Why start Sour Grapes, a blog about wine in Ireland?
Looking through the Irish Times two weeks ago, I came across the Bottles of the Week write-up (paid subscription required)
The first one mentioned was the Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 from Napa in California at €80.
While the writer may have had the good fortune of a free bottle from the supplier or put it on the generous Irish Times expense account (in which case I’m after your job, you jammy git), we’re not so lucky.
Most of us won’t be dropping 80 yoyos on a bottle of plonk, particularly one that “needs more time to reveal it self” or 45 yoyos on “an intriguing nose of orange peel and tobacco leaf is followed by dense, dark, opulent fruit and a silky mouth-filling texture with a rich, measured finish” (wtf?).
The two bottles were beyond the budget of most of us and written in flowery, poncy language that only the wine elite pretend to understand. For me, that’s the “3P” problem with wine: it’s perceived as poncy, pricey and pretentious and those who have the power to do something about it, don’t. Instead, it’s put up on a pedestal that only those in the know have any business drinking.
Well, I’ve got news for the old guard: there’s a new blog in town. Mainly inspired by legend, Gary Vaynerchuk, Sour Grapes is all about reviewing wine that’s accessible to all in plain English.
