I Prefer the Term Frugal Wines Pt.II

In the interest of fairness, here is an article responding to the Slate piece that I blogged about concerning cheap wine.  I think the article is lacking in any logic.  The writer starts by summarizing the arguments of the original article and then goes about ignoring those arguments all together.  It is filled with straw men and logical fallacies including an appeal to popularity, appeal to authority and the ever popular appeal to tradition.  But, it completely side steps the facts: 1) that experts, let alone non-experts, can't tell expensive from cheap wine 2) that most people drink wine without lingering over its complexity 3) that if you find a wine you didn't like then you are not out much money and 4) if you like cheaper wine what business is it of anyone else.

The writer suggests that there is a human cost to cheap wine by linking to a story about a worker who died in the vineyards of a notoriously cheap vintner.  Well, if you can use Google you could probably find an example of a high end winery that has experienced a death or even a a mid level winery, for that matter..  What does that prove? Nothing.  As for the argument that Wonder Bread and Kraft slices aren't as good as artisanal breads and cheese that is just silly; give kids a choice and they will probably pick Wonder and Kraft every time and, to use their own logic, Wonder and Kraft sell more so doesn't that make it better?  And if you want to make a good grilled cheese you are better off with the cheap stuff (but that's a post for another day).

There is a somewhat better post here although note that this writer makes the same silly argument of the difference between a Big Mac and a Lobel's Steak.  Well, I will go on record as saying most people can't tell the difference between a Big Mac patty and a Lobel's patty of similar size, shape and preparation.  And, it holds true that most people can't tell the difference between a cheap bottle of French Pinot Noir and a more expensive French Pinot Noir. One should stick to comparing apples to apples.  Price has no bearing on the taste of the wine any more than price has any bearing on the taste of beer, whiskey, chocolate, peanut butter, onions, tomatoes, etc.  Also, price has less and less to do with quality in all those examples (but again, there is another post for another day in that statement).  As for the idea of wine as culture, while this is true there is no law that culture need be expensive - the foods of the peasants are inexpensive, until enjoyed by the snobs, and they are culture.

But, read the articles and make up your own mind.  As always, it is your palate, your stomach, eat and drink what you like and can afford.