WineLife365

The WineLife365 crew is always looking for books that we think that you will enjoy and find useful.  WAIT, don’t stop reading this entry!  While some wine books can be boring and pedantic, we found at least one that might actually surprise you.

A book by Robin Goldstein (founder of the “Fearless Critic” series of restaurant guides) that has received a lot of controversy and noise from the wine industry is called :

The Wine Trials: 100 Everyday Wines Under $15 that Beat $50 to $150 Wines in Brown-Bag Blind Tastings

The title of this book pretty much sums up what this book is all about and why the wine industry is hot under the collar with Mr. Goldstein.

The tasters for Mr. Goldstein’s book were 507 folks who are friends of Mr. Goldstein and his editor. Some of the tasters were sommeliers and winemakers from France.  The rest of the group was comprised of a broad cross section of “regular” people – bartenders, doctors, lawyers, young people, old people.  Mr. Goldstein and his friends conducted a blind tasting of hundreds of different priced wines and make some startling discoveries that have made him public enemy #1 with wine industry folks.

The results of his experiment are rather amusing and eye opening. For example, he found that on the whole, his blind tasters preferred the taste of a $9 Beringer Founders’ Estate Cabernet Sauvignon versus the same producer’s $120 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. They also preferred a bottle of Domaine Ste. Michelle Cuvee Brut, a sparkling wine produced in Washington State that sells for about $12, to Dom Perignon Champagne, which sells for about $150.

What this book proved to us is that people should do blind tastings of their own and find out what they like. It also goes back to what we’ve always said; don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. And finally, don’t believe the hype that if it costs more that it must be better. The wine world is full of outstanding values. You just have to be willing to find them.

We think that you’ll enjoy this book and the wine recommendations contained in it. We also love the fact that none of the recommended wines are obscure or hard to find.

Have fun and enjoy.