorn.
Or when it's 95 degrees, you want something cold and crisp, and not much else matters. Sauvignon blanc, rose.
It's times we're worn out that something simple can really shine.
Or when it's 95 degrees, you want something cold and crisp, and not much else matters. Sauvignon blanc, rose.
It's times we're worn out that something simple can really shine.
12
Italians drink beer with wine.
1
I mean 'with pizza'.
You note that these wines "are just right for those occasions when you don’t feel like paying attention to the depth of the aftertaste."
But paying attention to the nuances of a wine (and you can get nuances, even in a cheaper wine) is part of the deliciousness and social enjoyment of the meal, whether it's a fancy dinner party or a picnic. I drink all sorts of wine, and never have I sat around the table with my guests solemnly and silently analyzing the aftertaste of an expensive wine. Someone might say they like the taste of anise, citrus, etc, in a good bottle of wine for about 20 seconds worth of commentary. And then we pass on to the experiencing the wine as part of the enjoyment of the meal. All wine should be fun, regardless of the occasion--though a wine that has a flat aftertaste is decidedly less so.
But paying attention to the nuances of a wine (and you can get nuances, even in a cheaper wine) is part of the deliciousness and social enjoyment of the meal, whether it's a fancy dinner party or a picnic. I drink all sorts of wine, and never have I sat around the table with my guests solemnly and silently analyzing the aftertaste of an expensive wine. Someone might say they like the taste of anise, citrus, etc, in a good bottle of wine for about 20 seconds worth of commentary. And then we pass on to the experiencing the wine as part of the enjoyment of the meal. All wine should be fun, regardless of the occasion--though a wine that has a flat aftertaste is decidedly less so.
1