Raising Prices Enhances Wine Sales

AP:  Apparently, raising the price really does make the wine taste better.

At least that seems to be the result of a taste test. The part of the brain that reacts to a pleasant experience responded more strongly to pricey wines than cheap ones — even when tasters were given the same vintage in disguise.  CONTINUED

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I'll admit I've fallen for this phenomenon--primarily because I'm not a wine drinker.

Beer, whiskey and rum:  those are my favorite spirits of choice.  Give me a good pilsner glass or tumbler and I'll revel in the pouring, the flavors, the aromas of a good ale, Isle malt or cane.  I read about their histories with pleasure, and pore over their brewing and distilling processes.  It's all part of the rich culinary subset of the roosting arts.

But wine?  It all tastes like sour fruit juice to me.  Sometimes I wonder if people drink it just because it makes 'em look hip and sophisticated.

That's not a fair judgment, though.  A true aficionado treats wine with the same reverence and ritual that I do with sour mash.  I simply can't make out the varied flavors of wine, so my palette thinks wine drinkers pontificate over vintages simply because everyone else is.  Someone pass me the brie, will ya?

All that said, when I must purposely shop for wine, I'm lost, and typically wander aimlessly up and down the regional isles.  Thus I do what any other good non-wine drinker would do in such a situation:  I look for high ratings, cool labels, and price.  And corks over screw tops, of course (although I've read some good vineyards are now doing away with corks).

I'll stick with styles I can pronounce with reasonable clarity and dignity, like chardonnay and merlot (hard "t", right?).  I'll skip anything without a fancy-pants review tacked on the shelf ("...good nose, with hints of vanilla and shoe leather..."), and 87 points or better sounds like a good grade, too.

I'll pass on the pompous, boring labels, though, like pastel-drawn Tuscany villas with names like, "Sonoma Napa Woodbridge Select Reserve," and hone in on the labels festooned with cartoon characters and odd names like "Toasted Head" or "47 Pound Rooster" (yes, those are real wines).

But price... good wine's supposed to be expensive, isn't it?  I mean, back in my fraternity days we'd say, "I'll drink no wine above $1.99," so I imagine the good stuff is at least two bucks (throw in an extra buck for a paper bag).  Thus not knowing any better, if all things are otherwise equal between wines I'll go for the pricier one.  After all, I can definitely taste a difference between whiskey ages, and you certainly pay for the extra years.  So why wouldn't it be any different with wine?

Any wine drinkers out there want to help me out here?

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Comments

[Winter]

At one of my previous jobs, the Executive VP of the company was part owner of a very fancy steakhouse in New York City (I can't remember which one). One evening he decided to take a bunch of us minions out for a fancy meal at his restaurant.

He ordered a $5,000.00 bottle of red wine for the table. For the life of me, I couldn't tell the difference between it and a $5.00 jug of Puffed Squab Reserve.

The VP told us that young hotshots from Wall Street would come in on good nights at the Exchange and spend ten grand on drinks alone. They had cognacs there that sold for $400 a glass. Madness.

[nanc]

my husband always says, "when times are good, people drink wine. when times are bad, people drink wine."

can't argue with that illogic!

give me a snob beer everytime.

*:]

[Rice]

I'd suggest getting together with somebody who knows a little bit about wines sometime. Not a wine snob, for sure - just somebody who knows the field a bit. I had the advantage of parents who actually met working together at a winery.

I can't for the life of me pick out the various nuanced flavors (wine or beer, either), but the basics should be enough that you can actually read the important parts of the labels - dry versus sweet, and whether it's smooth. Most younger people and those not used to drinking wines prefer them sweet, and the smoother the better.

Make good use of your Shoppette/Class Six, too - it should have a pretty decent selection of wines at good prices. I can't think of any reason, unless there's tuxedos involved and somebody else is footing the bill, to need wine that costs more than $10/bottle. At the same time, however, your $3 bottles are going to taste nasty and leave you feeling a bit sickly at the end, with a high chance for a hangover.

Find a friend or three who enjoy wine, ask what labels they like/recommend, and if they're not expensive try a few of them, or maybe just ask for a small glass to sip. If it tastes decent to you, then you've got a winner.