| Some years ago in a book by Lee Iacocca, who | | | | deficiencies, such as excessive acidity and/or |
| was President of Ford Motor Co. prior to taking | | | | tannin, an absence of flavor or possibly dirty |
| over Chrysler Corp. and leading them out of | | | | aromas or flavors. |
| bankruptcy, I read that Mr. Iacocca's boss, Henry | | | | 50-59 A wine deemed to be unacceptable." |
| Ford II, drank two bottles of Chateau | | | | To be sure, you will not find fine wines rated at |
| Lafite-Rothschild every day. Two bottles per day | | | | 96 or above on the cheap, 15% off or not! |
| is an awful lot and wouldn't be advisable, but I did | | | | However, it is entirely possible to find wines rated |
| like the thought of drinking fine wine every day. | | | | in the upper 80's (very good) or even low 90's |
| Today, depending on the vintage, two bottles of | | | | (low outstanding range) for good prices, often $10 |
| Chateau Lafite can cost upwards of $1,000 or | | | | or less on sale! If your wine or liquor store does |
| even more. If your name is Henry Ford you can | | | | not display the ratings tags, suggest that they do |
| no doubt afford this, but most of us have to | | | | so, or if necessary find another store that does. |
| settle for something a little less prestigious for our | | | | The main advantage of the above strategy is |
| nightly dinner pairing. | | | | that you are basing your purchases on some |
| The point of this article is simple: One can drink | | | | opinion. If you simply choose a wine without |
| good, sometimes even excellent wines, at very | | | | knowing anything about it, you might still find a |
| reasonable prices. | | | | pleasurable bottle, but the chances of success are |
| The easiest way to do this is to wait for your | | | | considerably diminished. |
| local liquor store to have their periodic sales. For | | | | Another resource for choosing fine wines is a |
| example, about once a month a large liquor store | | | | good local wine specialty shop. In our town we |
| nearby our home, which carries a reasonably | | | | have a shop run by a young man who is |
| good selection of wines from around the world, | | | | extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of |
| has a sale for 15% off for those on their "family | | | | wine, from vineyard practices to production to |
| plan". So that's obviously the time to stock up. | | | | tasting, and he is truly passionate about the |
| The next question is what wines to choose. | | | | subject. I have learned to trust his judgment, and |
| Unless you already know some good producers | | | | when he recommends a wine, I can count on it |
| and have your favorites, the best guides are the | | | | being a good choice. Of course he needs to |
| little tags which give wine ratings by wine critics | | | | charge more than the large volume liquor stores |
| such as Robert Parker of "The Wine Advocate", | | | | for his wines, but his knowledgeable inputs more |
| the "Wine Spectator", and "The Wine Enthusiast", | | | | than make up for the extra cost. So I routinely |
| among others. Most good liquor stores make a | | | | make a point to pick up some bottles at this shop |
| point to display these tags for the wines that the | | | | in addition to stocking up as described above. |
| critics have tasted. As an example of wine | | | | If you can afford to purchase and cellar great fine |
| ratings, here are the criteria used by Robert | | | | wines, then by all means go for it. But if your |
| Parker, considered by many to be the foremost | | | | wine budget is a little more down to earth, try |
| of wine critics: | | | | the procedure outlined above. I have found the |
| "96-100 An extraordinary wine of profound and | | | | wines recommended by the critics are almost |
| complex character displaying all the attributes | | | | always good, (nothing is foolproof, however, as |
| expected of a classic wine of its variety. Wines of | | | | evidenced by a solidly mediocre Tuscan wine we |
| this caliber are worth a special effort to find, | | | | tried last week), but you'll be pleased most of the |
| purchase, and consume. | | | | time. Personally I like the choices of Robert |
| 90-95 An outstanding wine of exceptional | | | | Parker as well as those of The Wine Spectator. |
| complexity and character. In short, these are | | | | Also, I like to learn what I can about the wine, the |
| terrific wines. | | | | grapes used, and also production methods used |
| 80-89 A barely above average to very good | | | | such as oak aging, malolactic fermentation, etc. |
| wine displaying various degrees of finesse and | | | | This is easily accomplished using the LaRousse |
| flavor as well as character with no noticeable | | | | Encyclopedia of Wine or other reference books. |
| flaws. | | | | The more you learn about wine the more you will |
| 70-79 An average wine with little distinction | | | | enjoy the experience, and you'll also learn more |
| except that it is soundly made. In essence, a | | | | about how fine wines make food taste better. |
| straightforward, innocuous wine. | | | | And as the old adage goes, "life is too short to |
| 60-69 A below average wine containing noticeable | | | | drink bad wine". |