Why is California wine so overrated?

[Dan Murphy]

I've never had a glass that I actually enjoyed. They taste cheap. Even the expensive ones just don't impress.

And that's fine. That's why there are so many different wines, sold successfully, to many different people with many different tastes.

 

[GAN]

I love wine. Especially New Zealand and French. My friends swear by California wine, they win lots of awards, and yet I've never had a glass that I actually enjoyed. They taste cheap. Even the expensive ones just don't impress. What am I missing here?

I drink a lot of wine …California wine does not taste cheap. I mean you can buy a $20 bottle of Napa Cab and honestly it may not be the greatest, but you won’t find a $50 Napa Cab that isn’t of very high quality and meets every standard of Cabernet Sauvignon. How about Pinot Noir from Santa Maria/Santa Barbara …some of the best in the world. Rhône GSM from Paso Robles …incredible! And I’m talking against the finest Burgundies and Rhône‘s France have to offer.

Granted, everyone has different tastes but that’s the beauty of wine. Depending my mood or, meal, or situation my preference differs -a Burgundy for the terroir and complexity or a CA Pinot for simple flavor profiles.

 

[Mysterian]

I suppose it depends on the occasion. Domaine d'Auvenay is fitting for a romantic night at a French café. A typical Napa valley wine would be fitting for a wedding or a jaunty boat jaunt. Franzia is usually served with Netflix. Thunderbird and Mad Dog 20/20 are typically enjoyed in dorms, underpasses, buses, and rail cars. All of these are readily available in the kitchen of Kathie Lee Gifford.

 

[GAN]

Boone’s Farm is good enough for me.

What are you doin‘ Friday night?

 

[MillauFr]

What are you doin‘ Friday night?

Angie should move up to Rombauer Chard. They don't call it cougar juice for nothin...

 

[leebee]

I agree you could do better, but you could do worse, too. Have your friends tried other wines, or are they just loyal to the California ones and have not tried others? There is so much variety out there from all over the world now. Curious what your take is on NY wines. I am partial to wines from the Finger Lakes area, but that could be more nostalgia than anything else.

I lived in Ithaca from 1982-1984 and then we were in Syracuse from 1986-1991. A favorite way to pass a Saturday was to do a winery tour along the lakes (and how we drank that much wine and then survived driving on the roads along the sides of the lakes/gorges is actually frightening to contemplate now) so I have consumed a healthy amount of Finger Lakes wines. Back then, most of them were overly sweet, regardless of the winery, although we of course had favorites (Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards is still a favorite when we are in the area). We were in the Finger Lakes about 5 years ago, and I was amazed at how much the wines had improved! I think the vintners have learned to mix the native grapes with other varietals better, and have done a lot of grafting of varietals to native roots. We were very impressed with how the wines have changed and improved! NOT that we are terribly sophisticated wine drinkers. We usually have a couple dozen bottles on hand at any given moment, but our mantra when buying wine is "If it has an interesting label and is in the $10 dollar range, we'll try it!" Yeah, we've gotten some duds along the way, but most of the time end up with perfectly enjoyable bottles to accompany whatever we're having for dinner that night (even pizza)!

 

[MillauFr]

Wine Folly recently had a nice video on NY.

 

[rwdavis2]

What specific California wines have you tried? Just curious.

 

[tasha99]

I don't think California wines taste inherently cheap, so idk.

 

[mikehn]

Love red blends, never know what you're gonna get when you open it. I dont care where it comes from. $12 or less, even better.

 

[mrodgers]

Everyone talking about all the wine varieties and to me there's just 2, red and white.

And I have to drink the whole bottle or it tastes terrible the next day. I have no idea how to keep wine, it's horrible. I typically don't drink let alone drink wine though. I buy $10 bottles to cook with mostly rather than the tiny $4 bottles of cooking wine in the grocery aisle.

 

[rwdavis2]

I don't think California wines taste inherently cheap, so idk.

Agreed.

 

[tvguy]

DW and I were on a cruise and went to a wine tasting thing they were putting on. We were just trying to learn the basics--we knew red and white and that was about it. There was 1 guy who kept saying things like, "I'm picking up notes of melon and toast," etc. We tried very hard not to laugh. It was tough.

Yeah, that is often how wines are described. Some are jammy, some have a mineral after taste, tobacco, cherry. I get that, I have experience that. My daughter went wine tasting with a group of co-workers and offended the person pouring by saying she tasted "ham" in one of their heavy red wines. Offended the person pouring because others in my daughters group chimed in with "you're right, I detect that taste too" and at which point a couple of people outside her group said they detected that too. Most amusing since my daughter is vegetarian and hasn't eaten ham in 15 years.

 

[GAN]

Angie should move up to Rombauer Chard. They don't call it cougar juice for nothin...

she probably wouldn’t have to play a cougar with me!

 

[GAN]

Everyone talking about all the wine varieties and to me there's just 2, red and white.

And I have to drink the whole bottle or it tastes terrible the next day. I have no idea how to keep wine, it's horrible. I typically don't drink let alone drink wine though. I buy $10 bottles to cook with mostly rather than the tiny $4 bottles of cooking wine in the grocery aisle.

If you’re drinking med-higher end wine and want to preserve it, the CoraVin system is the way to go. But it’s not cheap. It’s what they use at Wine Bar George to preserve their wines …they will last years because the bottle is never “opened” the cork is pierced and then reseals when the pin is pulled back out.

 

[Moliphino]

Maybe getting a bit of the old bandaid flavor?


This is from a wine museum in Bordeaux. I can't make out any of this stuff when drinking wine. Sweet/dry/fruity and stuff like that, sure, but this gets so weirdly specific.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Angie should move up to Rombauer Chard. They don't call it cougar juice for nothin...

So THAT'S why all those women kept sending a glass of Rombauer Chard my way. You just destroyed my naive notions of human kindness. So it was my body they wanted. Well I have a big brain too!!! Maybe some day, I'll tell ya about the red head that sent me a bottle of Strawberry Hill....

 

[tvguy]

If you’re drinking med-higher end wine and want to preserve it, the CoraVin system is the way to go. But it’s not cheap. It’s what they use at Wine Bar George to preserve their wines …they will last years because the bottle is never “opened” the cork is pierced and then reseals when the pin is pulled back out.

Assuming the cork doesn't go bad. Nothing worse than corked wine.

 

[tvguy]

Everyone talking about all the wine varieties and to me there's just 2, red and white.

Only about 600 different varieties of white wine alone.

 

[dvcgirl67]

There are many great wines from California. Just avoid the garbage like Meiomi, Silver Oak, and Caymus.

If you have any garbage like Caymus Special Selection or Silver Oak Napa that you're throwing out....send it my way .