In all the world, there is nothing that some man cannot make a little worse, and sell a little cheaper, and those that consider price alone are this man’s lawful prey. – John Ruskin
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Whaddya expect for twelve bucks? Joel Robuchon?
Are High Alcohol Wines On Way Out?
(ELV note: This article appears in the current issue of John Mariani’s The Virutal Gourmet found at www.johnmariani.com.)
p.s. ELV has been complaining about high alcohol red wines (both new world and old) for years.
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NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR
`Tiresome’ High-Alcohol Wines Face Backlash as Buyers Wake Up
by John Mariani
It seemed like a good idea at the time. I had just enjoyed a glass of white wine with some seafood and the next course was lamb, with which was served a big red Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Trouble was, this was lunch, and I 
spent the rest of the afternoon asleep.
True, the older one gets the less one should drink at lunch, but the real culprit was the red’s 14.5 percent alcohol, a level made popular by the sun-burned Napa Valley blockbusters and California cult wines that delighted many U.S. wine critics since they emerged in the late 1970s.
Robert Parker (right), publisher of The Wine Advocate, raved about big “plummy” high-alcohol red wines with “gobs of fruit,” encouraging California winemakers to go for higher and higher alcohol levels. Some labels now list 17 percent, which may actually be a degree or higher in the bottle — closer to Port than wine.
Happy Anniversary to Us!
March 29th marks the Official 2nd Anniversary of Eating Las Vegas. It is also the birthday of Brett Alexander Curtas (The Official Younger Brother Of ELV).