Do you need to drink lesser wines to appreciate the great ones?

Long discussion over lunch. Opinions evenly divided.

Yes.

Quality is relative and based on individuals own experience. If all one has tasted is Andre then Korbel probably tastes great.

Well, if it were chocolate cake and you tasted it for the first time ever and you liked it, would you feel less enjoyment for not having had a bad experience before? I remember the first time I’d ever had beef cooked by a Japanese friend. I’d never tasted that combination of sweet and salty flavors before but I liked it right away.

But it also depends on where you are in a wine context.

If you’ve never had any wine at all in your life, you probably wouldn’t appreciate any of it. If you’ve had a few wines then there’s no reason to drink lesser ones. It’s why I don’t get the people who say they’ll buy every vintage of some producer, even when the wines aren’t particularly good. That seems a bit masochistic to me and in those cases I would say most definitely you don’t need to drink the “lesser” wines to appreciate the good ones. “Lesser” being relative of course - I like the “lesser” vintages of the S. Rhone more than the supposed great ones like 2007.

Still also see times where I have taken a break from wines for a couple weeks, and then really get back into them with appreciation.

My father in-law who lives with us drinks sub-$15 Cabernets. Every now and then try them and they really are industrial wine with no varietal distinction

Yes. Perspective isn’t necessarily everything, but it certainly can bring about more appreciation for things that are truly great. If you drive a Mercedes S63 and have to rent a Honda Accord for a week when you go out of town on a work trip, are you going to tell me that you’re not going to appreciate that Mercedes a little more when you get home?

That being said, I derive enjoyment from all kinds of wines, spirits, and beers, and I don’t drive a Merceds S63

This is an interesting question that I’m very eager to follow.

When I was first getting into wine, someone told me — paraphrasing here — that I couldn’t opine on a PN unless I had drunk a DRC.

I thought it was an absurd statement at the time, and as of now, still find it absurd. But…

For the record, I have never had a DRC (or first growth or 96 Krug) so ignore my thoughts on wine if you wish!

Drink? No. But taste, absolutely. Life does not exist in a vacuum and neither does wine tasting. Where did you stand on the question Mark?

At some point, yes, for a point of reference. But once you’ve got adequate experience, it doesn’t have to be repeated regularly to continue to appreciate the great ones.

Do you need to live in hell before you can appreciate heaven?

I agree.

What’s wrong with cherry-picking?

One of the great advantages of being in a blind tasting group for the last 21 years is that I taste stuff from up and down the quality ladder on a regular basis. The experience is both humbling and educational. It has kept me grounded in the broader world of wine, rather than just the narrow focus of wines I choose to buy.

If you’ve always lived in heaven would you take it for granted, not knowing the realities of hell or even Earth?

I think this is a two part issue. First, to identify and appreciate a wine as “great” you must have a frame of context. Taste plonk, okay, good, great, epic wines, and you’ll appreciate just how special the epic wine can be. Because you know they’re truly special, you’ll appreciate them more. Second, drink only epic wines from day one and will you even realize what a rare and special treat they are? Probably not because it’s just status quo that you take for granted.

All of us take incredible things for granted on a daily basis because we don’t have to endure crummy stuff. If you own a really nice mattress, you know what I’m talking about. It’s just there and not something you appreciate every night until you go sleep at a “historic” hotel with a spring mattress and cry yourself to a restless sleep. How much more do you appreciate that first night back sleeping in your own bed?

Taking things for granted aside, most of us drink great wines on a regular basis. If you’re scoring those wines for CT or your own personal notes, you’re at least acknowledging the qualitative greatness of the great wines you’re drinking. You’re not appreciating them less just because you aren’t popping a 2Buck in between, even if you may be taking their greatness for granted.

great can only be great in comparison to other things, so yes, of course. any argument to the contrary is inherently illogical. no one could possibly conclude michael jordan was good at basketball without understanding what basketball is and how others play it.

I think the answer depends on what you mean by the word appreciate.

Two of the three dictionary definitions (Merriam-Webster) are: “to grasp the nature, worth, quality, or significance of” and “to judge with heightened perception or understanding: to be fully aware of” (my italics). Under those definitions, then I think yes, absolutely. These definitions include elements of understanding and context, beyond simple enjoyment, which cannot come without comparison and broader expereince.

The other definition, however, is simply “to value or admire highly.” Under that definition, probably not. You can value and admire DRC even if it’s the only wine you’ve ever tasted, based solely on your isolated enjoyment of it.

I think the first two are much more deeply meaningful, though, and certainly support my experience. I find great joy in the learning aspects of this wine hobby, and have often advocated paths and approaches that encourage new collectors to explore in many ways. I am positive my own joy in great wine has sensory, emotional and intellectual components, none of which could be as impactful without context and broad experience.

I drink more “lesser” wines (but good ones) than great wines - over the week usually I have no time to apprciate really great wines, it would be a waste, also with not enough time to prepare them properly, or if I´m out of house.
It is also a good comprison when something really fine is in the glass - but I try not to drop below a certain standard.

We have a lot of good daily drinkers in Germany.

This comment connects directly to my point - depends on what you mean by appreciate. I’m pretty sure someone who had never seen another basketball player could still “value and admire” Michael Jordan’s play, but could not “grasp the nature, worth, quality or significance” of it.

Wow, fascinating question. When I first read it, my immediate response was 'yes, absolutely…then it changed, full reverse. I’m not sure I know the answer, really. I know when I have a truly great wine I appreciate it ‘more’ than a good one, but before I had great wines, the ‘good’ wines were ‘great’ at the time! Reminds me of my mom, who drank box wine in the fridge. She’d always want to ‘try’ a wine of mine, and I went safe with a nice RRV Zinfandel, so it wasn’t too dry, and she never liked it. She would apologize and say that she’s sorry she doesn’t like my wines, but then I would say ‘no! I WISH I liked your wines! Would save me so much more money!’

So, in that case, which is the right answer? Do you enjoy great wines more because you have had lesser wines, so you can truly tell the difference between good and bad, or if you settle in with whatever you currently like, isn’t THAT your ‘great’ wine?

I have yet to meet a fellow oenophile who started with only great wines and stayed the course of never having lesser wines.

I’d say having tasted a variety of wines leads one to understand what one considers great, necessitating that one have worked one’s way through ‘lesser wines.’

Therefore, having had ‘lesser’ wines is paramount to discovering what one regards as great wines.

As for someone who entered the hobby with the ability to have only tasted ‘great wines,’ I’d call that person a vinous dilettante and would not be eager to see out such company. It would indicate that person’s palate was created by external forces, not a process of appreciation.