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Quim
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What's wine taste like?
See, now that's a very good question!
There are at least four or five basic elements that make wine what it is besides what is blandly known as "taste". And of course taste is a much broader concept in this context.
There is, in order of inspection and experience, the color of the wine (best observed against a white background, your shirt cuff will do), the behavior of the wine in your glass (sometimes known as, does it have legs?), the nose (put it deep in there and take a big whiff, and then come up for air, and do it again a few times), and then, yes, the taste (which itself is broken down into the several parts of you mouth's sensory system), and the impact (which is related to the noise that the wine makes when it hits the back of your throat, that last sensory station, but actually refers to the overall physical experience in the mouth (similar to what smokers enjoy), including what lingers last (kinda what's left on your lips).
     
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 4:40 pm on April 23, 2011
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Quim
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QQ, it is difficult to say this without sounding like the worst of snobs, but the truth is that most people cannot tell the valuative difference between a $20 wine and a $3,000 wine (e.g., a Petrus or a half decent Montrachet),
any more than most people can tell the difference between a Pollack and the latest kindergarten drippings,
or a J.S. Bach versus an Adams or Glass,
or a Ferrari from a Ford,
Okay, perhaps the last one isn't true, unless you're a moron, or from way, way out of town. But that's exactly my point, just because you can't recognize the qualitative difference doesn't mean there isn't one (imagine if you will an amazonian aborigine being asked to choose between a Bugatti and one of those clan-friendly minivans with the sliding doors on each side). If there wasn't a valuative difference, why would the efficient marketplace support the kind of prices you describe (black swans aside) ?
Now, whether drinking a $1,000 bottle of wine is "worth it," well that depends entirely on how much you enjoy it and how much of a hole it puts in your pocket. I may be capable of truly enjoying it, right down to the tingling in my toes, but it would not be worth it for me to spend that kind of money on wine. I would rather have spent it on whores.
But for some guys, putting a hole in their pocket is the entire point. What better way of showing everyone else at the table what a big cock (big balls?) you have than by shelling out a grand or two for a 1958 bottle of decent Bordeaux, which, when it arrives, perplexes everyone, because all they taste is old wine, but having been told the price, they think there must be something they are missing, and they are right of course, only what they don't know is that their rich friend is faking it too.
Now, there is the other type of high roller, rare, but existent enough to fuel wine auctions all over the world, who both has the money to spend (meaning, it is no more than what any of us spend on our gym membership each year in equivalent purchasing power), and who actually, truly appreciates wine in all of its complexities. For good wine is truly like a trip into some exotic landscape with untold wonders to unfold. But about that, more another time.
My point is only that, some people play golf in order to be accepted into the world of money and influence, others play the game because they love it. Everyone, however, who wants to play on the well-manicured grass has to be able to afford it, or figure out a way to sneak in and play like he can.
That's where the professionals wine tasters enter the picture. They are generally speaking not that well paid. (The likes of Robert Parker are far and few between.) Most of them are retailers, like any others, making a basic living, except many of them worship wine, in a way that few folders at the Gap love cotton wear. And they chose their profession because there are lots of opportunities in their line of work to occasionally taste great wine. And when that happens, they savor it as few do.
So my advice to you QQ is not to stop enjoying wine (because you clearly do on occasion), but just don't pay any more than your taste buds can enjoy or afford. For some people of course there is an incredible creep in terms of their enjoyment of wine. Where once a $30 bottle of wine was good enough, now it is rare that anything under $50 will do. But this creep begins, as a general matter, somewhere in the mid to late $20's, and requires a willingness to try some exotic varietals (Charbon, Monestrel, etc.), and not just your old Cabs and Chards.
But what I was explaining to a good friend of mine recently who didn't know the first thing about wine, is that anything you say about it, anything you experience in it, is all good. We winos are Buddhists at heart, accepting of all kinds.
My sister thinks all wine smells and taste sour. I have no idea what she is talking about, but far from me be it to tell her she is wrong. If that is what she smells and tastes, so be it for her. I wish it were otherwise, but I cannot criticize it.
If she had spent countless hours, that might have been spent more usefully, tasting wine after wine, to the tune of thousands of bottles in just the last decade, then she too might be able to perceive licorice and blackberry jam where others just smell fermentation and alcohol.
As for $20,000 call girls, never tried one, but my limited experience at the $7 to $300 (my most expensive one) firing range has taught me that price seldom dictates quality (there are always exceptions to the rule). Gucci and Prada are, in part, also exceptions to the rule regarding quality (although here we are slipping into a conversation about the immense power of branding, which has only limited application to the p$p world, although see Russians and G Clubs). "Quality" of course can mean different things in different contexts.
But if you've ever owned a Tumi bag, you know you didn't waste that premium, if you have ever driven a well-built German car, you never want to go back to a much cheaper American, if you have ever worn genuine leather, you aren't going to care about PETA no more, if have ever worn a bespoke suit, you are going to avoid the rack from then on, if you have ever tasted real Thai food, you will know that the airplane ticket was worth it (for the food and the limitless BBBJs that is), if you have ever spent a whole afternoon on Soy Six, well... never mind, it is another huge exception to the rule 
My general rule of thumb, mind you, is never to spend more on anything than I can afford to lose and not let it bother me more than a few days. And obviously don't spend more if you can't tell a difference in quality. Both of these rules hold true when it comes to art, cars, women, or wine.
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Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 1:43 am on April 25, 2011
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BobFiveHead
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Would the $3000 bottle of wine have the same impact if it was experienced without knowing that it was the $3000 bottle of wine? I wonder how much name recognition is part of the game.
I played Pebble Beach a couple times a couple years ago, there was a sale at the time and I was able to get on for $375, and it was the greatest 4 hour and 9 minute high of my life, and well worth the price. I imagine a good bottle of wine to one who loves it would be the same as a round of golf at Pebble for one who love golf, expensive but worth it.
For the record the first round at Pebble I kept things together until 18 where I hit 3 shots OB right on my second shot. I ended up shooting a 97 or something. I went back a month after that because of my failure on 18 and shot a 87, which I was happy with, although I had a horrible round driving the ball.
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 10:14 pm on April 26, 2011
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romeland
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I have friends in the UK, he late 50's and seriously wealthy, she his Thai wife, early 30's and nice enough.
He is seriously into his wines, has cellar in his home and loads of books etc pinpointing vineyards and all that crap.
One of the things that bugs me, is when his wife tastes a wine and nods... oh yess, that is nice.... as if she is an expert, when in reality her tastebuds are qualified for whisky and ice and a mouthful of dick. In my opinion, wine either tastes good or not and any price over say $25 a bottle is just designed for people to flex their wealth muscles.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Sexy Bangkok Girls
Posted on: 10:31 pm on April 26, 2011
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wackyjacky
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I own a cigar bar, so Quim, you're invited anytime. We'll crack my last '61' La Tour with some 10 yr old Cohiba Sublimas from my humidor. IMO one has to pay stupid multiples for that last 5-10% of quality in audio, cars, food, wine, liquors, cigars, women etc. Is it worth it ? - Up to your wallet. It's all about the face mostly. It's a shame, but most people don't have the pallet to appreciate the remarkable gift they're getting. Quim - you do. wj
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 11:21 pm on April 26, 2011
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tezza
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Let me know when you come across a 1 gallon cask of my favourite wine there Quim - Chateau De Heineken - then we'll have a skulling competition. None of this poncing around sniffing and wetting the palette stuff
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Bangkok Women : Meet Beautiful Thai Girls
Posted on: 5:22 am on April 27, 2011
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koolbreez
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Most people that can't tell the difference between good wine, and mediocre wine also use the salt shaker on their food before they taste it....lolol.
Price alone does not dictate a good wine.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 3:05 pm on April 29, 2011
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Quim
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Koolbreez, I find your first comment very observant. Dead on.
As to price, it is just one factor, but in the world of wine, it is actually a much fairer, and easier, indicator than in many other worlds. Meaning price does follow quality pretty closely.
Especially between $30 and $50 dollars a bottle, you are unlikely to hate the wine (whether you love it is another matter), but if you order a wine under $10 bucks you are most definitely never going to fall in love.
So, price, at some point, does tell you whether you are drinking a good wine or not. But you still don't know whether it is worth it, or whether you are still indifferent.
Agreed, above $50 dollars, it is hard to start telling the quality difference unless you actually are trained on wine. But if you bother to buy a wine for more than $50 a bottle and don't actually know there difference, well, then you deserve to have wasted your money.
On the other hand, there are always exceptions, as in the world of wine, as in the world of p$p. Meaning that some expensive bottles of wine are shit (and I am not talking about the corked variety here, or otherwise obviously flawed examples), but rather just the wine that, for whatever reason (market manipulation, branding, bribing) is more expensive than what you would expect.
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Thai Girls : Meet Active Thai Girls
Posted on: 12:59 am on April 30, 2011
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Bimlee
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Need to know if there is any list of wine cellar /shop available here ? Normally, we buy liquer from villa market or food court, shopping malls,which are good enough. Any additional information would be greatly appreciated.
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 10:02 am on May 17, 2011
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CalEden
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Oops! Forklift drops wine container, smashing bottles of Australian shiraz worth $1 million
By Associated Press, Published: July 22
ADELAIDE, Australia — An unsteady forklift dropped a container full of fine Australian wine worth more than $1 million, smashing most of the bottles. The winemaker says he’s “gut-wrenched, shocked and numb” after the loss of his flagship shiraz.
Sparky Marquis of Mollydooker Wines lost a third of his Velvet Glove Shiraz production after the accident that destroyed all but one of the 462 cases bound for the United States. Each bottle of the Mollydooker wine sells for $200.
Marquis said Friday that when workers opened up the dropped container, “it was like a murder scene. There was red everywhere.”
He said the wine was fully insured.
The accident has crippled Mollydooker’s U.S. launch in September. It will also impact the wine market in Australia.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 10:54 am on July 23, 2011
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