Which sounds better to you?

The sexual awakening of wine or wine as a competitive Olympic sport!

That might sound like a rather bizarre question but in many ways it’s a true proposition. Many wine geeks spend a great deal of time and effort trying to find good wines. We read what the experts tell us we should like drinking or recommending the latest trendoid grape variety like Viognier or Marsanne and in some cases we nod our head wisely in agreement with the experts. The next task is to try and find the recommended wines and once we have found them ensure the price is right.

We are on a seemingly never ending journey to try and find the perfect wine and when we do, we wont be satisfied because we will want to find an even better wine. That activity in itself seems like an immense competitive activity. Witness the post on a wine forum recently where a number of contributors were venting their spleen because their copy of Robert Parkers Wine Advocate had arrived late. They complained they would miss out on the latest reviews of the Aussie wines and would wind up having to pay more for selected wines as they flew off the shelf due to the Parker ratings.

The ridiculous thing is that there is more great wine and more good vale wine produced then we could ever require in a lifetime and if you miss a particular wine there will always be another one that’s just as good or just as inexpensive. It’s like a bus or train on the main city circle line, miss one and there will be another in five minutes. Next time these people go shopping, as Rolf Binder of Veritas wines always says, “they should go to the life shop and buy one of those too.”

When get together with other wine geeks we all try to find that special bottle in our cellar that will makes our friends go WOW! To a great extent that’s a competitive (but understandably human) activity.

Some of us are obsessed with wine and write tasting notes on almost every bottle opened tracking the progress as our beloved collection matures. (I admit my guilt to all of the above.) But wine can and should be more than a competitive sport. It should be sexy, romantic or just plain relaxing too.

A few nights ago I opened a 96 Tollana Bin 222. Now this is an enjoyable well-made wine of no great distinction and I just sat back on the deck, watched the sunset, talked to the dogs, BBQ a steak, made a salad and thoroughly enjoyed the experience without even thinking about the technicalities of what was being drunk. I just enjoyed it for what it was, an accompaniment to a relaxing moment. Sometimes it’s more important to smell the bouquet of the roses (or cow manure in the paddock) than it is to smell the bouquet of the wine.

Wine can also be used in similar situations with friends when the drink is not the central focus of attention; the companionship provides the spotlight for enjoyment. Next consider romantic situations. Can you imagine sitting in a fine restaurant with the intended love of your life and boring the pants off them with an involved description of how the bead are formed in the Dom Perignon that you are drinking. Unless they are as wine obsessed as you are, the chances are the relationship may turn out to be blacker than a big Barossa Shiraz.

So why are some of us like this? Most of it relates to our background. If you were brought up in many parts of Europe wine is a no big deal event, its just what you consume as part of a meal. In Australia it’s different for most of us. We have a large percentage of the population that drinks beer and the majority of people that actually drink wine just wants to drink a cheap wine that doesn’t burn the hell out of their throats as it glides past their tonsils.

Finally, we have the geeks that have turned wine into an Olympic Sport, from the must have buying frenzied search to the never ending quest in trying to serve the perfect wine to friends.

Wine should not be a competitive Olympic Sport, its just fermented grape juice.

Who am I trying to kid, I must have been unwell when I wrote this, wine is the meaning of life (grin) – well it is for some of us.

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This week’s link is a must for any wine lovers who are interested in wine and food matching, or just good wine. The TOP 1OO Wines 2001 web site shows the results of a unique annual competition, it judges wine matched with food. The panel of judges have a diversity of backgrounds and their individual tasting notes are also published for each wine. It’s a top site with loads of good wine tasting notes. 

Cheers

Ric ©