re: Freakonomics podcast on expensive wines: you're all full of s$%&

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Much like the time I argued with SFP about the ability to tell the difference between corn fed and grass fed beef. He argued it was a complete myth (for several pages), then admitted to never actually tasting grass fed beef.

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I don't think you can. I have "cow pooled" in my office for the past 4 years and I've tried everything from pure grass-fed to grass-fed but then topped off with corn in the final 3 weeks before the slaughter. What I get out of it is that I like beef, but would almost certainly fail a blind taste test vs other beefs.

If you listen to the podcast, he talks about a tasting he did where people couldn't even tell the same wine was the same wine! They even described larger differences between the same wine than they did for wines that were actually different.

I have run my own tastings before and have never seen anyone be even close to competent.

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I don't think you can. I have "cow pooled" in my office for the past 4 years

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ETA, Nevermind. I think I misunderstood what you were saying here.

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This wine is bashfully fruity with a whimsical hint of nut.

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I'd buy that.

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It's pretentious but not ostentatious.
We recommend it with roasted lamb that has been left out to cure at 70 degrees for two months

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Nope. Putting it back on the shelf.

I guaran-fricking-tee you that I can tell the difference between that Cupcake shite or the crap a friend gave me from a box and a bottle of Cakebread.



ETA:$20 bucks you say "no you can't"

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The articles are correct. People can't usually tell the difference between price of wine and the industry itself is partly a scam, especially with how the have let Robert Parker influence the wine market so greatly with his tasting points, etc.

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Winkface says that $15 is the cutoff and he is an expert on that distinction.

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Lets try it this way. If you were to go into a corner store and buy a $6 bottle of shite wine, are you really telling me that you would like it and think it taste good?

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Me personally? I don't really like wine to begin with, but I think it's highly unlikely I would like it more or less than something much fancier and costlier.

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but most people can tell shite wine from good wine.

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No, they cannot.

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Winkface says that $15 is the cutoff and she is an expert on that distinction.

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You are being ticky tack with my response. Just because I threw the number 15 out there, you know I'm not talking about 14 vs 16. Come on. Don't be like that. That's stupid.

Never said I was an expert by the way.

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No, you can't.

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I know I personally can tell the difference between a good tequila and a bad tequila, and that's in large part because they are chemically different, the bad tequila is a blend while the good tequila is 100% agave. I would imagine there are similar production/input quality differences between the extreme low end wine and anything that is probably $10 and up. Is the difference between a $4 bottle and $10 bottle really all marketing expense and brand premium rather than product quality?

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I bet you can't tell the difference between chilli with chilli powder and actual chilli peppers.

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I bet you can suck my fricking nuts

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the majority of people? no. but there are some of us who have more refined palates that can distinguish between types and quality.

and I agree with wink.. easy to tell the difference between $5 and $20. anything in the teens is pretty much the same (especially if you're buying stuff at a grocery store and not in a wine shop or in a state with a large wine culture.

and as far as difference between a $20 bottle and a $150 bottle.. depends on the wine of course, but an experience wine drinker can usually tell the difference if the expensive bottle is of high quality or inherently lends itself to being more developed.

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I think you severely underestimate the power of suggestion

You think the cheap stuff doesn't taste as good because your mind is telling you before you even take a sip that it must not taste as good. Same with the more expensive wines.

And I think it's pretty ironic that in such a thread people are kicking toddlers out of the way to rush to the front of the line and say that they personally have a more refined palate and anyone who is skeptical is just not as refined.

Comical really