-- Greetings Ian;
> If you also read further, you'll see that I agree and accept that the
> overall characteristic of a wine is more down to the cepage(s) used than
> anything else. Can you cross your heart and promise me that by tasting alone
> you can tell the difference between the proportions of Merlot, Cab Franc,
> Cab Sauvignon in different vintages of any single Médoc Chx? So what
> possible USE is it to give that information?
Well, obvioiusly a large part of our difference of viewpoint is the fact that Old World wines no longer hold any interest for me; I have only a somewhat foggy recollection of what the predominant cepage is in any of the major European viticultual areas and I BUY only Ontario wines. I've repeated my rationale for this so many times that it now bores me to tears and I won't inflict it on you; That's not to say that I don't drink Old World wines offered at social events. Given that, the name of the viticultural area hereabouts or the winemaker or sometimes even the particular wines name offer no clue as to what is in the bottle, label information (front or back) serves a usefull purpose, at least to me, and gives me a little factual information to hint at what it might taste like and some data to file away with a particular taste profile. [Is that a wee hint of anal retentiveness I smell there? ;>)) ]
As I said, it is as likely to
mislead the uninformed than inform them, and the informed know how to find
> out the information and mostly don't care anyway.
The uninformed would not be mislead as they don't know the difference between CS, Gamay or cat piss.... let them live and learn damn it! The somewhat informed and well informed should be able to satisfy a particular itch easily by simply turning the bottle to read..... who does it hurt?
I don't use ad hominem arguments and certainly not to try to prove a point.
> That said, once in a while I might allow myself the pleasure - normally just
> to provoke.
>
> Chuck, if you REALLY care whether a wine from Ch Fortia has or hasn't got 5%
> of Mourvèdre with amongst the 12 other authorised varieties in Chateauneuf
> du Pape, then we are not really on the same oenological planet. I see no
> useful purpose to putting these on the bottle except as a marketing tool.
> The only circumstances when it MIGHT just be of interest, is if someone like
> Ch de Beaucastel either uses an unusually high proportion of Mourvèdre for
> the region, or else _doesn't_ for one particular year. Equally, if someone
> is going to pay $50 or $60 for a bottle of decent Burgundy or Willamette
> Valley wine then I think it reasonable to expect them to know already what
> grape it's made from. So why bother to religiously trot out the "Pinot Noir"
> information. Of course it's PN.
Yes, but is it all PN?. If it's been "blended", I'd like to know..... ( I don't like secrecy or mysteries.... don't believe in the BVM or the HG either! H-m-m-m-m, there's that anal smell again. ;>)) )
> I'd also argue that middle order or lesser wines are so liable to be messed
> around during winemaking, that the characteristics of the cepage are quite
> likely to be more or less heavily masked - so yet again the _emphasis_ on
> cepage as being all important (as is the case in many new world wines)
> smacks more of catering to a kind of snobbish anal retentiveness than > anything else.
I suffered for WEEKS here reading about pretensious films in
which the relative merits of different cepages seem to have been the only
> point of importance.
No! you missed the best part of the movie.... the graphic instruction on purse battery by a woman scorned. LOL
> In fact, the only REAL use IMO of generally labelling wines with their
> cepage is to allow ignorant and/or lazy wine shop staff easily to group
> their wines by cepage without looking it up. (Tongue in cheek time). >
Oh Oh, now you've pissed off a whole new demographic group TIC notwithstanding. grin, grin, grin.
Well, we've agree to disagree I think and this whole thread has consumed a lot more energy than it's really worth. Go back to your guests Ian.... I've got a Sunday paper here vying for my attention and a couple of great su|do|ku puzzles waiting for me to solve them.
Warm Regards Chuck So much wine; So little time!
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All the Best
> Ian Hoare
>formatting link
> mailbox full to avoid spam. try me at website
Regards Chuck So much wine; So little time!
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