Wine palate is changing....

[Paul_Fountain]

Several years ago, A wise man once said to me “All roads lead to pinot”
I was skeptical at the time, but I now understand what he meant. I still like most of the stuff in my cellar, although some of the bigger wines are mostly reserved for winter drinking. I have certainly developed an appreciation of lighter styles that I didn’t have previously, and I guess I now have enough drinking experience to recognize subtleties that would have been lost on me a decade ago.

[Nathan_Smyth]

@Barry L i p t o n

The good news - you will have a ton of fun for a doomed fellow!

Twenty years ago, maybe. But nowadays you need a net worth well out into the tens of millions to be able to compete in the Burgundy market.

And it sure wouldn’t hurt to be a billionaire.

These days, I’d skip 9) and 10) and head straight for the Mosel and the Nahe and the Jura.

And the Loire. And of course Prosecco.

Even Piemontese Nebbiolo isn’t a realistic alternative to 9) anymore for anyone slightly beneath the Top 1% - you’d only be setting yourself up for the heartbreak of “10) OMFG! Giacosa is expensive!”

BONUS TIP: Search out Puzelat. And if you ever stumble upon an out-of-the-way shop in the middle of nowhere with any bottles of Vatan, then sell your soul to clean them out.

[Robert_B]

@Scott Fitzgerald

That phenomenon begs the question as to why we all cellar so much wine when there’s so much readily available out there, both new and old.

Good point

[F.Daner]

For me I’d also add Barolo and Barberesco to this advice. Wish I had done this 10 years ago.

Good news is Piedmonte still has some terrific values but cherry picking back vintages Burgs now. My palate shift i think is the classic one but I still want fruit with my dirt ! Will always be a Napa Cab fan although very dialed into the style I now prefer. I still love Cali pinot but in a more restrained style and Oregon can hit that sweet spot as well.


Scott’s advice is also spot on. I don’t feel nearly the need across most styles to buy in large quantities. There is a ton of great wine out there.

@jhowe

My advise for someone who is relatively new to wine, say 10 years or less. Start buying Burgundy now. Buy the best you can afford and put them away for later. It doesn’t matter if you don’t particularly get Burgundy and think they all lack fruit and are overly acidic. Buy them anyway. Still buy stuff you like to drink now of course, but save some serious cellar space for Burgundy. Chances are one day you will thank me. If not, you will be able to sell or trade easily.

[Howard_Cooper]

@Scott Fitzgerald

That phenomenon begs the question as to why we all cellar so much wine when there’s so much readily available out there, both new and old.

I like wine with age on it and trust my storage more than I do the storage of unknown people from whom I might buy wine through auction.

[Howard_Cooper]

@ericskitei

Don’t get me wrong, the vast majority of my cellar is stuff I love - expensive or not. The point was just that like everything else in life, evolution is inevitable and keeps things interesting.

I would hope that my tastes evolve over the years. Boy would it be horrible to taste wine year after year and not learn anything new. I feel sorry for people who are that brain dead.

[Mark_B]

Eric, I love your OP. Personally, I believe palate change is one of the most fascinating aspects that accompanies this crazy hobby of ours. Without jumping to conclusions, I highly encourage you revisit said wines and taste them side by side others of a similar, though varying style. As you continue to do this over time, trust your palate and let it channel your preferences to what it sees fit. The real beauty here is everyone’s genuinely unique palate, and how it can adapt and change over time.

[Howard_Cooper]

@Berry Crawford

The Spiritual Evolution of a Wine Geek:

Stage 1 “Genesis” - Have an epiphany wine that makes you want to get more serious about wine
Stage 2 “Confusion” - Realize that there are so many bewildering choices that its difficult to decide what to buy
Stage 3 “Discipleship” - Start following the ratings of a respected wine critic as a guide to what to buy
Stage 4 “Cognitive Dissonance” - Do your best to tell yourself that you are actually enjoying all the highly rated wines you are drinking
Stage 5 “Awakening” - Realize that taste in wine is subjective and you need to determine for yourself what you like
Stage 6 “Rage” - What the f*ck am I going to do with all this wine I bought that i don’t actually like?
Stage 7 “Dinner Parties” - Unload the wine on friends at non-wine-geek dinner parties. They will likely be impressed as the wines are highly rated.
Stage 8 “The Quest” - Taste, taste and taste some more to see what regions, producers and vintages you like
Stage 9 “Enlightenment” - OMFG! Burgundy!
Stage 10 “Dark Night of the Soul” - OMFG! These things are expensive!
Stage 11 “Inner Peace” - German Riesling! And cheap too!
Stage 12 “True Enlightenment” - Jura

I seem to be trapped on stages 9-11.

Did you recently add stage 12. I thought you used to say that true enlightenment was Riesling.

I recommend taking the word German out of Stage 11. Or add Riesling from Alsace and Austria.

[Russell_Faulkner]

It’s rare to hear of someone starting on Burgundy and Mosel Riesling then ending up on modern new world wines…

[dcornutt]

I like this !

@jhowe

My advise for someone who is relatively new to wine, say 10 years or less. Start buying Burgundy now. Buy the best you can afford and put them away for later. It doesn’t matter if you don’t particularly get Burgundy and think they all lack fruit and are overly acidic. Buy them anyway. Still buy stuff you like to drink now of course, but save some serious cellar space for Burgundy. Chances are one day you will thank me. If not, you will be able to sell or trade easily.

[Pat_Martin]

@David Glasser

Thirty plus years in and the red Burgundy devils have yet to posses me. But I definitely have seen a few palate shifts. Not so much to the point of no longer liking things, but more along the lines of being in the mood for them less or more frequently.

Exactly my situation, though I never went for true Cali Cults. I used to drink German Rieslings on a daily basis, filled my cellar according to that level, and now have way more than I need as I only crave it once a month or so these days.

[Doug_Lee]

Lots of wisdom on this thread. If I had heeded the advice I see here, I’d have a lot more 1995 and 1996 red burgundy in the cellar than I have now.

[Alan_Rath]

My answer is simple: don’t listen to anyone. If you listened to everyone in this thread, you’d be pulled more directions than William Wallace being drawn and quartered. Just keep exploring, following leads you read about that are affordable, trying wines from different regions, and finding your own tastes. Don’t fall for “you’ve got to get on this list” posts. Don’t spend huge amounts on bottles you have no experience with. Don’t buy dozens of bottles over many years without having ever opened one because “it’s not ready”. Go to as many tastings, of as many types of wines as you can. Keep exploring and gaining experience, until you narrow down (or expand) the wines you like, and know pretty much 100% when you open one of those you are going to be happy with it.

[Pat_Martin]

Given how palates do evolve, one bit of simple wisdom I’ve adopted:

Do not overbuy any type of wine that is:
(1) readily available well after release and does not seriously appreciate in cost,
(2) does not need a long time to mature and/or does not hold well long-term in the cellar (e.g. no boatloads of white Burgundy),
(3) before clicking “buy”, always remember the next great thing is right around the corner (vintage of the millennium (e.g. 2009 Bordeaux), hot wine region (e.g. Alexander Valley), fashionable grape (gamay), trendy producer (e.g. Gonon), etc., etc.).

[Markus_S]

@Alan Rath

Don’t spend huge amounts on bottles you have no experience with.

This include Rhys??

[David_Bu3ker]

Stage 12 is just a version of wine ennui, where people search for something different, and it becomes cool just because it is different. Jura will no longer be stage 12 if too many people start drinking it.

[Carl_Steefel]

@Scott Fitzgerald

That phenomenon begs the question as to why we all cellar so much wine when there’s so much readily available out there, both new and old.

I don’t find much older wine out there that is reasonably priced, or at least at the same price as it was on release.

And also, it is a crap shoot with older wines as to their storage. Every guy selling a wine to a retailer or auctioneer claims their wine has been perfectly stored, but I find 20-30% of the wines bought on the secondary market are flawed, apparently due to storage (they think 75 degrees is OK). Lots of examples, but a 1982 Mouton, a 1996 Krug were all compromised.

[Berry_Crawford]

@David M. Bueker

Stage 12 is just a version of wine ennui, where people search for something different, and it becomes cool just because it is different. Jura will no longer be stage 12 if too many people start drinking it.

In my humble opinion Jura wines are awesome because they taste delicious. Low prices are a clear fringe benefit and hipster street cred is a more dubious benefit but like you say they would both be fleeting if the area got more recognition. But even if the region becomes popular the wines will still be spectacularly elegant and distinctive because of the climate and location.

[A_Gillette]

@David M. Bueker

Stage 12 is just a version of wine ennui, where people search for something different, and it becomes cool just because it is different. Jura will no longer be stage 12 if too many people start drinking it.

In NYC, we are already experiencing the hipster backlash against the popularization of jura wines. If you want to be cool, you have to act like the jura is not cool and that anyone who likes it is similarly uncool. But there is a ton of it at stores and on wine lists, so we uncool people win.
A

[CFu]

@A.Gillette

@David M. Bueker

Stage 12 is just a version of wine ennui, where people search for something different, and it becomes cool just because it is different. Jura will no longer be stage 12 if too many people start drinking it.

In NYC, we are already experiencing the hipster backlash against the popularization of jura wines. If you want to be cool, you have to act like the jura is not cool and that anyone who likes it is similarly uncool. But there is a ton of it at stores and on wine lists, so we uncool people win.
A

same as in LA. every winelist has a bunch of oxidized wines the somms are pimping. people don’t give a crap no mo