French Wine Goes Pop

You won't be able to tell the difference: Brian Palmer

(NEWSER) - Studies have shown that wine drinkers can’t tell the difference between cheap and expensive bottles, and may actually prefer the cheap stuff in a blind taste test—so why are we still paying at least 15 bucks for a supposedly “everyday” bottle of wine? Because, as other studies have shown, American consumers think they prefer more expensive wine—even if they're unknowingly comparing two glasses of the same vintage. Europeans, conversely, are happy to drink a $1.79 bottle or break out “a 1-euro tetra-pak of wine for guests,” writes Brian Palmer in Slate . More»

Seriously, nobody is happy about it

(NEWSER) - One from the Bad Taste Hall of Fame: A Long Island winery is getting slammed for its decision to release two new wines ... in honor of 9/11. Almost every detail about the wine, as reported by the LA Times , is cringeworthy. The price? $19.11 a bottle. What to expect from Lieb Family Cellars ' 9/11 Memorial Commemorative Chardonnay? It finishes "with a toasty vanilla flavor." The marketing? The grapes were grown "90 miles from the site of the World Trade Center"! The chunk of the proceeds that will be donated to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum? Just 6% to 10%. More»

We're not back in boom times, but things are looking more rosé

(NEWSER) - Olympic golds pale in comparison to this national feat: The US last year consumed more wine than France. And it's just one of many full-bodied wine stats for 2010. The Los Angeles Times shares the signs that Americans are trading their recession-minded ways for a good (or, at least, decent) glass of red:

• Shoppers flocked to bottles priced at less than $7 during the peak of the recession; sales of $7 to $14 bottles were up 5% last year.

You may not have heard of them, but they're 'thrilling'

(NEWSER) - Ready to move beyond familiar cabernet sauvignons and chardonnays? Eric Asimov of the New York Times suggests a dozen little-known but “thrilling” wines to explore:

• Assyrtiko: This white wine grape from the volcanic island of Santorini “produces dry, deliciously minerally wines” that pair well with seafood.
• Frappato: These grapes from southeastern Sicily make “lovely, fresh and lively wines that are delicious summer reds, especially when lightly chilled.”

Riesling, Oregon, Costieres de Nimes, and Kermit Lynch are your friends

(NEWSER) - Ordering wine in a restaurant can be intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. "Quit being afraid of wine!" wine blogger Nilay Gandhi writes for The Awl . "There's one truth to that wine list you're so terrified to negotiate: it's full of baloney." You can't go wrong by ignoring half of the vintages on it, which are "show wines. Stop ordering them." More»