There are those who keep chasing the big guns, the big points, the life changer, the epiphany.
I stopped doing that years ago. Last night I popped a 18 Livio Sassetti Rosso di Montalcino that was just delciious. Just me and the wine and Live at the PGA. Enjoyed that glass as much as many big guns in testosterone infused dinners.
I see your social media and it often makes me think of, “is it worth it” from this:
That or you’ve just tried it all:
Fu keep charging away. I’m thinking the slump buster should be “Go Big!” Like Arthur Bach once said, “You ever been on a yacht？It doesn’t suck!” Pull out a big boy, cook Kathy a cool dinner and enjoy a killer bottle. If that doesn’t work… Champagne, Champagne, Champagne!
Obviously I don’t know you personally, so I may be way off here. But my few years on the board has taught me that you have a reputation for drinking very fancy/expensive wines. These are the sorts of wines that, no matter how passionate one is, most people (myself included) will never get to taste even a single time in their whole life. You’re having these never-in-a-lifetime bottles on a weekly basis, and going “meh”. It seems to me that you’ve lost your connection with wine.
Many have suggested taking a month off drinking, and that may recalibrate your body to wanting alcohol again, but it doesn’t seem like that alone will rebuild the connection you clearly once had.
I’m currently on vacation in Portugal, and just today went on a tour of some vineyards in the Douro with a local guide, born and raised in the area. He, my partner, and I shared an 18euro bottle of dry white table wine at lunch, overlooking the very vines that produced the wine in our glass. Was it a 95+pt wine? No, But it was a fabulous experience nonetheless.
While we were enjoying this 18euro bottle, our guide told us about a barrel of Port in the possession of his friend’s family that is over 100 yrs old. His friend gave him a bottle of it when he had his first child. I asked “what did it taste like?”, and he proceeded to tell me about a Portuguese word without an English translation, “Saudade”, which roughly is a mishmash of nostalgia, melancholy, yearning, and longing. It’s a word developed for the feeling loved ones left behind had when sailors went to sea hundreds of years ago, maybe never to return. Our guide said the 100yr old port made by his friends ancestors gave him Saudade for his own friends and family, his own lost youth, the whole region of the Douro.
Now that’s a connection with wine!
Your fancy tasting group might open that same bottle, analyze its structure, wax poetic about the flavors of figs, toffee, raisins, and charred scallions or whatever, and criticize it for its volatile acidity or rancio or something. That’s all fine and good, but no one is talking about Saudade. And I don’t see how not drinking for a month will change that.
My recommendation is take that month off, and then, if you have the time, travel to a traditional wine region and spend time with the people there. I’d steer clear of anywhere with super fancy or exclusive bottles. Don’t go to Burgundy or Napa- you’ll be too preoccupied trying to get into Screagle or DRC. Go to a place like the Douro, spend some time with the locals, and feel the Saudade. Good luck!
PS- this long missive, written at 1AM, is purely the result of residual jet lag!
A complete shot in the dark, but I quickly perused the thread top to bottom, and no one had mentioned COVID. Sure I know it has receded significantly from public scrutiny back to the Chinese lab from which it emerged, but my point is this: Are your olfactory bulb connections still fully functional? As you know, much about a wine’s palate is discerned from our sense of aroma. So if perhaps your nose took a viral hit that might be the offending cause. Just trying to help round out the differential of causes. Being an emergency dept physician, this potential etiology came to mind.
Hoping to be floored soon
LOL I wish
might ultimately be what I do
possibly, my groups are small tho, usually 4-6 people tops. So it’s not some crazy fest.
hmmmm I am turning 40 this year, maybe it’s something subconscious. Need to find something new that sparks joy in me.
prob the inverse here, the core group of people I hang with - we really don’t talk about wine. Lots of shooting the shit, hanging out, playing cards intermixed with nice dining experiences. I’d say maybe 10-15% of our conversation is about the wine other than “damn that’s good.” “no that’s bad”.
Maybe I need to geek out a little more and reignite the intellectual passion.
I just asked a wine guy at a store I have never bought from to put together a random 6 pack of fun whites he geeks on right now. Knowing his tastes are VASTLY different from mine.
maybe 
yeah - I’m not terribly worried about the mental health aspect, but to lose a passion over something you’re very passionate about is always worth nothing and diving into.
not a terrible idea - maybe just have cocktails/beer at dinners when we go out.
I will say - the two alcoholic drinks that really did peak my interest a bit were scotches that @Sarah_Kirschbaum and @M.Kaplan brought to dinner a couple months ago. I still think about em.
maybe… but I’m trying to drink as wide spectrum right now to test if it’s just “oh same ol same ol” doldrums
indeed. indeed. Trying to be more introspective of the issue. The more I think about it the more impactful it seems to be. Initially, it started out as a quirk in my mind, but as it’s progressed it’s less and less of a joke. I don’t necessarily feel sad, but as a normally upbeat social butterfly - it does make me think.
This year I’ve probably drank something at home alone maybe twice and that’s 1-2oz of something i was curious about. I generally have a few hours in the day after my daughter goes to sleep to work out, play video games, browse the web, catch up on some work. I could have a glass then, but i also don’t really like how wine tastes the next day or two so it feels like such a waste. I tried the 4oz bottles and that was fine for a bit, so maybe I’ll go back to it.
good suggestion, wouldn’t have thought to go back to the 4ozers. Might try tonight.
I know the wines are drinking well, they just don’t interest me. It’s like whatever connects from my tastebuds to my brain doesn’t sync.
nada
could be. Having two jobs does get a bit tiring but it’s exciting to me still.
legitimately nothing is igniting my fire. Like i said, $20 wine, $20,000 wine. Irrelevant.
ha - If i can afford it, price is largely irrelevant. Rarely do I question if something is worth it or not. Can’t take the money with me when I pass.
I just had 01 leroy ricebourg and D’auvenay Chevalier a couple weeks ago! I can’t get any bigger!!!
i agree with this - a month off won’t really change anything. Like you said, something needs to reinvigorate me. I don’t know what that something is yet. I did explore Central Otaga back in December and while fun, all the history and storytelling doesn’t excite me if the wine doesn’t excite me. Maybe I can convince my family to go to Portugal
everything is fine. Wine tastes good just doesn’t excite me.
p.s. Quote function on new board is fantastic
I appreciate the smoothly worked in crazy!
Really well done!
Eh seen it many times, usually with money not wine. Your bored but fortunately you have a beautiful wife daughter a good job? And make a boatload of money being a mod here 
time to branch out and focus on something else for awhile. You are correct quote function is awesome ha. And know Berserkers will take care of you if it becomes a buyers market at the Fu household 
Thanks Charlie,
This is a phenomenon that I am familiar with. I get given a lot of samples and have a lot of opportunities to consume.
I find that I go off on different tangents. Last summer for example was tequila and tonic. Sought out some interesting tequilas and different tonics and experimented. It was fun, but eventually I missed the synergy of wine with food, and my jaded palate was invigorated.
You’ve spent a long time chasing the wine dragon, I’d think you can only do that for so long without a break.
That seems normal.
Relax, go see some Jazz, or punk or whatever (dinners ect) that gets your juices going, where nobody gives a bleep what you are drinking. Get out of the scene for a bit where the first thing someone asks is about what’s in your hand now or even gives a bleep about what’s next.
When I drink two of the same thing in a row I realize it’s not about the actual drink anymore but about the surroundings and who I’m sharing them with.
Maybe it’s the setting? Sounds like a nice group of friends to hang out with, but drinking $$$$ wines in a setting like this doesn’t do the wine justice… Sometimes the focus should be that special bottle to truly appreciate it. There are lots of very good wines to drink and enjoy in that don’t trigger the expectation to be exciting and inspirational and are perfectly fine for these types of hangouts.
Not the appropriate forum (pun intended) to get into this, but I’ll throw out one possibility to privately consider. Have you started any new medications recently? Side effects can be all over the board with meds (especially when new), and could impact your emotional reactions while leaving your sensory inputs completely untouched.
You know what I’d do? 2 bottles at the same time, man.
Most everything has been covered here already. to me it seems like you just need to break the mold for a bit and do something totally different for a while. Quit doing wine tastings. Start a cocktail group, where you are required to come with an interesting cocktail to put together. Or go totally away from alcohol and start a knitting circle. Or start bird watching. Wine will eventually come around again, and you will again appreciate it.
Our own high end wine group was up-ended by covid, and we began a weekly zoom cocktail group. We realized that the important thing was not the wine that we had been geeking over (we have some excellent cellars in the group, which interestingly, people are beginning to sell…), but the companionship. We still get together now and then, and drink and appreciate some great wines, but we’ve realized that that’s really not the important thing.
Actually, thinking about it a little more, I wonder if you could benefit from a little life coaching. You are working two jobs, have a little one in your life, and barely have a little time at the end of the day for yourself. Expecting an RSV or a Musigny to fill that gap is expecting a lot, and clearly not working.
I am available, Charlie. 
This is what I was going to say. Rediscover wine on your own terms. Cancel all group events for theee months.
Forgot about being a mod, I have 3 jobs lol lol. My wife’s greatest dream is me deciding to sell the wine collection LOL.
It’s not that I dont’ have joy from other stuff in life. I’m used to all the things I love giving me fulfillment, but not used to wine not also giving that. And if ultimately it doesn’t, so be it.
nah - I like hanging out with my friends. Doesn’t really matter what we drink. It’s just coincidentally what we drink is nice wine ;D. I’m having fun in these gatherings, I’m just not enjoying the wine we have. Take away the wine and it’ll still be fun.
Now if you’re suggesting, just hang out with the group but I don’t drink wine, that’s certainly something to consider but like @Noah_C said - who knows if abstinence is what’s needed to rebuild the connection? But I’ll try all the suggestions over the next few months, see what clicks
This has kind of become an echo chamber of sorts, but I want to say, I find your experience here super interesting. Particularly since you’re at a polar opposite stage than me. I’m young, so I want to drink all the good wine I can and explore everything.
I hope you get reinvigorated and find the link that disappeared.
There’s only one way to find out and I don’t think it’s a bad idea to take time off, we can get so sucked into our routines; sometimes you just gotta switch things up in the bedroom…I mean cellar.