NPR, Wine Tasteing, & Audiophiles

Perhaps even more interesting is the article from the New Yorker's annual food edition from maybe two years ago, where a blind test was held of red and white wine both at room temp. This is going back a little, but as I remember it the panel was made up of someliers from a very prestigious institute in Cali. and even the best ones could only tell the red from the white like 3/5 times. I was thinking vinyl v. cd?

Albertporter - Hard to keep a train of thought with fatparrot two lines above a doin the hoo-ha.
But in any case, fwiw, it wasn't a value test it was a which one is best test. Ain't sure how long term experience would apply with a wine taste test? If you can't tell anything from a taste then why do folks make such a big deal about it?

I wouldn't have thought this a few years ago, but I now see the audiophile world's rejection of blind testing as part of our society's larger anti-science movement. In concept the traditional audiophile view is not that different than creationist talking about all the "problems" in the theory of natural selection. Both groups tout a blanket rejection of standardly accepted scientific methodologies and practices because they disagree with the conclusions.

I also recently heard on my local NPR station that 1 in 7 Americans thought the sun revolved around the earth. Ignorance isn't bliss, it's ignorance.

I look at the "Best Value" list in Wine Spectator ... and I've never been disappointed when following their recommends. As for audio, I look at/read the standard mags, but I've given up on the "best" hunt, as I've been happy with almost everything I've ever owned, at least happy enough. I now simply want to enjoy what I'm hearing, not point to a pedigree, so I know that there's great music to be had without spending lots of dollars to get it. Same goes with wine, of course. I still enjoy the audio mags, but only because I want to see what's being made, what someone thinks about same, and I continue to look for worthy SACD music.

As a cabernet and zinfandel enthusiast, I can say that for a wine to be excellent, is usally needs to be "put down" in a celler for a few years to really smooth out. That's when you can separate the good from the blah. It's like letting your equipment warm-up before a critical listening session, or allowing a new component (including cables) burn-in for a few hundred hours before you can determine it's sonic qualities.

Too often, wine tasting comparisons use vintages that are currently available and drinkable, but the taster misses the true potential of the wine because it needs to be properly aged over time, not just a few years from bottling.

Just my two-cents.

burp!
Ross