What’s the worst thing about your wine passion/obsession/addiction? All aspects are eligible, with the exception of A) spending too much on wine and B) not being able to spend more on wine.
Things that crossed my mind included being paralyzed by choice by trying to pick a bottle (especially out of the cellar), and having enough of a palate to be disgusted at the offerings at certain events, but ultimately I had to go with “Wanting to finish off a bottle, but having the resulting pour being a slightly obscene amount of wine for a single glass” - note this is applicable only in situations where I’m drinking the bottle myself - If I’ve got someone to share with, no problem. Yeah I know, it’s a rough life.
For me it is the fact that my tasting ability and consumption have decreased so much over the last 5 years or so. If I look back say 15 years ago I was a monster. I could taste tons of wine and be on point. Now I am still above your average rabbit, but far from my peak.
This is such an interesting and somewhat complicated question. I have a few different answers, none of which are perfectly applicable all the time and all of which are debatable:
It clouds judgement (this can be desired in certain cases, but it would be nice to be able to taste wines more easily at big tastings without spitting everything)
The price of wines which are marginally better but are out of my reach from a cost perspective. Case in point, I want to find the presumed Burgundy “nirvana” moment, but many burgs costing $200+ are rated by professionals and CT’ers both at 92-94 points. How could I ever afford a 95+ burgundy to reach nirvana? Ain’t gonna happen (without charity).
I will continue to search for the affordable gems (there are some), and try to work around the Texas laws to purchase them.
The alcohol at times - makes driving unsafe, judgment impaired. Might be desired at times so it could also be a good thing about wine, but definitely one bad thing as well.
The dual nature of scarcity and abundance - how can it be that almost every day I see what seems like a once-in-a-lifetime offer to purchase some unusual or “difficult to find” wine. I have so much difficult to find wine, I’m running out of places to put it all. I trip over difficult to find wine just walking through my house in the dark.
Sometimes the snobbery about it, but you can choose your friends. Always the moneybags who make a desirable wine unaffordable because it is priced out of reach and goes into some investmentportfolio…
Lots of downsides: the money. The storage. The buzz. Straining keeping up to with the hippest wines. Slaughtering the French language (and probably doing just as bad with Italian, Greek, Croatian and German). Lost comraderie when wine buddies leave town. Ecological aspects of growing, transporting.
The heavy bottle.
The pesky corks.
The need for a glass.
The ‘not rounding out to 1 litre’ of the bottle volume.
The need for a cellar.
The action of degorgement a la glace I have to do on all of my bottle on a montly basis to remove sediment.
This common fallacy of a ’ need to share’.
Good question, Matt. Like you, I have a number of thoughts. Yes, many wines are outside my budget, but there is plenty of affordable good wine around. So cost doesn’t bother me. I get a charge out of pouring wines that drink above their price tags–and there are plenty. But here’s what is troubling for me…
I enjoy the mutual sharing of wine. Too often, however, that involves group dinners out at restaurants ordering multiple courses so there is food to go with all the wines. I enjoy the visiting with friends and tasting the wines, but the events frequently end up costing more than I’d like.
Being seen as “expert” when people learn of my hobby. That means being asked well-meaning, but problematic questions such as “What’s a good wine?” or “What’s your favorite wine?” where people are looking for a one sentence answer and there really isn’t a good one.
I like trying many different wines. This means I rarely have multiple bottles of the same wine from the same vintage. So when I open a bottle, more often than not it’s the only bottle of that wine I have. So there’s the issue of when best to open, not being able to locate another (affordably) if I really like it and want more, etc. When I opened my 1991 Dominus, that was it. Ditto my 1985 Haut Brion, 1990 Monprivato, 1988 Climens, etc. I realize this is a self-inflicted wound. It’s also probably a disguised “B” in the OP.
I will likely never get to enjoy a Bordeaux from my birth year (1961). But at least I had a Barolo from that year on my 50th.
MUCH more important than to spend huge money on high points is: open a very good bottle in fine condition at the perfect time and opportunity.
(it won´t help buying a very expensive bottle, opening it much too early and - expecting a Nirvana-experience - being disapointed …)
