Oct 08 2008
Wine Magazines
This is the 12th installment find the 1st one here
The more new wines I tried, the more I wanted to read about them, find out how they were made, where they came from and what to look for in the new ones to try. A few years ago I bought a copy of the “Wine Spectator” and was immediately taken in by it. There was so much information for a novice like me that I was able to finally slice, dice and analyze it for hours on end. I was particularly “smitten” by the 100 point wine rating scale. I soon found that almost all the rated wines were not available in the local grocery stores where I had been buying my wine. I figured most of them to be out of reach and not available in our area being from California, Washington and Oregon and were simply out of the question for me to buy and try.
I decided on one of my outings to stop by an up-scale wine store in Naples, Florida to search out some of the varieties I’d been reading about and was constantly urged to buy in the wine magazines. As I entered the shop I realized there were only two other customers there along with the man behind the counter. He was cordial enough, smiled and asked what I was looking for in a wine and if he could help. I told him very generally what I was looking for and he pointed me to the correct section of wooden racks holding rows and rows of bottles. I moved in close and started reading labels and very quickly realized that I did not recognize anything that I was observing. I’m sure my face got red, but I studied each wine – especially the price. Holy crap! I can’t afford this stuff.
I remembered the one California Pinot Noir that had been near the top of the 100 point tasting chart in more than one magazine, so I started to really search for it. They must carry it especially since it is that popular. After searching the entire section without seeing it anywhere, I wandered back to the counter (where the three guys were probably talking about me). Again, the shop keeper asked if he could help me, so I blurted out the name of the highly rate wine. They all three began to laugh their fool heads off. “You can’t buy a wine like that in Florida! It’s a small prestigious winery with limited production.” Still giggling, one of the guys told me, that, “At certain times of the year, you may see it available in the Ritz-Carlton for around $28 per glass – but worth every penny of it!” Yeah right! I’d never paid that much for a bottle, much less a glass! I smiled and said something generically gracious while the others continued to chuckle. I left and never went back.
Jim Albinger (Andrew’s dad) grew up in smalltown northwest Iowa in the 1950’s. He has been writing down his experiences looking back at all that has shaped his current wine tasting hobby. Expect to see more of Jim’s writings here at offthecork.com.
