http://blog.snooth.com/2008/03/05/looking-for-the-blue-fairy/ Find Better Wines Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:54:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.2 http://blog.snooth.com/2008/03/05/looking-for-the-blue-fairy/#comment-4803 alesha Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:49:03 +0000 http://blog.snooth.com/2008/03/05/looking-for-the-blue-fairy/#comment-4803 I tend to use wine guides as a suggestion, but I know several people who rely slowly on the wine guides to tell them what to do. I find the same is true with food ratings or guides as well. Have we forgotten our own individual voices or opinions? I tend to use wine guides as a suggestion, but I know several people who rely slowly on the wine guides to tell them what to do. I find the same is true with food ratings or guides as well. Have we forgotten our own individual voices or opinions?

]]> http://blog.snooth.com/2008/03/05/looking-for-the-blue-fairy/#comment-4804 philip Wed, 05 Mar 2008 18:13:49 +0000 http://blog.snooth.com/2008/03/05/looking-for-the-blue-fairy/#comment-4804 Robert - great mountaineering reference! As a climber myself, even the sherpa guide is being supplanted. Last time I was in the Himalaya we relied on a stream of very expensive weather data which gave us wind direction, strength and temperature at 1,000 meter intervals up and down the mountain. I think it was $300 per day for the feed. Robert - great mountaineering reference! As a climber myself, even the sherpa guide is being supplanted. Last time I was in the Himalaya we relied on a stream of very expensive weather data which gave us wind direction, strength and temperature at 1,000 meter intervals up and down the mountain. I think it was $300 per day for the feed.

]]> http://blog.snooth.com/2008/03/05/looking-for-the-blue-fairy/#comment-4805 Dan Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:22:42 +0000 http://blog.snooth.com/2008/03/05/looking-for-the-blue-fairy/#comment-4805 Good post, Robert. I am off to San Fran in a few moments to attend Gambero Rosso's Italian traveling road show. I have also had the good fortune of living and working on a vineyard in Italy. And I remember the first thing that my weather worn, wine growing mentors told me: we want to make a wine that when you finish the first glass, you want another. And this is the philosophy of the "three glass" rating system. According to Gambero Rosso there are six four ounce pours in a bottle of wine. The bottle should be shared between two people. If after the first glass you wish another, then you drink a second glass and the wine has been lifted in "rating." If after the second glass, etc., etc. Well, you must give the wine reviewers at Gambero Rosso credit. Of the 18,000 wines they review, they only give three glass scores to 300 wines (1 in 60). That is quite impressive (and discerning), but more impressive is the very simple approach to rating wines that any consumer could do at home. Devo andare; piu presto! Good post, Robert. I am off to San Fran in a few moments to attend Gambero Rosso’s Italian traveling road show. I have also had the good fortune of living and working on a vineyard in Italy. And I remember the first thing that my weather worn, wine growing mentors told me: we want to make a wine that when you finish the first glass, you want another. And this is the philosophy of the “three glass” rating system. According to Gambero Rosso there are six four ounce pours in a bottle of wine. The bottle should be shared between two people. If after the first glass you wish another, then you drink a second glass and the wine has been lifted in “rating.” If after the second glass, etc., etc. Well, you must give the wine reviewers at Gambero Rosso credit. Of the 18,000 wines they review, they only give three glass scores to 300 wines (1 in 60). That is quite impressive (and discerning), but more impressive is the very simple approach to rating wines that any consumer could do at home. Devo andare; piu presto!

]]> http://blog.snooth.com/2008/03/05/looking-for-the-blue-fairy/#comment-4806 mark Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:53:13 +0000 http://blog.snooth.com/2008/03/05/looking-for-the-blue-fairy/#comment-4806 Great post. Last weekend I was at a restaurant with some friends and asked after the Sauvignon Blanc from Trentino Alto Adige. The waiter told me "You have to understand that Alto Adige is the best wine region in Italy." Afterwards I quipped to my friends "Were I to repeat that information to someone else I might end up in a fist fight." Wine suggestions are important though -- I actively seek them out. Great post. Last weekend I was at a restaurant with some friends and asked after the Sauvignon Blanc from Trentino Alto Adige. The waiter told me “You have to understand that Alto Adige is the best wine region in Italy.” Afterwards I quipped to my friends “Were I to repeat that information to someone else I might end up in a fist fight.” Wine suggestions are important though — I actively seek them out.

]]> http://blog.snooth.com/2008/03/05/looking-for-the-blue-fairy/#comment-4809 Stephen Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:17:41 +0000 http://blog.snooth.com/2008/03/05/looking-for-the-blue-fairy/#comment-4809 Robert, very nice post. As an attendee this year, I can say that it was more than crowded... it was a zoo. The wines were quite good, though, and they displayed a wide range of tastes and styles, as they should coming from such a diverse wine-producing country. As for limiting oneself to only three glass winner, I couldn't agree with you more. Wine has always been, and will hopefully always remain a subjective experience and by tasting only a small subset of critically acclaimed wines you do yourself a disservice. Comparing Decanter ratings to Robert Parker ratings is a prime example, what one loves the other often doesn't. The key is to keep trying and to know what qualities you value. Robert, very nice post. As an attendee this year, I can say that it was more than crowded… it was a zoo. The wines were quite good, though, and they displayed a wide range of tastes and styles, as they should coming from such a diverse wine-producing country. As for limiting oneself to only three glass winner, I couldn’t agree with you more. Wine has always been, and will hopefully always remain a subjective experience and by tasting only a small subset of critically acclaimed wines you do yourself a disservice. Comparing Decanter ratings to Robert Parker ratings is a prime example, what one loves the other often doesn’t. The key is to keep trying and to know what qualities you value.

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