Sunday, June 24, 2012

Posting again & the Sideways Pinot Noir

Well, it's been eight months now since my last post. I simply haven't had the time to dedicate to posting, what with being in school and all. But now I'm settled in to life this summer, which I'm spending in Michigan's greater Detroit area working for GE. One of the goals I had for this blog was to branch off from its theme of mediocrity. And that's just what this post will do.


I enjoy a good Pinot says Paul Giamatti's character Miles from Sideways. Throughout the movie, he returns to this theme of the Pinot Noir grape - how it's such a difficult, finicky grape to grow, but its captivating but subtle flavors truly shine when the winemaker puts in his knowledge and attention. The Pinot Noir truly is a difficult grape to grow, but that doesn't mean every bottle you find will be expensive.

You'd be hard pressed to find another subject that can vary so widely from über snobbish to simply humble. When too many people think of wine, unless it's a box of Franzia, it's a venture into pretentious territorry. In movies and TV, I see it constantly. The affluent flaunt their wealth by buying the most expensive bottles of wine simply because they are told it is the best - wine spectator gives it a 98 or something. In my opinion they enjoy throwing around their money more than they do drinking the wine. They are flaunting their ignorance. It is because of many snobs that I take crap for talking about wine the way I do. I truly enjoy drinking, and for that reason I enjoy raving about it, just like Miles. Yes, maybe he gets snobbish at times, admittedly it's difficult to avoid altogether, but I do recognize his sincere enjoyment of wine. 

In my opinion it is not acceptable to buy a $300 bottle of wine unless you can explain why it is better than the $20 bottle. The price tag is not an answer. Yes, the more you pay the more likely you are to get a higher quality wine, but that does not mean that there are not very good inexpensive wines. The other issue I have is when people buy really cheap wine because they think that decent wine is expensive. Not true. It's not worth it in my opinion to buy a $5 bottle of something that's complete shit when you can buy a good bottle for only a couple dollars more. Good wine can be very accessible, you just have to know what to look for. 

This brings me to my recommendation. Mirassou Pinot noir is one of the best values on the market today. I have paid as little as $7 and at most $11 for it. It is a good red by any standard, even up against many top rated wines, and excellent for the price. 

I consult many a list on good wine deals. Not all are good, but many are. Some may surprise you. The Mirassou certainly did. As I continue blogging I will uncover more of these gems for you. 

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