My Favorite Wine of All Time

I am regularly asked "what is your favorite wine of all time?"

I usually reply that it was something special that I would never get to try again, like that 1982 DRC Montrachet, tasted in the cellar where it was made and had rested for 20 years. After all, that was the first time a Montrachet ever seemed worth the price.

It could have been any number of vintages of Ch. d'Yquem, the great Sauternes. I have tasted vintages well back into the 19th century, and just the thought of it makes me salivate.

Maybe my favorite wine of all time was one of the flight of outstanding vintages of Ch. Petrus from the 50s to the 80s. That was certainly a memorable tasting, and worth bragging about, but were any of the above my highest rated wine? When you pay $1,000+ for a bottle of wine, the expectations are pretty high. They better be good wines.

Sadly, when you pay $1,000 for a bottle you actually have a good chance the bottle will not be wonderful. Time, travel and storage are not always kind to wine.

In fact, only one wine has consistently made it to the top of my list. Not because it was outrageous, but because it was notably good, and even more notably, inexpensive.

Houge Late Harvest White Riesling (it is less sweet than the name implies) is a summer sipper that goes well with a variety of foods. It has, year in and year out, been a nearly flawless wine that has stood out in every tasting I have run across it.

There are many other wines that bring out more poetry in my descriptions. That leave a greater lasting impression. That are simply better wines.

So why does the Hogue keep popping up on the top of my list? Price and consistency. Well under $10 (I paid $6 for the last bottle I tasted) and incredibly consistent, this is a wine you can count on, without breaking the bank.

Great vs. Consistent, I have prattled on about this before. In this case, consistent, well priced, and well made, wins out.

My favorite wine of all time? A hard question to answer, and perhaps not really a meaningful one. I think the real question people are asking is "what wine do I recommend?"

I can wholeheartedly recommend that you try the Hogue Late Harvest White Riesling, you will be glad you did.

Here an expert, there an expert, everywhere an expert expert.

Just what exactly makes someone an expert? There is a tendency to think of an expert as someone who knows everything about a subject, and to be at least to some degree, unimpeachable.

The dictionary definition only requires that it be a person with some special knowledge or skill about a subject. So knowing one side of complicated issue is enough to be considered an expert.

I was reading one of my technical trade publications the other day. I was fascinated by a report on the wide acceptance of screw top closures for wine in New Zealand and Australia. Besides being pleased at the general trend towards screw tops, I was intrigued by comments from several very qualified experts.

One side was saying that oxygen is not required for wine to age in a bottle (more on this in a later blog). The other side said oxygen was required. Personally, I thought that the issue was settled years ago by the eminent eonologist (wine scientist) Emile Peynaud, who's experiments showed that oxygen was not required.

I was surprised by the controversy. I was further surprised to see that both sides had performed studies that supported their positions. I don't know why I was surprised, as a scientist myself I consider a study to be nothing more than a challenge to others to duplicate. Only after every study has the same results would I consider an issued to be proved one way or another. This is the scientific method.

It was a wake up call to remind us all that we are only human. We will believe what we want to, until we are presented with overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

What pray tell does this have to do with wine? Don't believe everything you read. Make up your own mind. Use wine reviews, whether they are mine or anyone else's as a jumping off point. Experiment, try new wines, keep your mind open, and most importantly, trust your own taste.