If the Gallo Pinot was palatable, then this wine was exquisite! The real (or is it contrived?) controversy is immaterial to me, as the complement between the wine and the prime choice Porterhouse, rustic iron skillet potatoes (with onions and bacon) and american salad w/ Marzetti’s Ultimate Blue Cheese dressing made for a most enjoyable meal and I cannot imagine my next indulgence without the finishing touch of Bicyclette Pinot Noir!

What is the true purpose of wine anyhow? Is it to reveal the sophistication of our palate, or is it to provide a social lubricant and a release of inhibitions so that we may become genuinely acquainted with those with whom we are breaking bread?

In vino veritas! Real or not, Bicyclette is my new favorite!

Where’s my reimbursement from Gallo?

http://www.decanter.com/news/295451.html

Considering my Spanish wine is white, the wine world would have to be in a pretty bad state not to tell the difference ;¬)

Of course, in a court of law, you are right – there is no discussion.

But if the notion of ‘Terroir’ didn’t exist, who could you sue for that?

Olly

Commendably ingenious Olly. However, I fancy if you labeled your Spanish wine as Château Pétrus and, even if nobody noticed the difference, your above defence wouldn’t gallop far in a court of law.

I keep waiting for someone else to bring this up but they don’t, so I will:

To this day, Gallo markets something called “Hearty Burgundy,” a name which is a double lie, in that it is not from Burgundy and it does not contain any pinot noir. (Last time I asked around among those in the know, it was mostly Barbera, plus whatever else was red and sitting in a tank and not doing anything.)

So it is hard not to laugh at Gallo’s predicament.

As to the general spoofulation of pinot noir, what can you say? Whenever a grape reaches a kind of mass-market popularity, it is inevitably over-cropped (see also Merlot) and dumbed-down to meet the requirements of people whose other first choice in beverage is Coca-Cola.

My main problem these days is warning people off Marsannay and Fixin. They come into the store, tell me they like big Cabernets and Zins, but they’ve heard about this Pinot Noir and they want to try it. I used to just shrug my shoulders, but I had to take positive action, because it was just killing me when customers brought back bottles complaining that the wine was “too thin” and “tasted like water.”

So you see, I’m not being “elitist.” To the contrary, I’m being as practical as possible, trying to make a living selling wine people will actually enjoy.

Companies like Gallo are perfectly comfortable to blow the terroir horn when it suits their purpose, but there are few mega-conglomerates on earth that have more effectively taken sense of place out of wine. For many wine lovers wine is the most genuine and authentic way of experiencing a little slice of another culture, of reaching out and shaking hands with a winemaker or inviting a family over to dinner from 5,000 miles away. Megas don’t care and won’t care as long as they get their share, unless of course they think it will help them to make a few bucks by jumping on a bandwagon. Until there is a true punishment for actions such as these we will continue to get (insert fad grape here) wines filled with (insert cheap grape here) juice.

It seems unfortunate that some in the wine world take a “who cares as long as they enjoyed it” attitude. If you were served pounded pork instead of veal as your veal piccata would you take the same attitude? Would the chef or restaurateur be justified in defending himself if you didn’t notice the difference and seemingly enjoyed the dish (or simply didn’t complain and never came back)? What if this was the only restaurant in which you had tried veal, and you decided you didn’t like it because it was no different than pork (tastes like chicken)? Would you be upset years later when the switcheroo was discovered? What if you had eaten this porky veal while pursuing a kosher or halal diet?

Too many ethical questions arise to allow ourselves to take the Marie Antoinette attitude. If we in the business don’t care about this issue and hold these producers and suppliers accountable what will we be selling and drinking next? Perhaps Grenache with mega purple sold as Syrah.
Rather than stick our noses in the air (or heads in the sand) and refusing to review these wines or taking the position that any consumer who expects to get actual Pinot for under $10, gets what they deserve, we should treat this segment of the market with the respect it deserves.

The problem is not the blending of Pinot Noir with other (lesser?) varietals, it is the deception involved. Justifying or excusing this deception; whether the justification comes from the French growers, Gallo or Constellation, the contest judges or the wine critics having tasted this wine or last but not least the retail and restaurant buyers who tasted and bought this wine, makes you part of the problem not part of the solution.

O.K. enough with the soapbox, has anyone had the Penner- Ashe Rubeo lately? Delicious, and appropriately labeled.

I hope this clarifies how Tasters Guild International conducts our wine judging competitions.

v/r

Larry Elletson
Co-Director, Central Maryland Chapter
Tasters Guild International