Maybe I'm weird, but...

[Machforce1]

From what I have gathered in my own experiences, and somewhat from this post, is that the world of wine isn't any different from the world of anything else. I can relate to what Botafogo said. I can't tell you how many times I've been out with friends and the waiter suggests a Kendall Jackson wine and the crowd grows silent with wide eyes, saying "Ooooohhhh!" I've had Kendall Jackson, and I think it's crap. Yet this wine is what us normal people are led to believe is the standard by whomever is paid to promote it. I can also understand what wineoweenie is saying about the first growth bordeauxs being the standard by which all wine is judged. That may be true, but I question whether the price of these first growths are justified by their quality or by what people are willing to pay for them. Put another way, is the wine worth $250 per bottle because of it's quality or is it worth $250 because Parker says it's good or the snooty crowd says that's what it's worth? I just can't see a wine tasting so drastically different that it should cost hundreds of dollars for four or five glasses. Again, maybe it's just my virgin palate telling me there's not much difference between the $100 bottle and the $12 bottle. I admit, I've never tasted a first growth bordeaux, but I have to believe that their price is reflective of what people are willing to pay for them, not what they are really worth in regards to differences in quality.