Bored and disappointed in wine

[dananne]

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!