Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Big Names Don't Always Mean Better

In life, manipulation and corruption are typical human factors. You can find great deals in little wine shops and small vineyards. In general, the new world that we live in is working on eliminating competition, downgrading quality and making a bigger profit. The powers that be, have eliminated numerous chocolatiers in Europe, Armagnac distilleries in France, etc. They buy their fame and sell their hype, because they can afford to do so. Think about this for a moment, especially those of you who have traveled out of the USA, are over thirty and can look back upon your worldly experiences objectively. For instance, in France, how much difference in quality can there be between a smaller, less known vineyard that is next to one of the "big names", that has the same soil, grapes, same weather conditions, follows the same strict laws, etc.?

Realistic Wine Drinker