Wine snobbery
 

I like the fruit of the vine…and I’m in a wine club that delivers monthly. I’m by no means a snob or a connoisseur (yup needed to look up the spelling), I just like what I like. In fact my favourite Red costs £6.99 from Tesco, which being the tightwad that I am, I usually buy when it’s on offer.

I don’t care if it’s peachy, earthy, is best with fish, meat, KFC, smells of the Dordogne or is pressed by barefoot Spanish women clacking castanets doing the flamenco.

Tonight I’ve opened a Sauvignon from the wine club described as…. ’grassy, citrus and mineral’ with an aroma of ‘grass, lime and mineral’ (description and smell pretty much the same..I guess the sommelier employed by my wine club doesn’t have a large vocabulary)

Anyhoo…I pay a monthly sum and the vintners send me 12 mixed bottles..including two of these particular bottles of grass, lime and rock tasting Sauvignon that would normally cost £17.50 each…and…..for my palate it’s drain cleaner!

So…genuine question..who makes the valuation on a bottle of wine? Who decides that my £7 red ain’t as good as the £17 white?

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Guiness, does the price of a wine mean that it is superior if it costs a lot - I don't think so. There are wine snobs who think they sound so well-educated on the subject when they rave on and make comments like you have quoted. If I wanted to consume grass I would go out on the lawn, there's plenty there.

From a personal point-of-view I do not like red wine - absolutely hate it, and can't understand anyone enjoying this. However, I do like sweet, white, Moscato - which most wine snobs would turn their nose up at, throwing up their hands in horror - but do I care what others think, no! I have what I enjoy not what someone else says is 'earthy, grassy, with a touch of this or that'. Don't mind some other white wines but the sweeter the better.

So, with regard to your question, I haven't a clue as to who decides on the valuation of a bottle of wine, just pour yourself a glass of what you like and enjoy.

By the way, I absolutely detest beer....oops! I bet that brings a comment or two.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

You put the cart before the horse there and it deserves repeating,


Whether it's beer, w(h)ine, spirit or that stuff from the tap enjoy, ignore all naysayers and 'experts'.




:drunk: :cheers: :thepint: :drink: :silly:


:signbeer:

Re: Wine snobbery
 

to me who decides is dickheads, to whom money aint an option, i dont drink much at all due to medical rubbish these days, but wine is the only thing i have an odd glass of.myself i prefer white wine i buy chardonnay for us the missus and i love it and we get the cheapest from tesco which is £3-99 and we love it.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

whats a good wine is the one you like the taste of yourself and nothing else. if it happens to be from aldi or some poncy london shop for ten times the price its no or should not make the difference to how it suits you or not. same with food. not a foody as i only eat to live and no way i,d pay a near fortune for an artists squiggle on a plate with a mouthful of food on it just because it was made in some television chefs restaurant.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

join the club. one of the reasons i stopped drinking was the difficulty in buying dark mild beer without searching the county for it. you could actually add beer to the snob list where many beer drinkers big up those small craft beer manufacturers where the product they produce may be very similar to a mass produced one. there is a limit anyone can do with the ingrediants of both wine and beer.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

waitrose, booths and marks and spencer.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

More years ago than I care to remember,
the ship I was on went to Bordeaux on a show the flag type visit, while we were there a trip was arranged for the younger sailors to visit the top wine making Chateau of the region.
The owner of the vineyard showed us around and then took us to the wine tasting room.
He explained that the wine we were tasting was an immature Bordeaux not quite fit yet for drinking so we should roll it around our tongues and spit it into the buckets provided.
At this point, the Petty Officer in charge of our party stepped forward and reminded us this was a 'good will' visit and we represented the Royal Navy, spitting he said, was rude anyone that does is on a charge.
We enjoyed that red wine and all the buckets were a lot drier than we were at the finish.

(The owner kindly sent up extra bottles as he didn't realise we had a bit of a thirst that day).

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Less that is a lovely picture....and I really liked the story that goes with it.
Now onto Wine Snobbery.
We only ever had wine in our house at Christmas.
The children in the family got what was termed a ‘damp glass’....this was a small amount of wine topped up with water.
We Never asked what sort of wine it was...some of us drank it....some of us asked for squash instead....and one rascally boy tipped his into the guts of the piano(mother wondered why the keys were sticking)

For myself, I have no love of red wine...it is, in my world, only suitable for cooking with...and then not so much.
I can drink some white wines....but they have to be sweet....a Moscato, or there was a lovely German sweet wine that Wetherspoons sold...that was alright too.

I do not know who come up with the descriptions of the posh wines, but I think in the main, they are phooey.....and phoney too.
If someone tells you that a wine tastes of something and you believe them...then that is what you will taste.
That said.....I could not care less about their opinions....if I am having a glass of something, it has to be because it is what I like...rather than some written codswallop that is meant to make those who can taste those things feel superior.
Wine is about enjoyment, celebration...not snobbery.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Just gotta love military discipline & devotion to duty! :D:D

Re: Wine snobbery
 

It turned out well that day, Son.
Dry buckets all round..... sore heads next day?

Re: Wine snobbery
 

its snobbery to the dickheads in my view.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Mate you're 10 minutes into the dark side of England (Yorkingshire), head west & you'll find true deliverance & light in Lancashire, they've got a little brewer known as "Thwaites", I'd say their dark mild is quite an acceptable brew. ;)

Re: Wine snobbery
 

The definition of a good wine drinker?

someone on finishing his first says, "God, that was awful", as he holds his glass out for more!

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Here you go, wine snobbery at its best



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zn90cCMATo

Re: Wine snobbery
 

The picture is well, picturesque, however please forgive me if this turns out to be a bordello and not the place we actually visited.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

[QUOTE=Margaret Pilkington;1254707]L

I do not know who come up with the descriptions of the posh wines, but I think in the main, they are phooey.....and phoney too.
If someone tells you that a wine tastes of something and you believe them...then that is what you will taste.
That said.....I could not care less about their opinions....if I am having a glass of something, it has to be because it is what I like...rather than some written codswallop that is meant to make those who can taste those things f

the emporar,s new clothes come to mind.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

It matters not what it is I need the picture.
That it took you back to a memorable time...perhaps an incident that made you smile...is all that matters Less.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

I know nowt about wine, but a quick flick round the web found this bottle in an auction house website sale result which sold for £1300. It would choke me.

https://bid.tennants.co.uk/m/lot-det...955%3Fpage%3D2

Re: Wine snobbery
 

i call bottles like that chateau dickheads.;)

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Cashy, they do not care what you think about them, because if they can spend that on one bottle of wine then they do not circulate in our orbit.
Personally, I would rather have a mug of builders brew and a slice of cherry cake.
See, I told you I was a pleb.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Guinness I was reading again the first post you wrote when starting this thread and I have a question for you. Why do you belong to a wine club when you evidently don’t have much respect for the opinions of those running it? It would be so much easier to just visit your local bottle shop and buy what you enjoy drinking. You could even buy wine that you are not familiar with and give it a try without waiting for someone else to do this for you. You say you are a tightwad, well it seems to me that you are actually wasting money by being a member of that club.

If you are really interested in wine, why not buy a couple of books about the subject and educate yourself on the making of wine right from the preparation of the soil the grapes grow in to the end result. You would learn why the different blends, the different flavours, which grapes are used for the different wines, and perhaps it would help you understand why the different prices (although I agree that some are very much overpriced to my way of thinking). There is so much that goes into producing the bottle that eventually lands on your table, I think you might find it very interesting.

I wonder if by telling us that you belong to a wine club, and then belittling the choice of wine (drain cleaner?) and the description made by whoever runs the club, might in fact be a wee bit of snobbery on your part.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

from one pleb to another B and M do a great cherry cake with plenty of cherries in it.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

[QUOTE=Mark2009;1254724]I know nowt about wine, but a quick flick round the web found this bottle in an auction house website sale result which sold for £1300. It would choke me.

in the words of the yorkshireman, How Much.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Market influences mate, if folk want something that badly they'll pay over & above the odds if it is the only way they can get their mitts on it, more so if it is a limited resource.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Nah, it's out and out snobbery, they will sell their left testicle just to put it in their cellar so that they can say they have it.
But they won't open it, they wont share the joy with friends, it doesn't matter, the damned thing is probably corked anyway.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

[QUOTE=monkey hanger;1254744]That...is known as the Barnsley war cry!

Re: Wine snobbery
 

You are right...it is a case of buying it so that you can swank about it.
And isn’t that a sad thing...that it will not be opened to celebrate a birth, an engagement, a coming of age, a recovery from ill health, something that is a landmark event and deserves a toast.
It will languish in a dark cellar, when the liquid sunshine should be liberated to give pleasure.
The grapes would die in shame.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

just the same with many in the classic car movement. open the garage door on a nice weekend day to wash and show off their toy. then they,ll go to a show with it on the back of a trailer, drive it off, back on and trailer it home. do not get me started as well on the snobbish attitude of jaguar and MG owners that look down on us lesser mortals with more massed produced vehicles.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Psst, don't tell anyone but I'd have any model of either of those brands if only I could afford one, Yes, I'm a make do and mend car snob.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

love someone to do that with a jag xk120 or a mgB. at least the breakdown people would spot it quicker when the owner takes it out.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Let me point a few things out Sherlock…

I’m a member of the wine club because I get a very nice discount through my blue light card and I get to try a variety of wines every month.

I’ll assume by ‘bottle shop’ you mean ‘off licence’ which are few and far between around here and are more focused on lager, beer and alcopops and have a pitiful wine selection. Supermarkets tend to buy the same wines over and over again with little chance to try anything different. I’ve been in places that have their red wines in the cooler.

You assume I know nothing of wine production, where in my post did I say that? I questioned the validity of people who make a living out of telling others what they should drink based on nonsenical descriptions. To evidence this I used comments from my wine club blurb.

Are you really saying that if I read a ‘couple of books and educate myself’ that my palate will change and I will prefer the £17.50 wine over the £7.

The only snobbery here is from someone who thinks my palate needs educating by reading a couple of books

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Wow, Guinness, I certainly have got you all fired up. Let ME point out a couple of things. First of all, my name is not Sherlock but I do not take offence at you calling me this, even though I assume you are being supercilious and a tad sarcastic in your choice of names. I have been called other names which have not worried me either – sticks and stones and all that…

Did I say you know nothing about wine production? Where in MY post did I say that? How could I assume this when I know nothing about you? You have done a lot of assuming yourself as to my meaning. My suggestion re reading books is because I personally enjoy this pastime, and now and then you might find, like I do, that there is actually something you don’t already know that is interesting. No, I am not saying read a couple of books and your palate will change, maybe your attitude to perfectly innocent comments needs to change,

I had read into your remarks that you belittled the people who run your wine club and that you rubbished their comments, hence me not understanding why you bothered to belong to this club. So maybe my interpretation of your comments was as off the mark as yours is of mine.

By the way, you are correct in that a bottle shop is similar to off-licence – over here supermarkets are not licenced to sell alcohol, so there are shops that do this.

Personally I know nothing about wine, I do not like red wine, and I wouldn’t drink it even if it did cost $500 a bottle (that's another story). I am also not ashamed to confess to any wine buff that I drink Moscato, which I can buy for about $8.

Therefore, I think your interpretation of my snobbery is far off the mark.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Ey up DinG it's popcorn time.

:do-one:

Better hurry if you want a ringside seat.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Someone bring more Popcorn, I do believe the main act is about to start!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0P-16UCrvY

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Duly noted Less, am on the way, just picking up the popcorn & yellow Manbag! :D

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Hutch up, you two...make room for a little one.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Is this wine snobbery or just an example of what a collector will pay to own something rare, whether a painting, a sculpture, or a bottle of wine? Currently there is a bottle of Penfold’s 1951 Grange shiraz being auctioned over here. The selling price is expected to reach $120,000 or even more (that’s about 65,000 British pounds). Yes, that IS for one bottle - not the whole winery. I don’t know who the current owner is but there are less than 20 such bottles in circulation. Not sure about being in circulation – I think if you owned one of these you would have it in a very safe place, definitely not being circulated - imagine if it was handled by a butter-fingered person and oops! - sorry…..

This bottle is apparently extra valuable because it has the signature of the pioneering winemaker, Max Schubert, on it. Last year a bottle was sold for over $103,000.

So, if you have 65,000 pounds lying around you don’t want you too could become a snob of the wine variety. Doubt it will ever be known what it tastes like as doubt it will ever be opened, and after all these years in the bottle all I can say is ‘yuk!’ but I guess we will never know – some things improve with age….

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Re: Wine snobbery
 

I'm reminded of a point in my first job in the transport industry. The weather was attrocious and the overnight lorry from Maidstone which usually arrived about 7 am didn't get in until 4 pm. A chap had been ringing all day desparate to get hold of a case a wine that was on it. As soon as the lorry arrived he rushed over to collect it but when I went to pick it up, it slipped out of my hands which were freezing. He had an apoplectic fit yelling at me about how much the wine had cost. Fortunately the boss took my side saying it was just an unfortunate accident.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

My late father in law used to buy a bottle of Penfolds red wine every Friday night on his way home from work...he lived in Oz at the time....he said it was lovely....just like Vimto he said.
Now I have never found a red wine that I liked(have to admit to not having looked that hard).
I spotted a Penfolds bottle in a wine merchants in Southport....I bought it thinking of what my father in law said about it.

All I can say is....he must have been drinking different Vimto to me....it was ‘orrfible’.....I have never tasted drain cleaner, but that was what I imagined it tasted like.
I think it was Penfolds Bin1....it tasted like Penfolds Bin had

Re: Wine snobbery
 

wonder if they changed whats in the Penfolds thing since your father in law drank it. i know our tastes change over the years but some stuff we drank as youngsters seem much different if you try it nowadays.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Re the 65000 quid bottle of wine, anything is only worth what somebody will pay. If more than 1 person wants something the auction estimate can be exceeded by a long way. However things go in and out of fashion, and there is no guarantee you will get your money back if you come to sell.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

I am pretty sure that all wines vary year on year....it depends on the growing conditions and of course the sun and rain....but my Father in law led me to believe that this Penfolds wine was sweet and luscious.

I did not find it sweet...and it definitely was not luscious....I could not drink red wine if you paid me.
I have been told that I have a very ‘juvenile’ palate....which in layman’s terms means that I should stick to cream soda or Tizer.
Although I did once get legless on a glass (yes...just one glass) of Vinsanto in Santorini(this is technically red, but it is more like Port)...and far stronger than it tastes

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Well, I'm coming to the conclusion that I'm not a wine snob. This thread is an education, Wines have names? I always thought they just fell into four groups, Red, White, Fizzy and Pinkish!

Though I think Blue Nun should be reported to someone it isn't blue it's white.
:eek:

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Think the "Blue" is more likely in reference to the character of the one who decided to make it (probably had to do years of Hail marys & our fathers as repentance), than an actual descrption of the wine. :)

Re: Wine snobbery
 

This is not quite a Penfold story but it’s a wine one of sorts and I hope it makes at least some of you laugh. A number of years ago when my youngest daughter was still living at home, she filled an empty wine bottle with water and put a lot of red food colouring in it. When my husband got home after having had a few ales with some mates at the end of a hard day’s work, my daughter asked him if he would like a glass of wine with his meal. He declined. Later that evening she said ‘dad, wouldn’t you like a really nice glass of wine to relax with?’ and he said that if it would make her happy then he would have one.

My daughter poured out a glass of the coloured water and gave it to him. We were in the background waiting for his reaction when he took his first drink of it, but (as I have said) he had already enjoyed a few beers and he drank the glass of ‘wine’ without comment. My daughter asked him what he had thought of it. He replied that it was ok but he had thought it was a bit weak….it was then he heard our uncontrollable laughter. Took him a while to live that one down, was definitely not a wine snob and certainly not an expert.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

it was more than a glass but it happened to me as an early teen. had some proper alcoholic cyder in the house which i thought was just the normal pop. i,ll leave the rest to your imaginations.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

If you say so...

Re: Wine snobbery
 

the words,Blue Nun, makes me think of some benny hill type sketch in my mind in one of those chase scenes. high heels, stockings and suspenders and thats just the mother superior.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

I apologise in advance for being slightly off topic but this thread has had me racking by brain for several days since the mention of 'Blue Nun'. My first reaction when I saw the name but before I read the context was 'that was what my grandfather smoked'. Obviously this was not right and after days of serious head scratching I have come to the conclusion that his pipe tobacco was probably 'Three Nuns'. Can anyone confirm that there used to be a pipe tobacco of this name sold in round screw top tins about three inches in diameter?

Re: Wine snobbery
 

im sure there was.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Never heard of it!
https://i.servimg.com/u/f62/15/82/42/91/dsc_0124.jpg

It costs a bit more these days.
http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/102...g?v=1569781064

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Cashman, Less - thank you so much, now I see it the yellowish tin is the familiar one. My brain can now relax, its been like having one of those annoyingly addictive songs or jingles endlessly playing in it. I even spent hours in the garage going through all the tins of nails, nuts, bolts and washers etc that I inherited from my parents shed, lots of memories there but no Three Nuns.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

wonder if there is a reference somewhere back in the mists of time about three nuns. does seem an odd name for tobacco as well as for a pub between brighouse and mirfield on the A62 that has been there for years.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

If someone doesn't enlighten you as a result of the above posting call in the pub next time you are near. I've been quite surprised over the years at how many older pubs have a notice (often attached to an old photo) that gives a very brief history of the pub. If such a notice is not obvious ask the landlord. A proper landlord will usually know the pubs history although unfortunately modern business practices have tended to replace proper landlords with managers who tend to know only what the course taught them.

Re: Wine snobbery
 

Is this the one MH?

https://www.mirfieldreporter.co.uk/n...akhouse-783475

Re: Wine snobbery
 

cheers for that. hate these name changes for pubs you get nowadays. none of them seem to be for the better. suppose a reference to a christian group of women does not go down too well with non drinkers of another eastern religeon in todays twisted world.