Wines

$90 Wine As Good As $10 Wine

by Kat Kinsman, Posted Jan 14th 2008 @ 4:04PM

Antonio Rangel and colleagues at California Institute of Technology wanted to test the effects of perceived value on the assessment of wine quality, so they asked 20 people to sample wine while undergoing MRIs to monitor brain activity.

Then they lied to them.

Subjects were told that they were sampling 5 different Cabernet Sauvignons sold at different prices, but really, they were given three wines, two of them offered twice, marked with different prices. A $90 wine was presented at its real price, and also at $10. A $5 was shown with its real price, and also with a price tag of $45.

The subjects' brains registered more pleasure when they were drinking the wines they believed to be more expensive -- even when it was the exact same wine. When no prices were given, the $5 wine was rated best of all.

Our conclusion? Next time you're having people over for dinner, pour the vino in the kitchen and tell your guests whatever you think will make your 'em happiest.

Read: Want the public to like your product better? Raise the price.

Read: Best Boxed Wines

Read: Best Wines Under $5.99

Filed under: Guilty Pleasures, Drinks, Wines

Raising the Bar -- Mulled Wine

COMMENTS 27

by Keith Waldbauer, Posted Nov 15th 2007 @ 3:54PM

Mulled Wine: Another oldie with numerous interpretations, mulled wine is simply hot, spiced wine. In Germany, it's called Glüewhein. The Nordic countries call it Glogg.

I like to prepare this at Thanksgiving, as there is nothing better than having the aroma of warm, spice-infused wine filling the house while waiting for the turkey to finish. I keep this pretty simple, but in addition to the ingredients listed below, you can, as others do, add brandy, madeira, sugar, ginger, almonds or even raisins.

2 bottles Cabernet or similar big-bodied red wine
2 packs of pre-packaged mulling spices, found at places like Whole Foods
Heat lightly in a non-aluminum pot until steaming, ladle into heat-resistant mugs. Garnish with an orange zest or wedge.

Now, I use spice packs simply because it is cleaner (all you have to do is pluck out the bag). If you'd rather use a tea ball, these are generally the spices you need: cinnamon, cardammon, cloves, and allspice.

Filed under: Drinks, Wines, Spirits, Holidays, Raising The Bar

Raising The Bar -- Match The Drink To The Digs

COMMENTS 7

by Keith Waldbauer, Posted Oct 9th 2007 @ 4:58PM

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

It's a beautiful, sun-spangled day in Seattle, a perfect mid-summer cocktails-on-the-back-porch kind of day. We roll into a well-known bar on our way home to enjoy a drink on their patio. Christine, my fiancee, smartly orders a beer. Dopey ol' Keith swiftly makes two mistakes. One mistake I outlined in an earlier post, namely, I didn't specify precisely what I wanted and got a rudimentary version of a Manhattan, paying eight bucks for the pleasure.

The real error, however, came earlier, when I walked into the bar and looked around. This is a bar with glassy-eyed mounted animal heads lording over the place, a selection of hot nuts, Led Zeppelin on the jukebox, an impressive line of beer taps and European beers in the fridge behind the bartender. Getting the idea? I certainly didn't, and here's the kicker -- everybody in this bar, and I mean every dude and dudette, is buddying up to a pint of beer.

Everyone, that is, except me. And that's the problem.

Filed under: Drinks, Wines, Spirits, Raising The Bar, Beer