I am building this blog as slow as a Norwegian decision.   If you've read the first one, you know I'm a novice, not claiming lofty wisdom, but hoping to speak for people who tread lightly on the grape.

1)  My local newspaper Thursday--in a regular column contributed by a dentist, said certain wines were fine.  Never mind his logic or his comments on their noses, their finishes, or their drinkability.

When  I scanned his list I went immediately to price: $50 $30 $28. One around $14.

 I said to myself, "Does he know this is ridiculous for most wine drinkers? Could he be a victim of self-service in the journalistic sense? i.e. writing about high end wines just so he will be pampered at the winery or call the wine a work-related expense."

 

I have a couple of dental friends...they side with me...and the most I will pay for wine is $32, and it'd better be memorable. For my daughter's wedding in 2009--a big moment--the most we paid was $18 for a bottle of champagne (ONE). All the rest came in around $11...and went down like Sonny Liston. Most of those punks drank Full Sail or IPA, anyhow (20-somethings).  Their parents and I drank the wine...and we only finished half of it.   So I still have 2 bottles left.

And so goes most of America, slugging down Coors and Bud Light-- maybe $2 a bottle (2 pours of wine), so it's a plebeian preference, not only in total consumption but custom. That's why they call them keggers. Who'd attend a winer?

2) For people over 60, the issue is similar. We're living with no kids in the basement. When we buy wine, it's usually for two...and we're wary of buying anything that might go to vinegar on the kitchen counter, so we keep a lid on the price...why waste a $36 bottle of Cab?

3) Why pretend that occasional flashes of honesty (a feature called "WINES UNDER $20) are some sort of favor to us. Where's the intelligence that would tell us the writer knows most of us consider wine a luxury in at any price? We were raised on $1 for TWO movies, and gripe at spending $10 to see one now, so we subscribe to Netflix.

We ate 49 cent loaves of Wonder Bread, and balk at a bag that runs $5 a loaf (shopping for a special on whole wheat at $2.99). We order $4 oatmeal and toast for breakfast, soup and a half sandwich for lunch, and sometimes at dinner we settle for salad.

Do they think our brains flick off when we shop for wine?

 

At the supermarket where I shop, I scan the aisle to find a shelf where the price is palatable...then I pick my wine. Those alleged lovelies that begin above $30?  I don't even look. Now and then--through the kindness of friends--I have tasted spectacular

wines that run $80-90 or more than $100. When I do that I always feel I have stolen a peach, but I am not going to invest in an orchard.