Is It Worth It?

There is a website, and I am not going to publicize it here, that touts that when you buy expensive wine, or even moderately priced wine, you are paying too much. And, I read an article in Smithsonian this morning that suggested that targeted uses of what I am going to call wine shortcuts produces wines that people will like. 

What that article suggests is that bulk wine producers spend their money trying to understand what their drinkers want and then they produce it, inexpensively. So, for example, you like your wine purplish. Add some purple coloring. People like sweetness. Add some artificual sweetener. It's inexpensive and it caters to their focus groups -- the focus groups made up of people that I am guessing drink wine because it's cool, but would really prefer something different.

Yesterday, I wrote about clove and how clove aromas and tastes get into some wines. Honestly, when I wrote yesterday, I did not have today's post in mind, but I suppose I could have. If you did read yesterday, you might recall that one of the shortcuts that is taken in the winemaking process (or tangentially to the winemaking process) is in the seasoning of oak barrels. And, we noted that outdoor seasoning give the oak the time to develop and for the natural chemical reactions to occur while oven seasoning, while much faster and less expensive, does not.

Who cares? Maybe you do and maybe you don't. One thing I can tell you is that the natural, much longer seasoning process is more expensive. And, as a result, those barrels are more expensive (also have better quality control), and as a result of that, the wine produced in them is more expensive.

Clove was just an example.But, taking shortcuts, generally, is not a way to produce the highest quality wines. What does that mean?

We know that outstanding wines tend to be ageworthy. And, as they age, their profiles change. The flavor changes, the mouthfeel changes, the aromas change. And, they tend to become more complex. I guess that's a fancy way of saying they tend to be more interesting. Does that appeal to you?

If any of that does matter, you're not going to get it from the shortcut-made wines. But, frankly, to a fair number of wine drinkers, it doesn't matter.

At this point, you are probably wondering what advice I would give you as a purchaser and drinker of wine. And, without knowing a lot about you and your preferences, I really can't.

How much money makes a difference to you? If you can buy a case of Petrus or DRC and not ask how much, then by all means, do so and don't buy the shortcut wine. If the second bottle of Two-Buck Chuck that you buy is going to change your life because you really couldn't afford the first one, then buy the cheapest you can find if you buy at all and deal with it. 

Can you tell the difference?

Get yourself a wine that is clearly a shortcut wine and make it one that you like. And, find a friend who is willing to let you taste a great and expensive wine of the same varietal. Drink them side by side, blind. Can you tell the difference? Is it meaningful to you?

I've done this. And, when I have, I've not yet chosen the cheap wine. And, that's after about 20 to 30 trials although I will admit that I didn't con friends into opening fancy wine for me to experiment with. That doesn't mean there aren't very good, very inexpensive wines. There are also lots of really bad ones. And, even among the best really inexpensive ones, neither the complexity nor the evolution that comes with age is likely to be there.

Is it worth it? I don't know. That's up to you to decide.