Yakoob on 30/8/2013 at 03:42

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Oh ya I've long believed that, while there definitely is a difference between the higher and lower end stuff, many conessseurs far exaggerate partly due to personal preferences, the overall public perception (expensive = better) and even bit of sense of superiority. It's true with anything really, movies games food bikes etc.

I forgot where but I read that while more expensive doesn't necessarily mean better, it does increase the chance of stumbling into better. For example only 1 in 5 cheap wines might be really good, but like 3'in 5 if you go for the expensive stuff. I much agree with this, definitely an apt way to look at price vs quality

Briareos H on 30/8/2013 at 11:16

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Only for the not rational-minded, hopefully. There are excellent cheap wines and maximizing the price-quality ratio is the most difficult and interesting task a connaisseur can be given. Only a fool thinks that enjoyable things must be expensive.

I hope people don't interpret that article as "most wines taste the same, so it's not worth buying the more expensive ones", something which would be true with audio cables but not with wine, where quality is very well defined. Instead, the piece of information to take home is that some excellent wines can be cheap and if you don't know anything about them, there is no need to get the expensive stuff.

From my experience, more expensive wines are more uniformly okay. You usually won't get something foul above 10€, but if you buy it randomly you probably won't get your 10€ worth. The sweet spot for great, cheap wines (in France) if you're not someone knowledgeable is 5-10€. Don't pick anything above that unless you know the growing area + estate + year will make this wine a winner. Still, there are more expensive bottles (15-20€) that you just know will be fantastic.

I don't know if that reasoning can be applied to different markets, especially the american one where uniformity is valued over individual, temporary greatness. Out here, there's no meaning behind buying a branded wine (ie. anything beyond the estate) unless you want a cheap blend that tastes like nothingness.

Yakoob on 30/8/2013 at 21:42

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Oh yea that's the word I was looking for when I said public image (expensive =better). It's so scarily true and I've noticed that even in myself, perception plays a significant role in how we "objectively" experience things.



That too is indeed true and part of becoming aforementioned conneseur/critic of, well, anything. The more time you spend with something the more you build a palette and experience to distinguish the little nuances. Hence why I can be picky about games I play, groan at boring popcorn flicks my nonfilm friends enjoy or clobber over finer whiskey, while at the same time, I'm not really able to tell much difference between cheap or expensive sound systems and can deliciously gulp down a well gin and tonic as much as the better stuff :p

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All in all, I think sticking to something does give you more ability to dissect it, but personal bias and perception play a big role as well, consciously and subconsciously. Higher end stuff is probably more likely to give better results but does not guarantee them, and in the end it's all subject to personal preferences as well (whose to say you can't enjoy the "cheap" taste of something - it's just a different type of flavor innit? )

Interesting discussion :)