tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post2021355586462764386..comments2024-03-18T04:47:16.199-07:00Comments on The Gray Report: Why people don't complain about flawed winesW. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-91850059207973362972011-07-27T03:25:58.143-07:002011-07-27T03:25:58.143-07:00Good post. The percentage of bottles that a person...Good post. The percentage of bottles that a person will pick as being tca tainted varies with the individual. There are a number of studies (eg AWRI) that have shown this. People tend to get defensive about it if they can't detect it, but it has no reflection on their abilities as a taster apart from the tca detection. Armed with this, nobody can tell you that a bottle isn't corked....Matt Thomsonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-9788191237522031462011-07-26T13:58:13.616-07:002011-07-26T13:58:13.616-07:00I think it all comes down to inexperience or lack ...I think it all comes down to inexperience or lack of confidence of the tasters. One should always speak up, just be polite about it. Wine is made from fruit and 99.9 percent of the time when it smells like a flooded basement or stewed fruit there's a problem with the cork or the winemaking. A real wine culture accepts these questions openly and uses them to grow everyones knowledge.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-22548761424442667232011-05-21T17:47:20.206-07:002011-05-21T17:47:20.206-07:00Erika: Adult group psychology is subject to differ...Erika: Adult group psychology is subject to differences in culture and generation. That said, most major psychology experiments are conducted with undergrads as the test group, so it's hard to believe that groupthink only begins to occur when people hit 30 -- or that academics are immune to it.<br /><br />The key difference between me and the sommeliers was profession. While I often describe W. Blake Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-18554924236922417862011-05-21T16:54:18.123-07:002011-05-21T16:54:18.123-07:00At the risk of sounding generational, do you think...At the risk of sounding generational, do you think this phenomenon is generational? I taste and drink with a goodly group of 20-something undergrad and grad student types and, no doubt about it, they're one outspoken bunch. Their (or should I say our) version of outspoken sometimes leans precariously towards excessively forward, but I wouldn't call it rude. The attidude is more of a no Erika Szymanskihttp://wineoscope.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-59720528647802905782011-05-21T15:14:44.142-07:002011-05-21T15:14:44.142-07:00Your must hardcore reader drove all the way to the...Your must hardcore reader drove all the way to the Treehouse restaurant at Castle Alnwick in Northumberland to drink a Tormaresca tonight. <br /><br />Yeah, triple bonus pts for initiative.King Krak, I Drink the Winehttp://www.forkandbottle.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-42163378802772429422011-05-20T18:43:38.905-07:002011-05-20T18:43:38.905-07:00Having worked for Michael Bauer, I know what he wo...Having worked for Michael Bauer, I know what he would say: You should contact the restaurant manager. I rarely take that step myself because it seems like the nuclear option: the wait staff will apologize through gritted teeth, and I'll wonder on every dish if they spit in it. But in the case of the Napa restaurant, if you're going to go there in the future, it's probably worth doing,W. Blake Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-59529590765429819882011-05-20T17:34:22.517-07:002011-05-20T17:34:22.517-07:00Thank you! I feel vindicated - in addition to the...Thank you! I feel vindicated - in addition to the Napa town incident, this has also happened to me in Yountville at a fairly well-known restaurant - very similar to your experience - generally though, when they begin to argue, and I finally tell them I am a winemaker and very likely can smell cork taint from a mile away, they give up dejected. But it does detract from the entire experience. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-63020738735452976942011-05-20T17:06:50.974-07:002011-05-20T17:06:50.974-07:00Anon: I have had exactly that experience in restau...Anon: I have had exactly that experience in restaurants at least twice. As I wrote, I'm not the most sensitive person to TCA, but if it reaches a certain level, I'll notice it. Once at an expensive restaurant in San Francisco I tried to send back a corked wine and the sommelier (not the head somm) came over to argue with me. Eventually she said what your Napa sommelier said, "But I&#W. Blake Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-32562040079345306392011-05-20T16:31:22.105-07:002011-05-20T16:31:22.105-07:00Interesting post - someone famous (perhaps a Presi...Interesting post - someone famous (perhaps a President of the US who shall remain nameless because I don't want to open that can of worms) said: "One man with courage is a majority..." So seems like you, Mr. Gray, were the man with courage... Perhaps it's more because people are told to be polite and not complain and the feeling is that saying the wine is bad is a complaint Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-64235134081798668292011-05-20T15:47:20.087-07:002011-05-20T15:47:20.087-07:00just bought a bottle of russian river pinot noir f...just bought a bottle of russian river pinot noir from a local wine shop - the owner is a great guy, knows i am an aficionado with better than average knowledge due to years in the restaurant biz - don't pretend to be a sommelier, but... got the wine home, from the second the foil was off i knew it was bad - the cork , despite being soaked, broke , the first whiff in the bottle was funky, notMichele Rothnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-59460772424327625472011-05-20T15:24:07.683-07:002011-05-20T15:24:07.683-07:00And this kind of rejection you received from the p...And this kind of rejection you received from the professionals in your group is what makes people decide to drink crafted beers instead of wine by the glass. Less hassle and you don't have to worry about being embarrased....Lauranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-43773699924343689632011-05-20T13:11:40.189-07:002011-05-20T13:11:40.189-07:00I am a WSET diploma student in it for my own masoc...I am a WSET diploma student in it for my own masochistic pleasure (in our tasting group are some top sommeliers and wine importers), at a blind tasting (all tastings are blind) for Bordeaux wines, one of six wines was corked, some thought it was a very good wine with great complexity, I thought it was corked and as is the system called it faulted and moved on, then we all agreed it was corked andAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-2277762672157916432011-05-20T12:00:09.964-07:002011-05-20T12:00:09.964-07:00This has happened to me a whole bunch of times, so...This has happened to me a whole bunch of times, so I can confirm that it's not just you.<br /><br />I remember a Vilmart wine at a trade tasting in SF, for example, having a cheesy aroma and I couldn't get one person to say that this wasn't atypical, much less off.King Krak, I Drink the Winehttp://www.forkandbottle.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-80773641702578994562011-05-20T10:01:28.010-07:002011-05-20T10:01:28.010-07:00There was one table in particular, pouring only Tu...There was one table in particular, pouring only Tuscan wine, that had the most "offensive" set of wines to me..All their wines, from Rosso di Toscano to Brunello tasted of some flaw, like a mix between overripe, slightly rotting fruit and nail polish remover. I wracked my brain thinking of whether I've tasted Brunellos with this before and cannot think of an instance. Similarly I Beauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05835422435318171027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-71506311159600217782011-05-20T09:50:05.858-07:002011-05-20T09:50:05.858-07:00Beau: The last group of wines I got at the Concour...Beau: The last group of wines I got at the Concours Mondial this year were all really funky -- barnyardy past the point of pleasurable. They were light-bodied and slightly brown colored and we guessed they were bad Burgundies. Turns out it was a flight of Barolos. Intellectually I believe I enjoy Barolo, but I wouldn't have wanted to drink any one of those wines. Of course, wines submitted toW. Blake Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-50271261108931616472011-05-20T09:13:07.937-07:002011-05-20T09:13:07.937-07:00I sometimes refrain from commenting out of mistrus...I sometimes refrain from commenting out of mistrust for my own palate. Call it a lack of confidence. <br />Last week I was at a portfolio tasting in LA and I tasted through various Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello as well as lesser known Italian wines. A lot, but not all of the Brunellos tasted flawed to me, with high levels of volatile acidity...At least that's what I thought. My lack of Beauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05835422435318171027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-2402223884602151662011-05-20T09:08:07.015-07:002011-05-20T09:08:07.015-07:00I admit I'd usually make a mild, local fuss ab...I admit I'd usually make a mild, local fuss about the wine, and if I found no support, I'd probably just let it go and make a mental note to never bother with that wine again. As a winemaker, it feels unseemly to be anything but polite about other folk's wines - but obviously you did everyone a service by being a bit pushy in this situation, it would have been a disservice to all if NR Carlsonhttp://www.tilth.blogspot.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-60570101254207496992011-05-19T11:29:13.691-07:002011-05-19T11:29:13.691-07:00I never keep quiet when I think a wine is genuinel...I never keep quiet when I think a wine is genuinely flawed, no matter who's in attendance. But then, I'm kind of a cad...1winedudehttp://www.1winedude.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-28469606168319185832011-05-19T10:14:23.420-07:002011-05-19T10:14:23.420-07:00I always speak up and believe everyone should. I ...I always speak up and believe everyone should. I had a winemaker pouring at a tasting who did not check the wine. After telling him it was flawed, he pulled all of the wine after checking the open bottle and a second bottle. It was a flaw that I didn't recognize by name. He was appreciative but what about all of those people who tasted the wine who may not have known much about wine? They Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-10216720124546179072011-05-19T09:40:23.666-07:002011-05-19T09:40:23.666-07:00Very interesting 'experiment' if you could...Very interesting 'experiment' if you could set it up (but you didn't have to!) I've been in similar situations and I feel like no one wants to be that person to speak up in fear that they are wrong or their palette is off. There's no shame in making sure you are served good wine.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com