the wine winner

So despite all the rain here this past Saturday, Stefan and I braved a trip out to Sonoma to do a few wedding to-dos: nailing down our rehearsal dinner locale, scoping out some other hotel options, and tasting a final catering contender with some friends. 

Since these two new-to-the-Bay-Area pals hadn't been up in wine country before, we suggested a quick stop-over at a near-by tasting room to sample the region's sweet nectar.  After google-mapping our surroundings, we decided upon Stag's Leap - a winery we've been meaning to try ever since learning about their Cab winning the 1976 Paris Wine Tasting after watching Bottle Shock.

When we arrived, however, we realized we weren't the only ones interested in learning what all the fuss was about.  After we shook off our soaking coats, the friendly hostess shuffled us through the sea of visitors to an empty wine barrel table and presented us with the spot's wine tasting menu. 

Our mouths dropped when we saw their prices - $30 for a tasting?  And only waived with a purchase of two bottles of $100+ wine?  We've done a lot of these and this seemed steep, but we reserved judgment.  Perhaps their wines warranted such a cost.  We ordered our tastings and waited for them to bring us a bountiful basket of crostinis for us to munch on while we sipped.

The snacks, however, never came.  And the glasses were a sip or two at best.  And the wine?  The wine was good, but not great.  And nowhere near what a $195 price tag would suggest.  I would take our 8 euro Burgundy over their $125 S.L.V Cab any day. 

And that's before taking into account the cost. 

 

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We watched as the table next to us purchased three bottles of the CASK 23 and the couple across the room bought two cases of the FAY and the five-some in the corner signed up for the quarterly wine club. 

Now I don't doubt that a good number of people really do adore these vintages, but I wonder whether all purchases are based on personal preference alone.  For me, wine is an incredibly personal (and even situational) preference. The wine that tastes best to me today might not be the wine that tastes best to me tomorrow. (I should note that the same is true of the experts - studies have shown that professional wine tasters do not pick the same wines as best two days in a row.)

It's just amazing how powerful the opinion of important people (i.e., the 1976 French judges) can be on one's own selections.  Whether conscious or subconscious. 

We left without buying a thing and we weren't the least bit sad.  Here's to staying true to your own tastes and desires, even when it might not be what all the cool kids are doing.

xoxo

KK