Shameful Wines

As someone who asks so little of wine, it is hard for me to conceive of one that is undrinkable.  Although I normally romanticize wine here, revere its place in history and extol it virtues, wine is fundamentally a beverage to have with food.  As a complement to our meal, white wine should invigorate the palate with some acidity and coalesce with salads, fish, seafood and other such light fare. On the other hand, red wine requires enough body and flavor to harmonize with rich, savory beef dishes but never to the extent of overwhelming our taste buds with harsh tannins.  Lastly and equally important, all wine should possess a discernible amount of fruit or non-fruit flavor.  As difficult as it is for me to imagine any wine not meeting this simple criterion—I found two.  One was a red wine from Italy and the other a white wine from Portugal. These wines were so offensive that even I would not drink them.  

All this begs the question… is it that wine producers and/or wine merchants think that no one will notice just how bad the wine is? Or do they think we do not know enough about wine to deem it undrinkable?  Either supposition is insulting. Since such unpalatable wines are offered for sale, I have decided to create a Wall of Shame, exposing them for what they are—shameful examples of wine!

 The first member of the Wall of Shame is a 2010 Chianti Classico produced by Isole e Olena. After enduring an hour long tasting process with this wine, which included decanting the contents of the bottle and examining each sip before swallowing, the harsh tannins eventually abated, leaving a long and unpleasant acid finish.  In so far as any taste sensations are concerned, I have yet to discover any fruit or non-fruit flavors for my efforts. More to the point, this wine is devoid of any such pleasantries.  As result of purchasing an undrinkable wine for dinner I now have a twenty-five dollar bottle of cooking wine.    

The next addition to the Wall of Shame is the 2011 Vinho Verde from Quinta Da Aveleda.  Vinho Verde is one of my favorite white wines from Portugal. They are crisp, light bodied wines with a delicate effervescence that are delightful accompaniments for a myriad of dishes such as omelets, salads, cheese, steamed mussels, clams and more. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for the 2011 Vinho Verde from Quinta Da Aveleda; this is nothing more than lemon fizzy water masquerading as wine.  Thankfully it only cost eight dollars. Still, that does not excuse any wine maker or wine merchant from selling such an unworthy wine. 

One last question; is flavor and balance too much to ask of any wine?  I certainly think not. Thankfully, most wines are endowed with pleasant taste sensations and are not over-burdened with excessive acids or tannins. Sadly, the same is not true of the Chianti by Isole e Olena and the Vinho Verde from Quinta Da Aveleda. These wines deserve their ignominious place on our Wall of Shame for falsely claiming themselves to be drinkable—which they are not!