Despite the title I really do love wine and food from Italy, France, Germany, and other countries as well. And frankly who among us can reject a bargain? But I also hate wine and many aspects of the wine scene. Let me explain my top ten reasons for this love-hate relationship. Previous articles discussed the unconscionable expense, the embarrassing lack of knowledge, no wine cellar, I can't get the ... bottle opened, insomnia, food problems, wine snobs, and the smells and tastes of wine. This article discusses wine colors.
I am running very close to 100% in basic identification of reds and whites, with only an occasional error for roses. But how on earth do people manage to describe twelve shades of red, including brick, garnet, cherry, and prune? And in the circles I run in, or try to run in, describing a white wine's color as simply white, gives the impression that you're a bit of an oaf. Perhaps I should say, lout, fool, ignoramus...
It gets worse. We are told that the color unlocks the secrets of the wine's parentage and upbringing. How often have I heard "It's obvious to any fool that this wine can't be a Riesling, look at its color." To which I am tempted to reply, "But I always thought that Rieslings were white wines."
So much for the whites, what about reds? I know the difference between a brick as in home building and a ruby as in the jewelry that I can't buy my wife because of my investments in liquid assets if you get my drift. But since I really don't know the difference between brick color (look at any weathered brick home and you'll see a lot of different shades) and ruby color, how can I tell the difference between brick-colored wine and ruby-colored wine? Actually, that's not totally true, one of them is definitely darker. And they are both a heck of a lot darker than roses. Which, when you think of it, are really darker than whites.
You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. But you can make a white wine out of the red Zinfandel grape. And the ensuing wine undoubtedly tastes better than a silk purse, or a sow's ear. But, and this is going on faith, having never gnawed on a silk purse or a sow's ear, not much better. Yes, I do recall the first time I sampled a White Zinfandel. Actually my wife, who is no wine lover, knew immediately what the unfortunate result would be. She said it looked like Kool-Aid. But it didn't taste as good.
Here are the other reasons that I hate wine, to be explored shortly: Home brew, One more problem and yes, The Solution.
Some of you are familiar with my wine article series "I Love Italian Wine and Food, " similar French and German series, and travel articles that always manage to discuss local wine and food. It's true; I really do love wine and food from Italy, France, Germany, and other countries as well. But I also hate wine and many aspects of the wine scene. Let me explain my top ten reasons for this love-hate relationship.
The unconscionable expense. Don't let anybody kid you. Good wine is expensive. Great wine is of course even more expensive. There are surely bargains out there, but finding them is like kissing scads of frogs to find a prince. You have to kiss a lot of frogs (yechh) before you get to kiss a prince. Believe it or not, I have absolutely no desire whatsoever to kiss any princes.
I do, however, want to drink fine wine. And I find that the more fine wine I drink, the more fine wine I want to drink. Before I started writing wine reviews, twenty dollars was more or less my limit for a bottle; now I almost feel like apologizing when I spend less than twenty. Having tasted some excellent wines in the forty-dollar range, I am dying to know how sixty-dollar wines taste. Needless to say, some of them will be disappointing. But in some ways it is worse to find an excellent sixty-dollar wine. As much as I want to, I can't spend sixty dollars a bottle on a regular basis.
My wife gave me her generous permission to buy a single one hundred dollar bottle of wine per year. Such a bottle will cost me at least two hundred dollars; my wife is not a wine lover, and in all fairness she will want a one hundred dollar item for herself. But that's by no means the end of my wine expense problems. One of the most wine-savvy people I know recently described the pleasures of a $600 bottle of Chateau Petrus; a top of the line French red wine. I gingerly asked him if it was worth the money. His response was short and sweet, absolutely. I am still far from that stratospheric price point, but...
Here are the other reasons: The embarrassing lack of knowledge No wine cellar I can't get the ... bottle opened The insomnia Food problems Wine snobs Those smells and those tastes Those colors Home brew One more problem and yes The Solution
Levi Reiss has sinced written about articles on various topics from Touring Italy, Travel and Leisure and Food and Drink. Levi Reiss has authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine German, Italian, or other wine, accompanied by the right foods and the right people. He teaches various classes in computers at an Ontario F. Levi Reiss's top article generates over 450000 views. to your Favourites.