No, not an expose of the cheapest wine in America, but an old story about Ernest Gallo, who once offered a customer two wines to choose from: a 5¢ bottle and a 10¢ bottle (this was back in the depression). The buyer chose the 10¢ bottle; the wines were the same.
A new discovery of mine, the American Association of Wine Economists, takes this further, noting recent studies from the National Academy of Sciences, showing fairly conclusively that people ascribe better qualities to wine that has a higher price attached to it. In it’s own study, the AAWE found absolutely no correlation between wine price and quality.
I for one am not terrribly surprised. Wine knowledge is generally so weak, and shrouded in mystery, snobbery, and jargon, that the average consumer has nothing to go on but price.
Meant to write some more before going away, but I hope you had a very merry one.
Here’s an article I wrote for 4Food about winter soup, offies (longer article to come) and Port Wine Jelly. Yum.
I’ve been in Cuba, so I’ve got a few new things I want to try - currently wondering what I could do with Plantains, as I got rather addicted to them - any ideas? Also: more rum!
In the mean time: check out this excellent Mind Hacks article: Higher price makes cheap wine taste better. We are not surprised.
I wrote an article for the 4food website which has just gone live. I talk about making wine in the South of France, cooking for a crowd, and surviving the aftermath.
Check it out.
If you’re interested in the wine harvest, I wrote a slightly less news-y piece about it a while ago: the Wine Diaries. There’s a car crash, a lot of talk about grapes, blood and fertility, and some sex. Probably not for the faint-hearted.
