Forget Snobbery: Drink Cheap Wine

You won't be able to tell the difference: Brian Palmer
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 2, 2011 12:03 PM CDT
Forget Snobbery: Drink Cheap Wine
Brian Palmer thinks you should go straight to the cheap section.   (Photo: Business Wire)

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.

Sure, professional wine critics can tell the difference between cheap and not-so-cheap wines, but “here’s the question they can’t answer for you: So what?” Palmer writes. “If hints of cassis, subtle earthiness, and jammy notes don’t interest you, you are not a lesser person." Let wine critics buy the expensive stuff while you drink whatever appeals to you. Click for the full column, but don’t expect any recommendations: Those “are great for cars or televisions or overpriced wines, because bad decisions are expensive. If you hate your cheap bottle of wine, just uncork another.” (Click to see how music changes the taste of wine.)

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