"wine tasting" news and stories

People can't tell the difference between cheap and expensive wine, says psychologist Richard Wiseman after conducting a survey of 578 drinkers at the Edinburgh International Science Festival, reports The Guardian. The participants sampled a variety of red and white wines in a blind taste test with prices ranging from about $6 to $50. The results concluded that people could only tell the difference between cheap and expensive white wines 53% of the time, and 47% of the time for red wines.

In other words, it's about the same percentage as if they merely guessed. The Claret was the hardest to pinpoint, with only 39% getting it right, despite the price tag differences of about $5 for one bottle and $23 for the other. The Journal of Wine Economics backs up Wiseman's findings. Its 2008 study, "Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better?" reported that:

Individuals who are unaware of the price do not derive more enjoyment from more expensive wine. In a sample of more than 6,000 blind tastings, we find that the correlation between price and overall rating is small and negative, suggesting that individuals on average enjoy more expensive wines slightly less.

Maybe it's time to add some swill wine to that expensive Bordeaux collection.

Tired of spending upwards of $25 for a bottle of wine that ultimately doesn't suit your palate?

Here's a company that gets your frustration. TastingRoom.com sells around 50 different kits containing between four and six tiny (50 mL) bottles of wine samples. Seghesio Family Vineyards, a top Zinfandel producer in Sonoma, was the first winery to participate, in December 2009. Today the site partners with many different wineries -- including Archery Summit (Oregon), Duckhorn Vineyards (Napa, California) and L'Aventure (Paso Robles, California) -- to offer approximately 200 wines. The value of these bottles ranges from $15 to $142, so it's truly a steal to spend between $20 and $50 on a single kit. An evening spent sipping through the kit won't end in disappointment as it might had you blindly chosen a bottle of wine at a local retailer.

What happens when actor Stanley Tucci (Big Night, Julie and Julia), choreographer Tommy Tune, "Top Chef" judge Gail Simmons, and author Stephen Dubner (Freakonomics) uncork a bunch of Chiantis and start swirling? An episode of "Vine Talk," Tucci's weekly wine-tasting talk show debuting on PBS April 7. Slashfood joined the taping this week at New York's WNET studios.

Recalling Jon Favreau's "Dinner for Five," "Vine Talk's" weekly half-hour chat-and-sip-a-thon features guests the likes of Julianne Moore, Kyle MacLaughlan, Nathan Lane, Daniel Boulud, Marcus Samuelsson, Joe Bastianich, Patricia Clarkson, and Penn Badgley. Tucci picks a different wine region each week, pours for the whole audience, and then, over drinks, they discuss.

Ray Isle, wine editor of Food & Wine magazine, and the show's resident expert, gives us our assignment: "Taste all six wines, and pick a favorite." (The audience, along with the panel, determines the best wine of the bunch each week.) And in case you think this is all sip and spit, Isle adds, "We haven't given you anything to spit into, so don't spit on your neighbor." In other words, swallow and enjoy the vino.

Mendocino is the Berkeley of California wine country. More than a few of the 80-odd wineries from the region (which is about two hours northwest of Napa and closer to the Pacific Ocean) practice "green" business in some form or another. This includes creating earth-friendly packaging, converting to solar-powered winemaking production methods and aggressively recycling corks. Many also grow their grapes without relying on chemicals or pesticides. Still others choose to farm biodynamically. Frey Vineyards, which is America's first certified-organic winery, continues to make wine in Mendocino. It was in 1980 that Frey was awarded the certification.

The region is growing as much of a variety of wine grapes as Napa, Sonoma and California's Central Coast. Recently we tasted red wines from Mendocino, and found five favorites.

Graziano 2005 Old Vine Zinfandel, Bertozzi Vineyard, Mendocino, California ($21)
Balanced and packed with ripe fruit (black cherry and raspberry) the Zinfandel also contains delicate flavors of vanilla and oak. Rich, soft tannins on the finish are delightful. It would pair well with a braised-meat dish or a hearty bowl of stew.

There's still plenty of time before turkey and stuffing is upon us. These are the days of food fests, from mac-and-cheese (above) to pork cracklins, of the venerable chili cook-off in Terlingua, Texas, and the over-the-top gingerbread house DIY face-off in North Carolina. Here are seven festivals you won't want to miss.

Denver International Wine Festival, Denver, Colo., Nov. 3-7: Colorado is much more than beer. Its about pinot and Burgundy as well. Denver Wine Week, the Mile High City's annual event, now in its sixth year, offers up more than 400 wines. The festival kicks off with an Iron Chef-style bout in which local chefs will go toque to toque pairing food and wine. The Grand Tasting of International Wines and Food on Friday will showcase wines from more than 100 wineries selected by the editors of Wine Country International magazine. The festival isn't exclusive to oenophiles, though. Craft beer and artisan spirits are also on the tasting menu.

Original Terlingua International Chili Championship Cook-Off, Terlingua, Tex., Nov. 4-6: In addition to one whopper of a 44th annual chili cook-off, there will also be contests for the best ribs, black-eyed peas, margarita, as well as the ugliest hat. In a party as big as Texas, you can also dance to live music, and cruise the arts and craft show.

Romanian Food Festival, Colleyville, Tex, Nov. 5-7: If you just happen to be in Texas for the Terlingua Chili Cook-off, head to the Dallas-Forth Worth area for what may be the delicious opposite of chili -- Romanian food. The fifth annual celebration is organized by the parishioners of St. Mary's Romanian Orthodox Church, and will feature traditional fare like ciorba (hearty soups), sarmale (cabbage rolls), and mamaliga (a cheesy polenta dish), as well as folk dancing, a show by Romanian singer George Rotaru and boxing. Let's hope the boxers leave the cabbage rolls alone before the match. As they say in Romania, "Pofta Buna!" Bon Appetit!