Unrated Bottle of Pinot Consumed

[KMP]

From the current issue of Prince of Pinot:-

A friend of mine found himself running late for a wine tasting dinner. Realizing that he would not have time to stop by his 5,000 bottle wine cellar at home and consult his computer to access the scores of every wine, he made a hurried stop at the nearest wine retailer. According to a witness at the store, he was unable to get the attention of the store’s resident wine expert and appeared quite jittery. What happened next in the store is uncertain. Apparently, he reached for a bottle of Pinot Noir for which the store had not posted a “shelf talker” with a high score noted from a major wine publication. Still shaken by the ordeal several days later, he said, “I don’t know what came over me. I thought I remembered something about the wine and the producer, but I was in a hurry and did not know the score on the wine.” When he reached the door at the wine tasting dinner, he was in the dark about whether the wine had received a score above 90. He actually tried to discourage the host from pouring the wine, exclaiming “Parker says this wine is still closed and needs a few years to open up.” The host, however, was undeterred, and said he would gladly decant the wine. Even though the wine perfectly complemented the food and showed very well, my friend was beside himself with grief about the group consuming an unrated wine. He apologized profusely to the group and promised never to do this again. Fortunately, no one in the group was harmed.

[Wayno]

Dear oh DEAR

[GraemeG]

Mike,
Sad to relate, people take these kind of crazy risks every day. Buying wines on the recommendation of some shmuck who's actually SELLING it (how's that for a conflict of interest), tasting - even buying - wines they've never heard of, and that a critic hasn't reveiwed, even purchasing LESSER vintages.
I wonder that more people aren't tragically harmed by such dangerous practices. The critics are the ones taking the risks for us. Why expose yourself? If a reputable critic has rated something 89, why would you bother with it? If he gave it 78 (and you ever found out about it), you'd be mad to risk your sanity by exposing yourself to it. And as for something that hasn't been rated by a critic AT ALL - God, it's like playing with a live grenade.
I can't believe someone would actually endanger the palates of a tableful of innocent diners by bringing an unrated wine. How irresponsible can you be?
cheers,
Graeme

[Michael Sinclair]

A humorous story!!!

[Gavin Trott]

Buying wines on the recommendation of some shmuck who's actually SELLING it (how's that for a conflict of interest)

Hey

I resemble that remark!

[Winelover]

God, is there really people out there that only buy because Halliday or Parker or someother person gave it a good score? If there is, these people need their head read. I mean how about developing your own palate and deciding what you like or don't like. I've seen wines rate as low as 74 by one critic and 92 by another over the years and it is all subjective. Stop being sheep and start to try and be the sheppard! JMO

[Wayno]

I reckon you're probably preaching to the converted, Winelover.