Aren't wine-tasters and wine "experts" talking b*****x? It all tastes the same to me.?

Question

I never noticed the difference in any wine. I think they're just stuck-up sophistocrats. Agree or disagree?

Answer 1

Yes I agree, they talk a load of s**t.

Answer 2

I am not a wine taster or expert, by any stretch of the imagination, but I can tell there are some very strong and some very subtle differences among wines. French and Italian grapes produce a significantly different style of wine than those from Germany and the USA's Sonoma Valley. Varietal wines often have a mutch fruitier taste than say a Chardonney or a Zinfandel. Whites and reds alone are two totally different tastes. If you can't tell the difference by tasting a chablis and then a bordeaux, then you probably simply do not have a developed taste for wine. You just need to try some different varieties and you will find some that you will truly enjoy and then some that taste like pure weasal p**s. As a side note, there is also a large taste range when wines are chilled or room temp. See what the label recommends.

Happy sipping ;-)

Answer 3

A lot of "experts" are full of s**t. That being said, there are differences in wine depending on several things but most importantly, what grape(s) were used to make the wine. Experts will go on and on and on about how many different things they can taste/smell in the wine sometimes differentiating between white and black pepper. I think that some people just have very sensitive taste buds/senses of smell. But they also drink a lot of wine. I would recommend going to a wine bar(I know the thought of being surrounded by wine snobs is probably very off-putting) and trying a red wine flight for about $10-$15. The barman should give you anywhere from 4-6 tastes. Find a tactful way to express your doubt that there is any difference between wines and ask him to recommend an inexpensive flight that might highlight differences between different wines for you. Believe it or not, there is a difference between wine-lovers and wine-snobs. Both can differentiate between different wines, just lovers won't turn down a wine based on price or some ridiculous reason.

Answer 4

Try a white Zinfandel. It's a sweeter, pink, fruity wine that most inexperienced wine drinkers enjoy. The bitter taste you're getting is called tannins, which are the result of the grape skins steeping during the fermentation process. It's kind of like the bitter taste you get if you ever bit into a banana peel. Aged red wines tend to have these tannins mellow out and form other complex flavors, which is why aged red wines are better (and more expensive) than young red wines.

Answer 5

Strongly disagree.

I love wine and have a large collection. I also host wine tasting dinner every month. I like to think I know a little bit about wines.

While there are a lot of wine snobs and wine-connosours-wanna-be's, most people who loves wine are not stuck up. In fact, many of them are everyday people - in my wine tasting group, I have doctors, nurses, real estate agent, salespeople, wine merchants, accountants, lighting specialist, engineers, teachers. These are people who are interested in wine have have a passion for the intricacy of wine. We don't compromise on cheap wines, but we are not so prejudiced to preclude the possibility that cheaper wines can be good.

Most people who drink a decent amount of wine on regular basis and have reasonable experience with various wine would disagree with your statement. Our response to that statement is that you have not have enough exposure to wine, either because you have not had any "training" or you have not have any decent wine.

Most cheap wine do taste the same. They are cheaply made and cheaply served. The vineyards do not make the effort to produce the best grape possible, while the winery do not invest in the barrel and fermentation process to make great wines. That's why they are cheaply made and cheaply sold. When you pay peanuts, you get peanuts. Once you get wines above $20-30 level, you can start tell some differences. Wines over $40-50 are very different, even when they are made by the same vineyard but in different year.

It would be the same analogy with cars. I drive Toyota. To me, Toyota does as good as a Porche and Viper and Ferrari. It gets me to work and gets me home. However, to some fans of car, a statement such as "all cars drive the same" would be outrageous.

My suggestion for you is to go to a wine store and spend about $300 to buy some wines. Get about 3-4 bottles of wine under $10, get 2-3 wine about $25, and get 2-3 wines over $50. Invite some of your closer friends and do a blind tasting. Cover the wines with brown bags and try them. Rate them. Experience and experiment the wines. You will be surprised how different they are when you compare them side by side.

You too can be a sophisticated stuck up wine snob like rest of us. Or you can enjoy the art of wine tasting.

Answer 6

disagree, although not into wine that much, i have tried some
of the methods used by the tasters and actually learned
something. There are many differant flavors/textures and
aromas in any singular wine, and the experts can narrow
down when/where the wine came from by characteristics.
If I were to get into drinking wine i'd learn a lot more about
how to take advantage of it's full flavor.

Answer 7

There are two sides to the argument. It sounds like complete pi5h, but remember less than 300 people in the world can call themselves Masters of Wine (MW). I think it takes about 7 years in total to achieve this rarified atmosphere, and they really do know what they are talking about.

It does come across as utter gash though, especially some of the descriptions they use. Bu remember they are only trying to express what they think the wine is about, because they want everyone to enjoy it like they do.

However this was tarnished by the likes of Oz Clarke and Jilly Goolen (amongst others) and since then, understandably, people get extremely cheesed about how wine is described.

Personally it all comes down to taste, if you like it drink it if you don't give it as a present.

Answer 8

A few years ago, I would have certainly agreed with the idea that all wine tasted alike. However with time your palate becomes more and more accustomed to the subtle flavours in wines. I would not be able to distinguish different varities in a blind taste but can describe wines. The best way to do this is to sip the wine and suck it to the back of your throat.. This process aerates the wine and allows the flavours to develop; another method is to open a bottle of red and let it rest (i.e.breath) to develop flavours. Certainly the enjoyment of wine is not linked to price or vintage but to sampling various types of wine and buying again bottles that you enjoy. Simple words are more than adequate to describe the taste - sweet, heavy, strong, light, fragrant, fruity etc. To learn more, the following website may be of use. To end - do not be concerned with understanding the complexities - just enjoy it.

Answer 9

Disagree, I'm not a wine drinker but even I know that the aroma of wines is very different from one another. And it's not true that only expensive wine is good wine, in several dining party's in my house, I bought wine for the guests and asked for advice from a friend . He recommended some really inexpensive wine and people really liked it. Of course you can use this as a confirmation for your initial statement, but I've seen people almost gagging when tasting really awfull wine.

Answer 10

Most people who are new to wine drinking prefer sweet white wines. Spain produces several sweet whites. As your taste develops, try some of the slightly drier ones. German wines like Niersteiner and Riesling may then tick your boxes. Now try Vouvray (France), before moving on to Chablis (definitely dry).

Then you are ready for light red wines without too much tannin. Soon you will be on the really big Merlots but leave the Cabernet Sauvignon until you know you can handle it.

Answer 11

One of the worlds top producers and tasters said on the TV exactly the same thing. He said any wine if it suits you will be the right one and he poured scorn on the notion of white for fish and red for meat. Again he said it's what you prefer that dictates which wine.