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

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they personally have a more refined palate and anyone who is skeptical is just not as refined.

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I have no problem admitting that I don't have a refined palate. It pisses me off when I go to wine tastings and I'm listening to people explain the different flavor profiles they are getting and I really don't get it.
That is why I rarely buy bottles that cost more than $20. Just a waste at that point probably.

I'm no expert on this issue but I'll bring forth a couple of points as to why I think people think that more expensive wine is better.

1. When are you really drinking cheap wine? Probably at a lower end restaurant where the food isn't as memorable. I think the food compliments the wine as much as the wine compliments the food.

2. Do people give the same care to cheap wine that they do to expensive wine? If you came to my house, I'd probably have some pretty cheap wine to offer. I'm also not much of a wine enthusiast and what the hell, since it's the cheap shite why bother with serving it at the correct temperature or letting it breathe.

On the other hand if you go to someone's house that has a lot of more expensive wine, they're probably more likely to treat it with proper care. Serve it at the right temperature, let it breathe, etc..

Also you're probably in a different mental state when you consume cheap vs. expensive. Expensive might be reserved for more special occasions when you're already happy for whatever other reason. Cheap is a tuesday night when you don't feel like breaking the bank.

A lot of different factors that can go into such a thing that might cause an otherwise intelligent person to commit it to memory as being of better quality.

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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.

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I didn't say anything about having a refined palate. Sommeliers and wine professionals have refined palates, not me.

For me, it has more to do with exposure. Once you have been exposed to better tasting wines (which tend to be more expensive), you know the difference between that and a gas station wine.

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you know the difference between that and a gas station wine.

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On a somewhat related note, when I was driving through Kansas there was actually a gas station where you could do a wine tasting of their locally grown wines...they had some old guy that looked like Willie Nelson painted on the side of the gas station.

I'll see if I can find a pic I took of it and post it

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1. When are you really drinking cheap wine? Probably at a lower end restaurant where the food isn't as memorable.

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I never drink wine at restaurants unless its been brought there by someone at the table.

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Do people give the same care to cheap wine that they do to expensive wine?

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I have some experience with the two. My father loves wine, but he goes out of his way to find the best wines at under $40. I've had great Malbecs for $15-25. My FIL loves wine, but buys the best regardless of price. He loves tasting and I only wish I could have a palate like him. He does blind tastings where people bring their wines in beer bottles, ziploc's etc so no hint about the wine is given away. From himm, I've had a great Barolo that goes for about $45/bottle, but the best Barolo I've had is about $80/bottle. Not worth the extra $35 to me, but it is much smoother.

I've had the best of both worlds, and if it's my money I'm taking the $20 malbec over the $80 barolo. While the barolo is better, it isn't 4x better than a good malbec.

The most noticeable difference to me is with champagne. More expensive is just better, and like i said, I had no idea about the price before I tried them.

No way man, its just the price difference. If they didn't tell you BEFORE you drank it, you wouldn't even know they were two different styles of beer. Its all in your head, you said it yourself.

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No way man, its just the price difference. If they didn't tell you BEFORE you drank it, you wouldn't even know they were two different styles of beer. Its all in your head, you said it yourself.

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I didn't say that. I was assuming for the wine comparisons that they were at least comparing between the same styles.

Is this not the case?

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Why would you wish this upon yourself? Don't like having money?

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, we'll have plenty of money selling off the stock in his 9,000 bottle cellar. He has some wines that have been in there for close to 20 years.

I have no idea, I'm just playing devil's advocate to you and JT because you'll argue literally for forever. eta: Also, I'm feeling especially lazy and this is helping my procrastinate like a champ right now.