Topic: Wine snobbery, wine names

[Peripatetic Phil]

Amused and intrigued by a message from 976bar in another thread :

For a very reasonably priced wine, both are great wines, however, have you ever tried the Australian Mollydookers? The Boxer and the Blue Eyed Boy?  Both outstanding Shiraz's the Blue Eyed Boy being more expensive and more smooth, but I have not found a better Shiraz anywhere else...   The Boxer retails for around $35 in the USA and the Blue Eyed Boy around $50 a bottle, well worth a try

I found myself questioning my own attitude to wines (particularly in view of the fact that I took part in a wine survey only two nights ago).  Now my problem is, I cannot see myself /ever/ being willing to spend USD 35-00 to USD 50-00 on wines called "The Boxer" or "The Blue Eyed Boy".  Chateau Lafite, no problem; Chateau Prat de Cest, ditto; Cave de Tain l'Hermitage, ditto.  And so on.  Because they /sound/ like wines.  But "The Boxer" ?  That's a song by Simon & Garfunkel; "The Blue Eyed Boy" ?  A racehorse.  And so on.  So why /do/ the New World wines frequently have such daft names ?   OK, so there are no chateaux in Australia, but surely it's not beyond their wit to come up with names that /sound like/ wines rather than just being daft and (presumably) catchy.

** Phil (now hiding in bunker until all resident Aussies have vented their spleen).

[976bar]

LOL Phil,

And yes you are quite right

I mentioned these wines as in reality, I can only ever afford to drink them once in a while and usually when I am in the USA because they are even more expensive here in rip off Britain.....

But to indulge once in a while does not hurt and that is the reason why I buy the Lindemans Bin 40 Merlot or the Bin 50 Shiraz, which I can get for

[Malc.]

Reminds me of a time I was at a meeting with the proprietor of a place called the Wine Cellar in Westminster. Quite Literally 2 arched wine cellars side by side. In racks of aged wine covered in dust and in the other, a small eatery where you can sample your wines and have a bite to eat.


I am with the owner as he takes for a gentleman's purchase of two bottles of wine. "Excellent choice" the owner say's, the gentleman replies "thank you, we are going to a friends at the weekend for an informal dinner". The owner then wraps the bottle and rings up 300 pounds on the till! He then starts to wrap the second and says to the gentleman "This is the last bottle, it has been very popular" to which the gentleman replies "I was looking for a wine to have as a casual drink this evening with the wife", at which point the owner rings through 150 pounds on the till. Total purchase of for 2 bottles of wine 450 quid!

[natterjak]

Probably got put through on MP's expenses Axe...

[beachbum]

Due to apellation controlee we no longer have locally produced Port or Sherry in Australia - Port is now "Tawny" or "Ruby" and Sherry is called "Apera" which is a name dreamed up to suggest "Aperitif".

However serious Aussie wines are generally (but not always) called by grape variety, so you get Merlots, Pinot Noirs etc.

Oz is a wine drinker's paradise if you ever visit here, as it's still taxed more as a grocery item rather than grog. Currently drinking a "cleanskin" for the equivalent of two quid Pommy money which is simply labelled "Fruity White" and originates from "South Eastern Australia". Northern Slope?? 

It's very drinkable indeed and reminds me of the Moselles you used to get cheaply in Europe from the corner shop as a lunchtime quaffer.

That was four dollars. I bypassed the three dollar shelf to get to it. 

[976bar]

Reminds me of a time I was at a meeting with the proprietor of a place called the Wine Cellar in Westminster. Quite Literally 2 arched wine cellars side by side. In racks of aged wine covered in dust and in the other, a small eatery where you can sample your wines and have a bite to eat.


I am with the owner as he takes for a gentleman's purchase of two bottles of wine. "Excellent choice" the owner say's, the gentleman replies "thank you, we are going to a friends at the weekend for an informal dinner". The owner then wraps the bottle and rings up 300 pounds on the till! He then starts to wrap the second and says to the gentleman "This is the last bottle, it has been very popular" to which the gentleman replies "I was looking for a wine to have as a casual drink this evening with the wife", at which point the owner rings through 150 pounds on the till. Total purchase of for 2 bottles of wine 450 quid!

lol, that is extreme wine buying!!

What if you drop it on the way home? or worse still get mugged....

[Malc.]

lol, that is extreme wine buying!!

What if you drop it on the way home? or worse still get mugged....

Indeed!
The irony would be that it is unlikely that the mugger would appreciate what he had just taken!