I’m often struck by the utter banality of the exhortation, presented as wisdom by many wine professionals, to drink what you like.
In other words, same old same old is just fine. Suggestions that might broaden the palate and open up a world of intriguing tasting experiences are trumped by one’s personal comfort zone. You want a buttery Rombauer chardonnay with that rare prime rib, big guy? You have at it.
Of course, that would be sticking with a favorite and comfortable flavor in the extreme, but it is the current conventional wisdom, yes? Well, no.
The drink-what-you-like crowd wants you to be confident in your own taste buds and flavor preferences. The reality, however, is that those personal preferences evolve over time and only after tasting a broad selection of wines that you probably won’t like.
I’m not fond of retsina, the white wine from Greece that tastes like Pine Sol. How do I know I don’t like it? Bingo. I’ve tasted enough retsina from the best producers to know that no matter who makes it or what they do to it, it’s not my goblet of vino.
I feel almost the same way about pinotage, the eclectic red wine from South Africa. I’ve tasted one or two that I found palatable, but the vast majority leave me longing for something, almost anything else.
Tannat, the tannic red from the south of France and Uruguay, is another clunker in my book.
You may or may not have the same reaction to these wines, but you will never know until you try. And that’s what the DWYLC misses.
For example, during one of my many visits to Northern Italy I fell in love with ribolla gialla, a white wine you will find in Friuli. You won’t find a huge selection of this delicious white in the U.S. because most importers who bring in white wine from Friuli focus on pinot grigio.
The reason they do is because everyone is comfortable with pinot grigio. Ribolla gialla not so much. The importers, having been told this over and over again by the drink-what-you-like-crowd, are afraid to bring in any significant quantity of wine that you may not like or don’t know that you might like if you would only give it a try.
If you’re thinking this is a vicious cycle, you would be correct. So here’s my advice: Next time you are at your favorite wine shop, pick up something you’ve never had before.
If it boasts a recommendation from a credible source, or a medal from a major wine competition, give it a shot. You might not like it. You might even hate it (as in my experiences with retsina).
Then again, you might love it. Unless you try it, you will never know.
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