Just because you like it does not mean its good



Couple of Bloody Galahs Tossin an opinion

The moral of today's story is “don't necessarily take the advice of the leading purveyors of numerical wine info as gospel”. There are a lot of agendas out there and a lot of axes to grind. Don't buy into everything you see in those high profile wine magazines, you know the ones, they are all Wine something. Heck, don't even (or especially even) believe what we say either because most of what we say is just us tossin an OPINION!
But there is one thing you can take to the bank. Just because you like it, it does not mean its good wine. It’s one of those things we say to make people comfortable with their wine choices. Heck, even we have said it! Of course the reverse is also true (so I guess therefore there are two things you can take to the bank)-  just because you don’t like it, that does not mean it is bad wine…Sucks, doesn't it?  You can’t even blame the wine for your lack of palate.
Look, we all gravitate to the wines we like but that does not make them a “good” wine. It only makes them the one's we like. Is that bad? No, but we need to look beyond just our current taste preference’s. If you ask our Dads, a good wine automatically means “inexpensive” (or one we brought, so therefore “free”), although they would never admit that.  But there are also many inexpensive good wines, so money isn't everything and you should not base your selection the price point alone.

There is an amazing amount of focus on all kinds of things that determine whether a wine is of a certain quality or not. First, “Wine Something or other magazines” focus on hue, intensity and clarity. Second, just as with color, wine's aromas offer insights into character, origin and history. Because the actual sense of taste is limited to four or five simple categories, aroma is the most revealing aspect of our examination. From olfactory to taste, which is the part we are all over. You roll the wine all around your mouth, moving it into contact with every part, because, well, because you don’t want to miss any aspect of the wine. Then let’s not forget the way the wine leaves your mouth feeling once you have swallowed. The finish is where you'll find that the better the wine, the more complex and long-lasting these residual flavors and aromas can be. It is generally agreed that with great wines the finish can last a minute or more.

It's a moment of “mmmmm” that no other beverage creates.


All these things and more have a formalised grading scale and a means to assign a score to all these aspects which when all collected come together to give it a grade on each organizations scale.  Reputable scorers go blind (ok not literally) for true scoring and it is the only way to be free of preconceived expectations which ALL humans are subject to. These scales are arbitrary enough that someone’s taste preference should not be a significant factor and the wine should receive a rating based on quality not opinion.
So here’s the thing. Taste, buy and drink what you enjoy the most. But don’t fall into the false sense that that makes it good. Instead try to look beyond your current comfort zone and try to develop the tools to actually appreciate what is good as you enjoy the journey. We think you will find that over time you will tend to enjoy wine even more. Comparing notes with friends and discussing the differences as well as the similarities you find can be a lot of fun.

So remember, the magazines are not the, be all end all. But they can be a great source of information for you to absorb and put your own palate to the test. Comparing what they say to your own experience will also allow you to have a pretty good idea after reading a description if you would like a wine based on that description. You can think of them as road maps to a tasting journey for wine from all over the world. (http://wine.com or http://solawines.com/ )

Taste it, talk about what you see and smell. Discuss what you taste and how it feels on your palate. As you become a bit of a student of the process it is amazing what you may discover about your taste and the amount you enjoy the adventure.

But don’t forget, it is your taste, drink what you like! We do.

Drink on!

Happy Wine Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

Kiwi & Koala