For my birthday, Jean got me a subscription to the Wine Advocate, since I enjoy a glass of wine with dinner now and then. I first found out about this 'newsletter' by reading a profile of Robert Parker in The Atlantic Monthly, a good magazine. But my needs are pretty simple, and I've been happy to imbibe from a $10 bottle purchased at the local grocery store, for the most part.
This weekend, I decided to perform an experiment to see how 'simple' a wine I could consume without wrinkling my nose. I entered the grocery store wine section, moved to the import aisle, and sought out Chilean wines. Why? Because I had fond memories of a particular Pinot Noir bought in Lake Grove early in our Oregon residency. So I found the Chilean wines, selected a Cabernet Sauvignon for $6, and a much larger bottle of Pinot Noir for $6 again! Really testing conventional wisdom here, folks.
So this evening I opened the large bottle, and it was only then that I noticed that the larger bottle was not from Chile, but rather from Slovenia. Oops. Tried it. Didn't spray it across the room. I've had better, but I've had worse that cost much more. So I don't know what this experiment proves, other than I don't know wine from grape juice.
P.S. - I skipped the Australian wine section. I could only hear the voice of Eric Idle, intoning in a broad Aussie accent: "Many people poo-poo the Australian table wine."
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