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+--- Thread: Bored and disappointed in wine (/thread-20840.html)
- Drew - 04-05-2008
I thought this would pass and I haven't spoke of this, nor posted, for a while. I got them "wine blues"! I have tasted tons of wines over the last several months at different price points and most taste the same to me. Nothing really to set them apart. They just seem like clones of each other. Soooo I just haven't posted and quite frankly am bored and disgusted. Have any of you gone through this and what's the treatment? My regular close wine vendors are pushing fruity, easy drinkin' wines at all the weekend tastings and now they all sound like snake oil salesmen.... [img]http://wines.com/ubb/biggrin.gif[/img]
Drew
- Thomas - 04-05-2008
What types of wines are you talking about? If you are staying in the same varietal, and the same country/region, then maybe you need to explore a wider field.
But yes, I think as wine becomes increasingly more like a commodity, peddled by conglomerates, much of it will begin to taste the same.
- Bucko - 04-05-2008
I certainly understand what you're saying, Drew. Globalization of wine is a real thing, and it saddens me. So many former lovely wines from various regions might as well put 'Generic Red Wine' on the label.
- winoweenie - 04-05-2008
Totally agree there Drewski. Thank goodness that There are still some hold-outs to "Parkerization". WW
- TheEngineer - 04-05-2008
Drew,
I totally agree. Try three things that might just smack you on the side of the head
(1) buy older wines. See if you like the good wines that have evolved over time. old Bordeauxs and Burgundies might just blow you away...
(2) sounds like you are tried of the fruity stuff, try some so not fruity stuff like rustic Barolos, Aglianico's. Or look to different regions and ask for the older producers. Look at the Cab francs from Chinon, etc,.. The Loire wines are great. Try some white wines of character....like Gravner's stuff or, stuff Tokai, Assertiko,
(3) look for a wine store that stocks stuff from off the beaten path like Kermit Lynch or something...have then guide you...might need to try it a few times..
Good luck. hope to hear back from you.
Maybe we can do a virtual tasting of a region one day.
- Thomas - 04-05-2008
Try Joe Dressner imports. His certainly are unique offerings.
- Duane Meissner - 04-05-2008
My wine society had an "off-beat reds" tasting awhile back. All wines either came from someplace unusual (we had one from Lebanon that was excellent), or made from atypical grapes. The winner for the night was a 100% mourvedre that was fascinating. I tried it several times, and couldn't decide if I liked it or not. It didn't even taste like wine to me. Jury is still out, but all I know is I can't stop thinking about it.
- brappy - 04-06-2008
Drew,
Interesting thing to go through. I'd be more than happy to bring some wines to drink... to your choice of venue. Wines I believe to be exciting.
Although wine is definitely being treated like a commodity, this shouldn't change the quality of wine. Except to possibly make it better.
I don't believe in the whole "Generic" or "Parkerization" argument. At least if "Generic" = "Parkerization". I believe people are making better wines.
I have to agree with Eng..... Maybe your palate is changing. Your wine pushers are still pushing you into what you've always enjoyed and aren't ready for your palate change. Maybe you should frequent another place and see if they can't help you move on with your palate change (if that is what it is).
Good luck.... And let me know if you want to taste a bunch of different stuff.
mark
- Drew - 04-06-2008
Wow! Thanks for all the responses but let me add a little more. I've been drinking wine for a long time, know enough to be dangerous, have a moderate cellar around 500 bottles with most bottles bought at retail between $8 and $35 per bottle with an average between $15 and $20 per. Specifically what I'm complaining about is that many producers whose wines were complex years ago now fall into this fruit forward, easy drinkin' category as well as many new labels. Also I'm generally not interested in pursuing wines over $30 and maybe that's the problem.
Drew
- Bucko - 04-06-2008
Foodie is spot on about Joe Dressner imports. They tend to maintain their regional traits. Many are very affordable.
- dananne - 04-06-2008
I don't know whether it's "generic" or "Parkerization," and I'm not inclined to argue the semantics of it, but I do feel that there has been a decided shift to an international style that Drew has recognized, and it's particularly evident in the, say, $10-$20 range wines, which are tasting more and more alike, regardless of variety or region. I totally understand the economics behind the shift, but still lament the situation, even if the general quality of wine has improved in recent years, as Brappy has noted.
I had similar doldrums about two years ago, and as has been suggested, the way I got out of it was to do a few things. First of all, I stopped buying and drinking many of the wines that had been regulars in my rotation. So, goodbye Aussie Shiraz, for instance. In fact, the only Aussie juice I have in my cellar are '97s and '98s and the like, certainly nothing more recent than late '90s. While that's admittedly unfair, and there are likely great Aussie wines that don't taste alike, I just got tired of same old, same old, and haven't gone back.
Next, I started to try wines that I hadn't really tried much of before, like Portuguese table reds, Greek wines like Xinomavro and St. George, Austrian reds like Zweigelt, etc. Most of these, by definition, tasted different. Further, because they are smaller producer, niche wines, they haven't fallen victim to internationalization as regards style, and because they are so hard to market, they typically continue to fall into the price range of the daily drinkers they replaced.
Finally, I visited wine regions that I never had visited, tasting everything I could. Thus, many of the wines in my cellar I now drink inside an emotional context, which helps. For example, when I popped a Scherrer Zin last weekend, it brought back all the wonderful memories of being out in the RRV and visiting with Fred Scherrer. It's hard to replicate that emotional context when I'm drinking a mass produced wine I purchased at the local wine shop or Whole Foods supermarket.
While the last suggestion may not be all that practical, the first two (as has been suggested) might help. At any rate, good luck!
- TheEngineer - 04-06-2008
Drew,
I completely agree with DA, especially with his last two comments.
Maybe take a sabatical for a while, beer is great too and scotch.....and then start with a trip in about 4 months. Go somewhere that you've kinda had their wines but not really and they were interesting to you but you did not have time to get into. Finger Lakes is not too far from you (LOONNNGGGG weekend), Maybe a nice trip over to the continent and hit the Loire region for a week. That might restart the juices. I really do enjoy seeing the places and meeting the people there and seeing why things are different.
While the Dollar does not go as far as it use to and many of the wines that we liked have taken a hike north in pricing, I do believe that many of my better drinks of late have been unfortunately north of $30.....but not that far north of it. There are a few drinks that are around the $30 mark that might be of interest.
2005 Alain Grillot Croze Heritage was around $35 and his 2004's which I love are definitely under $30.
2004 Tinto Pesquera I think was around $30.
Try some whites,... even sweet and refreshing ones from Germany [img]http://wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img] [img]http://wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img] [img]http://wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img] But there is a Muller Thurgau from Italy that is just awesome....I think the name was Fieldmarshall. Or something from Domaine Weinbach.
There was one other thing that I did, not thinking about this as an antidote but it was the curiosity of varietals. I tried the Century club (and am still on it), which forced me to look for different varietals every time I was in a store and make me look forward to the next strange, potentially aweful, potentially interesting, but always, educational next bottle. Try these [img]http://wines.com/ubb/smile.gif[/img]
Aglianico, Albariño, Aligoté, Arneis, Assyrtiko, Auxerrois, Barbera, Baco Noir, Baga, Bourboulenc, Brachetto, Bual,Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan, Carmenère, Castelão, Chenin Blanc, Cinsaut, Clairette, Cortese, Corvina, Counoise, Dolcetto, Falanghina, Fiano, Freisa, Furmint, Gaglioppo, Gamay, Garganega, Gewürztraminer, Graciano, Greco, Grenache/Garnacha, Grenache Blanc, Grignolino, Gros Manseng, Grüner Veltliner, Lagrein, Lambrusco, Malbec, Malvasia, Maréchal Foch, Marsanne, Melon de Bourgogne, Molinara, Merlot, Montepulciano, Mourvèdre, Müller Thurgau, Muscadelle, Muscat Blanc, Muscat of Alexandria, Nebbiolo, Nero D'Avola, Parellada, Pedro Ximénez, Petit Manseng, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, Picpoul Noir, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Pinotage, Prosecco, Refosco, Riesling, Rondinella, Roussanne, Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Scheurebe, Syrah/Shiraz, Sercial, Seyval Blanc, Silvaner, Tannat, Tempranillo, Tinto Cão, Tocai Fruilano, Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Trebbiano, Teroldego, Vernaccia, Verdejo, Verdelho, Verdicchio, Vidal, Viognier, Zinfandel/Primitivo, Zweigelt, black muscat, Graziano, Kontorni, Longanesi, Marselan, Mencia, nielluccio, Orange muscat, ortega, Pinot Meunier, Ribolla, Salte, Tinta De Toro, Voskihat, Zibibbo, Aidani, Öküzgözü, Rkatsiteli
[This message has been edited by TheEngineer (edited 04-06-2008).]
- wineguruchgo - 04-06-2008
or you can do what I do. Take a month off. I've declared April alcohol free month. I didn't do it because I'm bored (most recent purchase is Gruner Veltliner and Moschofilero because of temps here) but I did it to give my liver a break.
Hardest thing about doing this? Eating dinner. I don't care at any other time but that's the tough one for me.
Let's just say that May can't come fast enough for me!
- Thomas - 04-06-2008
Dan,
When you think about it, $10-$20 range is the new $5 wine, so it makes sense that this category would become the boring one--you can't get racy with people who seek consistency; even Coca Cola found that out [img]http://wines.com/ubb/wink.gif[/img]
Seriously, one has to do a little homework and seek wines from importers like Dressner, Rosenthal, Lynch, etc. who are of the old school. Their selections usually offer uniqueness.
I look to the un-championed regions of the wine world for my wine pleasure, and the un-championed producers within the "named" regions.
Admirable though it may be, I have yet to consider not drinking wine! I am sure, however, if I could not find what I'm looking for, I might turn to something else--hemp?
[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 04-06-2008).]
- Duane Meissner - 04-19-2008
I pulled out the info on the wine I wrote about earlier in this posting. I HIGHLY recommend everyone try this. It's a huge wine. The first thing I thought as soon as it hit my mouth is, "are you sure this is wine?" Don't worry, it is, and sophisticated at the same time. It's sure to cure any wine blues...
La Bastide Blanche, from Bandol, France. Don't know the year, but may be able to find out. This producer always uses at least 75% mourvedre, but the bottle I tried was 100% for the full varietal experience. Try it with a steak. I found it at $22 / bottle, and plan to pick up another on Monday, since I can't stop thinking about it.
There is a video here, if any of you speak French: http://video.aol.com/video-detail/bandol-la-bastide-blanche/1641933841
[This message has been edited by Duane Meissner (edited 04-19-2008).]
- hotwine - 04-19-2008
Reviewing Drew's 'plaint above ..... Don't know that I'm getting bored with wine (still have it with dinner each evening) but preferences are definitely changing. Much prefer Old World to just about anything the left coast is turning out. Pecking order is Italy, Spain, France, with anything else in a tie for last. Have decided to avoid tastings since the wines served are not paired with appropriate foods. And posting private notes in Cellar Tracker for each bottle consumed, but only posting a TN here when I think it might be of general interest.
So - not bored but continuing to evolve, like an old jug o' juice.
- VouvrayHead - 04-20-2008
Duane, that Bandol is good. I like Mourvedre as a primary grape when it's done well!