Cellar full of wine and nothing to drink

[AndyK]

I don’t get your comment. Why “if you are thirsty”? Degrading white wine (and Champagne) to thirst quenchers or aperitifs is a perfect example of the issue

[Paul_abbott]

Thats more or less it Andy, whites just don’t really excite me much. Which means I am leaving more for you to enjoy.

[Dennis_Atick]

Interesting to read these comments about the disdain for white wines. I honestly can’t fathom it. My cellar is 63% white wines and growing. In the past few years that I want to recall, I have undoubtedly had higher highs with white wines…from…wherever. And they’re more food-friendly (for the way I eat, anyway), and I live in the south where drinking red wines doesn’t work well for me 6 months out of the year.

[Sarah_Kirschbaum]

I have trouble imagining it as well - to me, it’s like a self proclaimed foodie saying he doesn’t like vegetables - but I have noticed that, among non-wine geeks, the first question I’m asked when my wine hobby comes up in conversation is “do you like white or red?” So there is a pretty wide-spread expectation of the divide, even among the general population.

[Steve_McL]

I used to be in the “only reds” camp, and I remember Oregon winemaker Jay MacDonald of EIEIO telling me “If you love wine and drink/follow it long enough, you’re going to get into whites”.

Sure enough, not long after that I started appreciating Oregon chards, then white Burgs, then Riesling and on and on. Food-friendly and a much higher hit rate for reliable pleasure (and less wine headaches/hangovers) than reds for me. Also, it broadens one’s horizons of explorations, often with less of a hit to the pocketbook than reds, especially red Burgs, Cabs etc.

Here is a recent discovery: 2017 Vina de Martin Escolina Ribeiro from Luis Rodriguez. It reminded me of trocken Riesling executed at a high level. Minerally, dry and interesting all the way to the bottom of the bottle and a great fit with grilled vegetables and meats.

[Paul_abbott]

I have been drinking wine since the 1980s. It’s not that I dislike whites, it’s simply that they don’t excite me like reds do.

[Sarah_Kirschbaum]

You should absolutely drink what makes you happy.
People do lots of things that confuse the heck out of me!

[Mike_Grammer]

double down on that statement. I have only one rule for everyone, myself included “you buy–and drink–the wines you like”. By all means, experiment and see what’s out there.

That said, I myself have been a white-over-red oenophile for most of my time. I just tend to find more subtlety, more interest and more to love in whites. I admire a lot of reds—love, though? Fewer reds in that category. Of course, if someone is serving, say, Rousseau Chambertin, I probably won’t turn it down or turn my nose up

I do wonder if one of my flaws there is that I’m generally too impatient, i.e. I often don’t let reds age long enough for them to get to their best place.

[jprusack]

just adding to the praise for whites, a good friend who sells wine once said ‘all roads lead to white burgundy.’

ive found that my palette is more receptive to whites now more than ever. i still prefer reds but more subtler variations of pinot noir versus what i wouldve enjoyed only 5 years ago.

i cant imagine not drinking whites from april through october particularly with seafood.

[Chris_Seiber]

@Mike_Grammer

I do wonder if one of my flaws there is that I’m generally too impatient, i.e. I often don’t let reds age long enough for them to get to their best place.

Instead of opening 122 bottles for your friends, open, say, 112, then let ten reds age towards maturity.

[LasseK]

@Sarah_Kirschbaum

“do you like white or red?” So there is a pretty wide-spread expectation of the divide, even among the general population.

This!

It is always the first thing people ask me for some reason. And when i tell them i drink as much white as red they always look at me like im some very strange person.

[Mike_C1]

As someone who owns and drinks a lot of white wine, I don’t understand when people are influenced by the weather. I drink plenty of white in the winter and red in the summer as I’m either still in climate-controlled settings or in places with ice buckets.

[Troy_Stark]

@Mike_Grammer

double down on that statement. I have only one rule for everyone, myself included “you buy–and drink–the wines you like”. By all means, experiment and see what’s out there.

That said, I myself have been a white-over-red oenophile for most of my time. I just tend to find more subtlety, more interest and more to love in whites. I admire a lot of reds—love, though? Fewer reds in that category. Of course, if someone is serving, say, Rousseau Chambertin, I probably won’t turn it down or turn my nose up

I do wonder if one of my flaws there is that I’m generally too impatient, i.e. I often don’t let reds age long enough for them to get to their best place.

We’re in the same boat. Drink what you like. Don’t be afraid to dump something and grab another if you don’t dig it. We drink more whites (and bubbles!) than reds by far. Don’t seem to have a problem aging our reds, though, as we rarely feel like drinking them!

[Howard_Cooper]

@Steve_McL

Great thread! Somehow I missed it in December…

A contrarian thought: There can be such a thing as too many cellar defenders.

When I have asked friends with collections in the 1000s if they had any advice/wisdom to share form their years of accumulating, a common refrain I heard was, “I wish I’d bought fewer of the cheaper daily-drinkers”. I’ve had that experience some too.

Its an uptown problem to be sure, but something to consider.

No question that this is an issue also. I probably have too many right now. The answer for many of us is we should be buying fewer bottles of wine.

[Howard_Cooper]

@GregT

If you listen to people talk about some wines, Burgundy for example, you’d be forgiven for thinking that “peak” lasts about five minutes.

I cannot imagine anyone with any knowledge about Burgundy saying this. Link?

[alan_weinberg]

@Howard_Cooper

I cannot imagine anyone with any knowledge about Burgundy saying this.

Parker used to give incredibly short intervals for drinking Burgundy in his reviews, none of which were accurate.

[Howard_Cooper]

@alan_weinberg

@Howard_Cooper

I cannot imagine anyone with any knowledge about Burgundy saying this.

Parker used to give incredibly short intervals for drinking Burgundy in his reviews, none of which were accurate.

Seems to confirm my statement.

[MChang]

@jprusack

just adding to the praise for whites, a good friend who sells wine once said ‘all roads lead to white burgundy.’

ive found that my palette is more receptive to whites now more than ever. i still prefer reds but more subtler variations of pinot noir versus what i wouldve enjoyed only 5 years ago.

i cant imagine not drinking whites from april through october particularly with seafood.

All the roads that led to white burgundy took a big detour from 97 on due to premox, and now due to pricing. I like white burgundy but not 1000 for decent 1er much.

[Greg_K]

Until maybe the last six months white burgundy has remained mostly affordable when compared to red burgundy. Despite the recent moves, the prices for white burgundy are still quite reasonable and with so many producers using DIAM, premox is less and less of an issue. There are lots of great white burgundy options in the 1er cru range that don’t break the bank, especially compared to red burgundy, where the market catches up to value pretty quickly.

That said, if people don’t like drinking white wine as much - palates are different and the only rule of wine is to drink what you like.

[R_Frankel]

I also like white burgundy, but it’s more of a way station for me than the end of the road. More than nearly any other regions, I have been very happy with the ‘lesser’ wines - Bourgogne Blanc - over the years. Yes, I have a bought and enjoyed many village, 1ers, and GCs, but as prices have escalated there have been plenty of decent buys still out there.

But in the last few years I’ve been reaching for the white burgs a lot less. My preferences have moved towards German Rieslings and Champagne, with random other whites (diverse Italians, Rhone, Loire, etc.) thrown in. I’m happy with my little stash of white burgs, but they’re going to last quite a while at the rate I’ve been drinking them.