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What’s Your Favorite Wine?

February 8, 2012 by Don Lahey

Once someone realizes what I do for a living, I anticipate the question.  I can’t help it.  I’m not telepathic, but I know what’s coming.  And invariably, “the question” does come:  What’s your favorite wine?  I used to answer the question with a litany of favorites, but after decades of wine tasting I have more favorites than I can count, so that conversation can go on for a very long time.  So now I respond to the question with “the wine in my glass.”  A true statement, simply because I don’t drink wine that doesn’t please me and the fact that a particular wine remains in my glass offers testimony to the immediate gratification it is providing me.  Hence, a new favorite wine!

This candid but somewhat flippant sounding response also frees me to recall a few special wines and to ask the questioner about his or her favorite wines – a topic that I find more intriguing than my own preferences.  What I have come to conclude from others’ responses is that everyone’s palate is a bit different.  And although most experienced wine drinkers can reach a consensus on a wine, they don’t always.  Why? Ambiance, experience, or lack of experience, personal preferences, and whatever else a person has consumed that day can alter one’s perception of a wine.  Moreover, I have learned over the years that there are only three immutable facts about wine drinking, and they are these: no one can drink a label (even though some people try, either to impress or to hide their lack of experience), a price tag (that’s only for snobs), or anyone else’s palate (a true waste of time and wine).  Think about it!

 

A Votre Santé!

Don

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About Don Lahey

Don Lahey's career in the wine industry spans over 30 years as an importer, author, consultant, and educator. He leads the tasting panel that selects our wines each month.

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