The Connection Between the Price of Wine and Taste

By Andrew Routledge

They say, never judge a book by it's cover. The same can be said about wine. I have one criteria that I use to judge a good wine and that is; how good is it to drink?

Having bought so many expensive wines only to be completely and utterly disappointed that, now, I have absolutely no inhibitions about buying wine for one tenth of the price. To find, good, cheaper wines I make a habit of going to my favorite wine merchants on days when he is having a wine tasting open day and taste a good few of the cheaper wines. Generally speaking, about one third of the wines are not worth a second thought. One third are about the standard that you might expect from a three star restaurant and one third are really worth drinking. On deciding which wines I really like, I buy about two or three crates of assorted wines ranging from cabernet sauvignon to beaujolais. On average, I do this about every couple of months.

I never let my dinner guests know that they are drinking bargain basement choices because all wine at my table is decantered. All that they ever know is that they are drinking a wine that is well worth drinking. It also give me a sense of pride to know that I am helping lesser vinyards to raise their heads and take their true place among the established vinyards as truely good wine making professionals.

It is often said that there is a lot of snobbery around wine drinking. I tend to agree with that to a degree because people who pay great sums for thier wine, often have little or no idea of the wine making process. I have, in the past, tasted really expensive wines to which hydrochloric acid has been added. And to those who know about wine, that is one of the most grievous cardinal sins. Hydrochloric acid, when diluted to a concentration of five percent is synthetic vinager. I don't know about you but I most certainly do not want vinager in my wine.

Adding hydrochloric acid is a technique that is sometimes used by winemakers who have fouled up the natural acid balance within the wine. By adding hydrochloric acid they are able to cover their mistakes to some degree and hopefully, those who are not experts in wine tasting will never know the difference.

If vinyards are faced with the eventuality of selling the majority of their years production as red wine vinager they are tempted to use such inferior tactics. So, beware. It's well worth Joining a good wine tasting course so that you'll know the difference between good and bad wine and indeed, learn how to enjoy your wine much more.

So, the message is that there is absolutely no connection between the drinkability of wine and price. You will find many, many excellent wines from non label wine makers. Take a little time to discover those you like and save yourself a load of money.

Hi, I'm Andy Routledge. Wine has been a major part of my life for a great many years and I really enjoy a good wine. I hope my article helps you to look at the topic of wine from a different viewpoint. I wrire articles for a living and if you need any articles writing please feel free to contact me at andrew@routledge-associates.com.