When was it that “good’ became “not good enough”?
At what point in our enjoyment of wine did the search for the superlative eliminate the good to replace it with the better, which is only a necessary stop to that holy grail of best?
When wine appreciation becomes a competitive sport, or even worse, an exercise in handicapping, the essential joy of wine gives way to gamesmanship---each wine becomes merely a point of reference rather than a point of particular enjoyment. (This shift generally begins about the time points are used as arbiters of quality, and wine is reduced to numbers.)
It’s the difference between enjoying a horse race as a thrilling spectacle among several beautiful horses, and instead spending the entire horse race looking at the tout sheet to figure out who is likely to win the next race. Or, conversely, it’s the difference between walking past the Rockefeller Center Ice Rink at night and stopping to watch a single skater lazily gliding through loops and whirls for the sheer joy of the moment, or judging at an Olympic competition on the fine points of technical precision.
In our quest for the finest, we sometimes overlook the good.
What generated these thoughts? A good bottle of wine, of course. Not the greatest bottle ever made; not the finest example of its type; not the ultimate holy grail of variety or place; and not the singular, compelling, iconic avatar of its genre. A good bottle of wine. To wit, a bottle of Pierre Sparr Pinot Blanc Reserve 2008 from Alsace.
When opened and poured, the Sparr was a chubby-plump and aggressively friendly mouthful, with loads of fruit and substantial body on a dry frame---Alsace, by its nature, has a lovely heft and weight and texture to it, often making it a white wine with all the attributes normally associated with reds, except for the tannins--- and my drinking companion tasted and quickly quipped, “This is good!” Well, actually, it was more a firmly declarative “This is GOOD!!!” followed by another and larger sip and a nod of the head.
The wine was lively with zesty fruit---loads of tart apple and citrus---and that aforementioned Alsatian weightiness, and had an interesting side element of spice along with the zip of acids that kept it playful and intriguing. No problem with an immediate consensus of some teriyaki-style noodles stir-fried with mixed veggies as a simple companion with the wine. Nothing more was needed, really, and the simplicity seemed perfect on a chilly winter’s night, with plenty of umami on hand, both solid and liquid, to give comfort from the cold.
Mind you, no one was screaming “96 Points!!” or acclaiming “Wine of the Year!” in fulsome tones. Just “This is GOOD!!!”. And that enjoyment of the moment, reinforced by a rapidly emptying bottle, a few “ummms” and a satisfied sigh at the end of the meal, seemed more than sufficient acclamation. “Good!!!” was good enough.
The astonishing price tag of $11.99 added significant pleasure too. But that’s Alsace: amazingly consistent, high quality, satisfying, versatile, food friendly wines at very reasonable prices. Mind you, there are the flashes of utter brilliance as well, but that is lagniappe to the commendable daily fare that is Alsace.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: The continuing joy of Alsace: Pierre Sparr Pinot Blanc Reserve 2008 - National French Wine | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/french-wine-in- ... z1GRL7QY7h