The Wine Lover Meltdown that Changed the Wine World Forever

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In this video:
Outside of wine snobs, I think we can all agree that wine snobs are just the worst. This is not because virtually every study ever conducted into the field of wine tasting as a whole has concluded that it’s ridiculously easy to convince even the top sommeliers that $5 boxed white wine is the finest red wine ever bottled. Nor is it because wines they would happily sacrifice their first born to have a glass of and would have otherwise raved about, when told the glass contains a variety of some cheap wine they are to identify, are more than likely to claim it tastes akin to horse piss.
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Sources:
www.oxfordwine.co.uk/wine-snob
www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/...
www.thespruce.com/the-judgmen...
books.google.co.uk/books?id=0...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgmen...)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_...)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domaine...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odette_...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_...

[@jcoronet2000]

it's not the wine you drink... its the bridge you drink it under.

[@johnm3152]

Next to fortification, an easy access screw off cap is a must.

[@nunyobiznez875]

+jcoronet2000 lol, and here I thought that it was the paper bag that it's wrapped in and the oil drum campfire that were important, not which bridge you drink it under.

[@otakuribo]

I'll drink _you_ under a bridge! *passes out after drinking exactly 0.2 tablespoons

[@BothHands1]

Lol i like this

[@richardbidinger2577]

And, for best results, make sure your paper bag is properly folded at the top to get the right grip on the bottle.

[@mabus4910]

I once took a class about gastronomy. One of our teachers was also responsible for the wine selection of an hotelery school. He shared the following story. One day he decided to expend the wine selection an buy wine from a bunch of different countries. He called in a supplier and together they did some wine testing. He stumbled across an italien wine that he liked and was super cheap and bought some bottles. The supplier told him, that he liked the wine as well but his other clients just would not buy it. So my teacher told him to just make it ten times more expensive. The next time he wanted to order that wine it was sold out.

[@izzytoons]

eh. I still prefer a good Pouilly Fuisse over most any other moderately priced whie wine.

[@joshman8540]

Pouilly-fuisse is just a small part of burgundy explore more whites from other regions in burgundy as well!!!

[@_d0ser]

"Our teacher took a popular story about veblen goods and changed it to make him the main character and seem smarter than he is."

[@mabus4910]

@@_d0ser The veblen effect occurs so often that it is taught in schools, so you assume that every instance of it happening must be invented. One really can't win on the internet.

[@HyperIonMake]

"The silliness that can occur at blind tastings". The fact that such a "silliness" is known to exist proves this is true. If you can't tell something is better by taste alone then it isnt better.

[@MrGregory777]

Silliness in this fact is high class wines losing. You can tell that something is better by taste alone. Did you know in blind taste test people prefer Pepsi over Coke? Both are brown sugar water that taste like poison.

[@HyperIonMake]

@@MrGregory777 "high class wines". Have you seen a French wine production vs a quality California wine production? They are virtually identical. Some California wines ARE high class wines, therefore it's not unrealistic that they should win a decent amount of the time. Yes and that's been proven to be a result of the fact that 1. People prefer sweeter products in the smaller amounts of the taste test than they do as an actual drink and 2. People DO prefer it more than they drink it, but they prefer the brand and nostalgia. Also. The point IS that you can tell something is better by taste alone. Meaning California high quality wines are just as good as equivalent French wines, or better.

[@peterwelsh6975]

I can tell you in blind taste test I'll pick coke everytime. Just like I'll pick Dr Pepper not Mr Pibb. Anything diet tastes like crap.

[@HyperIonMake]

@@peterwelsh6975 ..... Your point? The statistics was the the average person prefers Pepsi more than the market reflects. That means there's still a good chunk of people who got it "right". Either way. We aren't talking about average people. We are talking about professional wine tasters. This is their job, their life.

[@zorakj]

HyperIon Or...people who prefer Coke drink more soda per person.

[@jasonirwin4631]

I once meet a French wine expert at Tokyo Narita airport. I asked him if he prefers French wines over other types. He said no and that outside of national bias French wines weren't any better or worse than other nations wines. He also said his personal favorite brand was a Texas white wine mostly because the vineyard put jalapeno peppers in with the grapes when they where smashing them. He said it gave the wine unique and pleasant spicy after taste.

[@concept5631]

Interesting

[@Royal_Fortune]

Thanks for sharing! That’s actually a super interesting story with an interesting little bit of knowledge at the end.

[@cheemsreads]

do you have the texas wine brands name?

[@s2piro]

@@cheemsreads google says it is from Sweet Dreams Winery :)

[@cheemsreads]

thanks bud! @@s2piro

[@phoebe5114]

I LOVE when Simon gets a little snarky at stuff like this. 🤣

[@NoobLord98]

I feel like the fact that France got put in it's place really pleased Simon, a Brit.

[@leomcguire7038]

"Ninety per cent of Americans prefer sweet wines. The other 10% try to make us feel bad about it." - John Kramb, owner of the Adams County Winery, Gettysburg, PA USA

[@Desimere]

I prefer medium dry because sweet ones make me feel worse. I don't drink so much as to get a serious hangover but even a little bit more tired next day counts in my book.

[@ecclestonsangel]

@@Desimere sweet wines are no better than drinking alcoholic Kool Aid! Bleah! I don't want my teeth falling out of my head from too much sugar- gross!

[@Desimere]

@@ecclestonsangel i don't see how that could be the case since there is such a large variety of different wines. If you pick a full-bodied sweet wine, do you still have an equivalent kool aid? We don't have kool aid so i don't know what it is like.

[@ecclestonsangel]

@@Desimere hmmm......well...That's a toughie. Do you have Wylers, or Flav-or-ade? They are both like Kool Ade. Or Aid. I think it's Ade. I haven't drunk the stuff in so long. Kool Ade is this noncarbonated soft drink we've had since the dawn of time. You take a packet, mix it up in a pitcher of water with a couple of quarts of water and a cup and a half of sugar. It came in all kinds of crazy flavours, like Rockin' Blue Raspberry or Gator Green Punch(please don't ask), but also fairly common ones like cherry and lemonade. As kids we thought it was great. As a grownup, I just can't stand it because of all the sugar! I like sweets, but not like that! I've had port and loathe it. It's so sweet it puts my teeth on edge. Is that what you mean by a full bodied sweet wine? Not being sarcastic, just asking for information. We have dessert wines and ice wines here which I also find unbearably sweet. I have a favourite Japanese restaurant I enjoy going to, and am very good friends with the owners. They always buy me a plum wine. It's rude not to accept, but it's so sweet I have to down it like a shot and chase it with what's left of my chardonnay, lol!

[@Desimere]

@@ecclestonsangel i think i have never actually had the truly sweet ones then. Certainly not anything as sweet as a soft drink. Sweetest one i think i have tried is a home-made summer wine. I think i would have to agree with you then. It would be pretty horrible to have a wine as sweet as a soft drink.

[@aGuyNamedEr1c]

That "hint of smokey over tones" was the smell of the French getting burned. 😂

[@penguinpie5056]

undrerated comment

[@Bra-a-ains]

Some of the same snobbishness is found in coffee culture.

[@Serai3]

It comes directly from the wine thing. It's completely ridiculous.

[@Mr2greys]

To be fair there is a difference in where the coffee bean is made and how roasted but tastes are subjective. That said those who put sugar and/or cream are just barbarians with no palate ;)

[@Serai3]

Whatever. It's ridiculous to make some stupid hierarchy about it, which is what you're doing by sneering at people who don't want a mouthful of horrible bitter crap.

[@clydeinverness1197]

Ill take Ethiopian coffee over Folgers any day, Call me a Snob if you like lol.

[@kenneththompson1809]

Not to mention bottled water.

[@KimberlyGreen]

*France* has left the chat

[@wandaperi]

*Napa Valley* has left the chat

[@toxiccan175]

*Literally everybody else* has joined the chat

[@grizzziff1445]

To be fair, they have a habit of surrendering quickly.

[@KimberlyGreen]

@@grizzziff1445 False & unsupportable. The idea of the French being cowards and surrendering is pop-culture rubbish. For additional clarity, read this article: www.weeklystandard.com/john-noonan/the-french-militarys-bad-reputation-is-inaccurate-and-undeserved

[@kapon1862]

Kimberly G. It’s a joke dumbass

[@ToddMikosh]

I love how Simon fearlessly roasts the loftiest of endeavors and then proceeds to report on them with proper respect.

[@OtakuUnitedStudio]

Sounds like the whole ordeal was basically the wine equivalent of Paris Syndrome: finding out something isn't as great as you thought it was, and acting like it's... _sour grapes._ *puts on sunglasses* YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAH!

[@SomeJustice19k]

Epic Caruso.

[@65Drums]

*Hits rap horn

[@kevlareditor7532]

OtakuUnitedStudio thumbs up for a David Caruso reference.

[@Draugo]

Karl has ruined that for me. Now when I read YEEEEAAAH! all I can think of is Karl doing that voice...

[@jayoliver3734]

Winner.

[@AnimalFacts]

Interesting. *sips wine from a box*

[@joezze-bear]

Pffft sips, *snatches box again and chuga-lug-lug*

[@kaktotak8267]

Yea, cool story. *finishes a bottles of beer and belches*

[@sqeekykleen49]

ME TOO!! 😀

[@gonzalodiaz6206]

I see you are a drunk of culture ...

[@kissingfrogs9302]

which often has less preservative than its bottled counterpart

[@joanhoffman3702]

The film "Bottle Shock", starring the late Alan Rickman, is based on the book, "The Judgment of Paris", about this event. Of course, Hollywood had to tweak some details.

[@Serai3]

Yeah, because real life isn't a movie.

[@wingracer1614]

Tweaked details or not, it's a surprisingly awesome movie. I highly recommend it.

[@jeremyrockatansky]

Great movie!

[@nathanhatfield8790]

It was a good movie. I wished they had left the whole romance part out. The rest of the story was so good it just brought the movie down.

[@pggysu]

Joan Hoffman My favorite Alan Rickman film!

[@Adam-cq2yo]

"Our wine is the best." *Their wine isn't the best.* *Everyone freaks the hell out.* I love that one little thing like that gave hope and rage throughout the world. It brought us more wine and shook the wine world to its core. All because it turned out a country's reputation for wine wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Overreact much?

[@chadoftoons]

And people we think we are overreacting on issues today.

[@surprisedchar2458]

Well it was a French cultural staple. You wanted the best wine, you go to France. Or if you wanted actually good wine you go to Italy. It was a blow to national pride. Especially for a couple of guys from California to smash the French so considerably.

[@diceman199]

@@surprisedchar2458 To be fair there are some very nice french wines though some of the big names are over rated. I do drink mostly italian ones though

[@brandonbrown6922]

That realization that you have grown complacent while others were striving to outdo you.

[@JoshSweetvale]

Well, French people kill you with a sneer, British people kill you with a shrug, Spanish people kill you with a snarl, German people kill you with a blank stare and Americans kill you with a smile. All countries/cultures are psychopathic in their own little ways.

[@danstiver9135]

I would imagine you could get a similar result if you got a bunch of art experts together and revealed a child’s finger painting but told them it was by a famous abstract artist.

[@TheBrokenLife]

That has happened many, many times. That's one of the reasons that forgeries are everywhere in the art world.

[@ZS-bg7jo]

The high end art world is openly a scam for the rich to transfer and store wealth without that whole troublesome bank oversight and taxes

[@wholeNwon]

Done several times.

[@gabumonboys]

@@ZS-bg7jo honestly that makes so much more sense.

[@percynjpn4615]

@@TomsBackyardWorkshop Also with an elephant, I believe.

[@profgandoor2030]

Sommillier * Drinks wine* American wine: I’m about to end this mans whole career.

[@ottoleisering7855]

I scoured around and found some old wine bottles with fancy French labels on them. I would then pour $4.00 Walmart wine into them and serve it my guests who would gush on about how great the wine was and how could I afford to buy such. Inside I was laughing hysterically.

[@moabt.frican7163]

Haha! Otto your crafty bastard you

[@dreed100]

Maybe they were too polite to criticize your choice? Had some box wine in Australia and it's pretty bad. Mix it with something makes it nice. So 10 dollars bottles are for me only. Although I only had box wine twice and it was bad so stayed away from them since then. Maybe they were bad batch.

[@AzureDrag0n1]

For me it is not hard to tell good wine from bad wine now that I have actually tasted good wine. I can not go back to the cheap stuff and drink less now. When it is good wine vs good wine I have no idea which one I would prefer more. It does not matter they are both good wine. The best wine I ever tasted was actually wine that is made by my parents made from apricots. It has a very rich flavor while cheaper wine has a bland taste that is kinda just watered down grape juice with vodka.

[@kissingfrogs9302]

@@dreed100 Sad you got bad as some chateau d'cardboard is not too bad in Aus and good bang for buck. Some others however are simply undrinkable.

[@lolboy546]

@@AzureDrag0n1 But you aren't blindfolded, that's the entire factor that causes your senses to deceive you and let's the wine speak for itself.

[@mafiousbj]

"Humans are gonna human after all" That´s definitively my new favourite phrase. I will print that and frame it or put it into t-shirts!!

[@alex0589]

Humans gonna hume

[@codea4272]

My new favorite quote

[@brianniemi7051]

If only human was a verb...

[@gannumedes71]

The sheer amount of sass in the intro killed me. I’m dead rn

[@toshirodragon]

Right!? I choked laughing!

[@alex0589]

Freakin' scorched earth for wine lovers lol

[@nautifella]

I took the wine appreciation courses at UC Davis, and acted as a wine judge in county fairs stacking up the ol' resume to get selected for the Cali state fair. Never did make it. I learned two things. 1) I hate wine snobs (most wine people) more than I hate lawyers....which is a lot. 2) I like what I like and your opinion is not a factor.

[@nautifella]

@David Benner Why do that to the vodka? What did Potato based Vodka do to you?

[@jwo7777777]

I'm just gonna hold my breath until you consider my opinion. Here goes ....

[@ThomasProsserZurich]

Holding a WSET Diploma. I'd subscribe to 1) wholeheartedly. On 2) Wine is best appreciated when shared. So let others have an opinion and maybe theirs can guide you where you never knew you'd wander. You can't like what you don't know.

[@Appalling68]

Loved this video! I’d also like to add that as a winemaker with 30 years experience in the business I am shocked, shocked I tell you at the hint of “snobbery” in this sector! :-)

[@thejesuschrist]

I'm more of a beer guy to be honest

[@xkrkro]

Says the man who turned water into wine... 🍷 🍷

[@glace5717]

Jesus Christ! It's Jesus Christ

[@darklightmotion5534]

hope you are doing fine now

[@sid2112]

HEY PAL, my fuzzy socks collection is second to none. SECOND TO NONE.

[@peter-peterpumpkineater4982]

You tell them sir!!

[@cathipalmer8217]

Except mine.

[@sid2112]

@Maxx Kroes I knew we would meet one day.

[@0lderSch00l]

Loved this one. I'm from Oregon and we have many vineyards around where I live. Every year they get visitors from professionals from all over the world, including France. It's interesting how the atmosphere has changed.

[@giantred]

Mention Lindybeige once and inevitably you must find a list of stories to make the French look like fools XD

[@isaiahoconnor8236]

Ahh... that's how I landed here lol:)

[@paranoidrodent]

I usually enjoy Lindybeige's stuff but he really does get stereotypically British in how he rags on the French at any excuse. He takes national pride to jingoist levels and can't seem to resist the urge to engage in the Brit national sport of hating the French. Being bilingual myself and viewing from outside both countries (neither Brit nor French), I've always found the British obsession with ragging on the French really odd and one-sided. I mean most nations (even other French speaking nations) have some level of stereotype about the French being arrogant and aloof but Brits can't seem to resist any excuse to indulge it to an extreme degree. It seems like more of their national identity is wrapped up in it, perhaps due to the impact of the Hundred Years' War and the Napoleonic Wars on their culture (I'm guessing here but why else bring up Agincourt so much despite it being a highlight in a war they miserably lost - it's like US Southerners going on about Chancellorville). When Lindy goes off like that, sometimes I just kill the video and move on. The bizarre thing is how the French don't really reciprocate the obsessive hate and generally kind of aren't that interested in the UK, at least no more than they are in other large European nations like Germany or Italy. Sure, they have their stereotypes (including about Brits) but they just aren't particularly hung up on the Brits. While they do worry about the impact of anglicisms creeping into the culture and language, that is mostly due to the rise of American culture hegemony, not the British cultural influence they've interacted with for centuries. The French aren't particularly focused on past conflicts with Great Britain since those were a long time ago. The Brits have generally been allies or neutral in every French conflict in the past two centuries (since Napoleon really). British media is full of anti-French snark. It's an easy laugh for a British comedian. French media seems to find the Brits a little boring. The only Brit jokes I've seen have been Brexit jokes. They clearly do find a certain humour in that mess but honestly, that's hardly limited to the French.

[@custos3249]

Until you consider his videos on climate change denial

[@giantred]

@@paranoidrodent Yeah, I dunno; to me it is just lazy to generalize an entire group for a cheap laugh or ego boost. Seems a little over compensating in my ever so humble opinion *shrug*

[@ridanann]

@@paranoidrodent william the conqueror is why the anglos hate the french an pretence is why the rest of us brits go with the anglo hate. tho speaking as a scot historical allies of the french there pretentiousness is aload of wank lol

[@EclecticSundries]

I’d love to see an episode where you discuss how Missouri grapes saved the French wine industry. In fact if you drink French wine, I likely has some level of Missouri grape DNA in it.

[@Xraller]

The same thing has happened with beer. All my life I heard Germans made the best beer. After going there I realized that here in the Seattle are where I live makes much better beer. I think their rules in Germany have held them back from continuing to evolve to make better beer.

[@jayteegamble]

A brewery owner in my hometown went to a brewing conference in Germany (this was 10 years ago). He came back and said "They're at least 30 years behind. They were discussing dry hopping as if it was some new, exciting technique."

[@concept5631]

​@@jayteegamble Dry County-er here, what is "dry hopping"?

[@unclejoeoakland]

​@@concept5631yeah what's that? I want to see the answer

[@666kingdrummer]

@@concept5631 Dry hopping is adding the hops late in the brewing process, either during fermentation or conditioning afterwards.

[@666kingdrummer]

@@jayteegamble The Reinheitsgebot is double-edged sword, in my opinion. On the one hand, it defidently guarantees what the consumer is drinking, and not anything that they shouldn't or wouldn't know about. But on the other hand, it defidently hinders new innovations or potential new markets. and new exemptions to the rules are simply coming way too late.

[@dBREZ]

Being the typical American 16 year old consummate of fine vintages like MD2020 and Night triain. I found this video appealing to my discerning palette.

[@macsnafu]

What? No love for Thunderbird??? ;-)

[@richpryor9650]

Talk about a flash from the past, I haven't heard of night train in years. So when did you become homeless?

[@Akwatypus]

Up until my twenties I believed that I simply dislike all sparkling wines. But much to my surprise, I then found out that I have only been given a taste of the extra super dry ones which taste like sand to me. The first time I ever tasted sweet or demi-sec sparklies was when I was 20. It was like an entire new world had opened... and I was even a lil bit sour that everyone always bought me the sand before. So for the people who dislike wine but are maybe willing to give it another chance... there really is a great variety of wine from light to full, from dry to sweet. I hope you find the one you like. I like my wine with a full body and some sweetness to it. I've had lighter-bodied ones too but they are just kinda not what I am looking for, too watery. I prefer red wine nowadays but it was easier for me to first taste white wines.

[@BothHands1]

Wild Akwatypus For some reason wine always gives me a headache, fancy or not. I just stick to Jameson lol

[@richardbidinger2577]

You're not alone. I don't care for dry wines either. As far as I'm concerned, they shouldn't sell wine that taste like it should be used to strip paint.

[@BeniBen]

my advice to the wine neophyte is try the Reisling first.. it's sweet and easy on the pallet then graduate from there.

[@bobby_greene]

For me, light body as dry as I can get

[@richardmoore609]

The problem is i could buy a bottle of wine, but i could also spend that money on a bottle of black label. And the back label usually wins.

[@GaudiaCertaminisGaming]

Someone once said that everything the French are famous for, the Italians do much better, and without the pretension. I agree.

[@aidanlevy2841]

"without the pretension" have you met an Italian? I would refine the statement to "many things the french are famous for, the Italians do slightly better while being slightly less pretentious about it". Much less catchy but also much more true :P

[@Shepard0509]

I have heard that statement too.

[@wingracer1614]

The Italians definitely do cars a lot better than the French but they are also quite pretentious about.

[@almahperditae]

Let me rephase that. Everything France do good, italy do as good or better, But they are snobist about it. Meanwhile, as soon as they can, Italians and frenchs come to Portugal to taste how it should be. Chesse, wine, food in general, the best ones are in Portugal. But they are cheep, and no one is snob about it. It's just better. It's just a fact of life

[@almahperditae]

One small exemple: Truffles. In France 100k € a kilo. In Italy 300k € a kilo. In Portugal 10 € a kilo. If you find it. It's almost impossible to find it in stores.

[@BackSeatHump]

As a wine-drinker myself, I found this video to be extremely interesting. This video of yours ought to be distributed world-wide. I prefer (at the moment) wines of Spain & Moldova but there are so many different wine producers in the world that there is no way for me to think there are no other wines worthy of my attention. Bravo Simon Whistler! 🍷🍷🍷

[@matthintz9468]

The movie Bottle Shock, while not the greatest movie in the world (it could really have used some focus), features a brilliant performance by Alan Rickman that's worth checking out simply on that basis alone.

[@Serai3]

A pretty good movie was made about this incident - _Bottle Shock,_ starring Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman, and Chris Pine. Kind of surprised you didn't mention it here.

[@amygoldstein3771]

Serai3 I remember seeing previews for that, but I couldn’t remember the title! Gonna go look for it now, thanks!

[@Serai3]

I think you'll enjoy it. :)

[@jtrenoweth]

We Australians make a nice drop as well 🇦🇺

[@tharedpotatowwhale]

James Trenoweth I’d prefer your beers over your wine any day

[@taylorkitchens578]

New Zealand does too. I guess grapes grow just fine upside down.

[@meganreitzell3094]

Love me some shiraz

[@stevenkennedy3911]

Hell yeah. Goon of fortune!!!!

[@NathanChisholm041]

Penfolds best wine period!

[@MsMrapplepie]

Criteria for a good bottle of wine should be as follows: 1:Does it taste good 2:How bad is the hangover 3: How much it costs

[@d1dg2]

This should have way more likes. That second point...bro, that second point is so true!

[@kissingfrogs9302]

but 2. is always gonna be a mystery and by the time get back to the bottle shop I forget.

[@poozizzle]

Brilliant! Love all your videos.

[@greencertifiedweb]

This story is detailed in the movie "Bottle Shock" with the late great Alan Rickman playing Steven Spurrier! Seriously a fun watch but the movie doesn't address the aftermath so this video is a priceless pairing ;) Side note, Rachael Taylor clean a Thrasher is hilarious and worth the price of admission.

[@mstalcup]

This was a great turning point. Decent wine eventually became much more economical to buy and wine quality in general improved internationally, especially after winemakers stopped being so secretive about their processes.

[@Angel-lv3bj]

Loved this 😄

[@tylerstevens1904]

Love the amusement and sarcasm throughout.

[@griplove]

Don’t you dare judge my fuzzy sock collection!

[@justandy333]

Same thing has emerged with whiskey. Some of the best whiskeys around have turned out to be Japanese. My Grandfather would be turning in his grave if scotch had been overtaken by the Japanese. But at the end of the day, the ultimate question is, does it taste good or not? I really couldnt give a damn which country made it. Is it good? and can I afford to treat myself from time to time? Thats the bottom line in my book.

[@RC-nq7mg]

Canada tends to be well regarded for their rye whiskey as well, however if you want a good bourbon, nothing beats the american south.

[@kgoblin5084]

Whiskey & beer don't have quite the degree of snob factor that wine does. They certainly have a little, but you don't have the utter ridiculousness of professional sommeliers being unable to accurately & consistently identify the product from a given winery, or being unable to judge the quality of a wine simply by taste, smell, and sight. You hand a whiskey expert 2 unlabeled shots, they'll be able to tell you which cost more. Same for a beer connoisseur. Outside of alcoholic beverages, you can see similar things with cheese, bread, etc. Wine in particular, and to be even more pointed *French* wine especially, has a distinct problem with elitism & snobbery. Related: There is a wine variety called Chamborcin... it's a really great, really tasty wine. Think a Shiraz but with better body & nose. You can turn it into a medium dry, sweet to semi-sweet, or even a rose & it does great as all of them. It also comes from France originally, but the French *do not want to touch it*. Why? Because it's a hybrid, and offends their freaking sense of *purity* or some BS. The wine industry is an extra stinky grade of stupidity.

[@scratchy996]

I once had a bottle of original Jack Daniel's, it was the best whiskey I ever tasted. The difference between that and the one that's sold in Europe is huge.

[@MildMisanthropeMaybeMassive]

m. William buda The average beer elitist criteria usually goes as far as “Does it taste watered down?” and “Does it smell and taste like piss?”

[@Splozy]

Do you mean Scottish? scotch is another drink.

[@jeremyrockatansky]

Great video, I've been in the business for years and this is always a fascinating subject!

[@chezquow-williams1487]

That made me smile. Thank you.

[@SpeedyXGunz]

I picture the French Wine Testers smelling their own farts just like Gerald did, in the South Park episode "Smug Alert!"

[@calisahardy4845]

Ohh, the subtle sexy shade!!! I love wine and I love Simon's delivery... France, California, or your uncle's backyard distillery in the Appalachian mountains... All wine should be appreciated and enjoyed.

[@wingracer1614]

No. There is some truly horrendous wine out there. But then somebody must like it cuz they keep selling it.

[@calisahardy4845]

@@wingracer1614 I guess bad vino has never graced my tongue!

[@timtravasos2742]

I love it. Great come-uppance.

[@Halbmond]

I love every second of this video

[@absalomdraconis]

In the defense of scholars of grape juice (well, there's another entry for my list of weird things I've said), some of them taste quite good, though the sugar content makes large volumes a bit difficult.

[@michaelmutranowski123]

I'd actually read an article called "Water Is Wet" just to see what it was about out of pure curiosity.

[@kissingfrogs9302]

Hmmm ... and the title of my new book is ...

[@1hard2findbro]

Outstanding analysis 🏆

[@wjr4700]

Just want to say that the quality of your videos has really improved over time. Keep it up!

[@Shangori]

Whisky lover myself. I quickly let go of the 'only Scotland can do whisky right' very quickly. Current favorite is hakushu and you cant get much further from Scotland than japan. ...wish import wasnt so damn expensive tho

[@unclejoeoakland]

Well... scotch is scotch and Japanese is Japanese. Nothing wrong with that. And look at the bourbon scene we have going here. I have to say. I feel like it's only in wine where there's all this gatekeeping happening.

[@YeeSoest]

Same goes for coffee "Uuh, is that an arabica blend, I love the crema it has and the hazelnut flavor." "That is a 1€ instant coffee from poland but sure..."

[@begging4music]

...absolutely..Dominated.. Love it😀

[@Cavemanner]

Dude, you make, like, the best videos. Also, this event was dramatized in the excellent film "Bottleshock" from the mid 2000s. All star cast with the late, great Alan Rickman as the wine shop owner/organizer! Great laughs throughout.

[@Finkelfunk]

Real wine connoisseurs don't judge whine by price. I can piss in a bottle too but just because I sell it for 5000$ a bottle doesn't mean it's great. Real wine connoisseurs judge wine by taste. The non-snobby ones don't frown upon whine

[@toshirodragon]

Whine is found in teenagers not bottles. Wine connoisseurs on the other hand are usually found in pretentious groups.

[@Finkelfunk]

@@toshirodragon Welp, not a native English speaker so fuck me I guess. Thanks for the correction tho!

[@BareSphereMass]

REALLY! No mention of "Bottle shock" Its a great low budget movie about this.

[@eduardoribeiro383]

Perfect comment. Simon you should have mentioned it !!!!

[@AmadonFaul]

LOL I love it. Love your channel(s) by the way! One of the best on KZbin.

[@BobbyIronsights]

Another great video, keep up the good work.

[@patrickarmstrong8908]

Wine is very similar to the art industry. They both sell crap and say it requires a level of sophistication and class to appreciate.

[@NickRoman]

If you have to work that hard to even tolerate something you're eating before you start to think that you like it, why eat it? Alcoholic drinks in general are waaaay over rated.

[@skn9895]

Ah yes...wine, art, and classical music bring out all manner of snobs.

[@jwo7777777]

Emperor's New Clothes.

[@rkj4107]

A vastly overrated industry. I can find far better ways to waste my money.

[@Phil9874]

Just buy bishop cider it tastes good and still gets you drunk.

[@wahlex841]

Can you really though?

[@Phil9874]

@@wahlex841 yes that is what dnd is for

[@wahlex841]

@@Phil9874 Well, I know Warhammer is pricey, but DnD? Also why not both?

[@neilis2405]

It's not a matter of wasting money - it's just that the prestige is misplaced. Find a wine you like, drink it, and have fun. I don't like bitter, "dry" wines. Typically when I want to have a glass of wine I go to the grocery store and buy a $5 bottle of Moscato. It tastes good and I don't feel guilty about it in the least.

[@Rafaga777]

That truly was a delightful little story...

[@TheBenBen253]

I love you videos, super interesting

[@glenngriffon8032]

I can make wine too. Take some Welch's grape juice and add a few shots of Stoli vodka. It's a good year.

[@TomsBackyardWorkshop]

I find that a $12 bottle of wine is far superior to a $300 bottle. Especially after you drink $300's worth of it.

[@tzey1]

that sass! I love it x

[@nimbusthecat4048]

Great story😊

[@wallplug3903]

Yea I've been drinking this $3 Castillo brand wine lately. It's really good, and every time I buy an "expensive" bottle of wine I am disappointing in comparison.

[@sparkplug1018]

Once you go past about $40 a bottle you're really just wasting money at that point. Its always amusing to me looking at the scores they get while shopping. A $100 bottle may score 92 points while the $20 one next to it scored 99.

[@pinrod1]

there's a 24 hour convenience store near me that sells cheap wine on a "fancy" shelf. I think the name brands of it are Barefoot, Boones Farm, and maybe another one that i can't remember. I see women buying it all the time.

[@Gh0stDiaz]

Simon great Vid I saw a documentary on training the next Gen of Som's They lost me when one said" I detect notes of freshly cut garden hose" And "notes of cat urine" It was a serious Doc not a comedy spoof...

[@beberivera7011]

I feel like we should question how any human is able to identify these flavors at all though...🤢🤢🤢

[@ThomasProsserZurich]

Was it though? Does not sound like a wine expert. We are asked to not have a fruit salad in our tasting notes. So idiotic statements like that sound more like someone with a vivid imagination than someone who is describing the quality of the wine.

[@lisarakic9285]

That was very interesting!

[@odiegh]

cool info thanks

[@casualcgrain7835]

As soon as somewhere thinks they have the best [insert here], that item starts to decline in quality in that area. This is probably because a lot of newbies get into the business for that item and since they are new, produce a lesser quality item. It could also be because the creators don't care about the quality anymore since they *know* they have the best item.

[@michaelroach2959]

It's amazing how much money name recognition is worth. Think of a liquor, then think of the first three brands that pop into your head. Maybe they're good, maybe they're absolute trash (looking at you Jose Cuervo), but unless you went straight to Aristocrat or something similar, the fact that those brands were the first in your head add to both the price and the availability of each bottle.

[@michaelparker2449]

As long as the wine gers me drunk and doesn't taste like vinegar then I'll drink it, but I prefer mixing vodka with fruit juice so I can have a drink I actually like the taste of.

[@Erin-Thor]

Michael Parker - I like it when wine 'gers' me drunk too. LOL! (Ducking)

[@tanall5959]

@@Erin-Thor Clearly they're getting an early start!

[@Erin-Thor]

Tanall - brilliant! 😁😎🤪

[@michaelparker2449]

I shwear I'mmmm not pished.

[@Serai3]

Take out the vodka and I agree.

[@happycomfort3026]

That was awesome!!! I really had to chuckle while listening to your fascinating and amusing video! 😆👍 Raw real truth won out for once! That doesn’t happen enough these days👍

[@dennishunt1590]

I was in France in 2006, I went into a bottle shop and saw a sign advertising "French wine Australian style", Fair Bloody Dinkum, not American or any other country.

[@darreljones8645]

What's especially interesting about this is that the event happened in 1976, the year of the US's bicentennial. And that I live in one of the US's leading wine-producing areas.

[@makecba]

Water is not wet. Things soaked in it are wet

[@MariusPartenie]

Maybe this is just a quirk of language. Just because we can put a coherent sentence together in a grammatically correct way, it does mean it makes any sense.

[@schregen]

@Oh Yeah Yeah oh yeah yeah

[@Erin-Thor]

Hi Daven! Hi Simon! Keep the good work men! Oh... and why wasn’t any wine tasted in the making of this video? If ever there was cause for a blind taste test... THIS was it! 😁😎🤣

[@markallen3293]

I am surprised the French competed in the competition, usually the Frogs run or surrender under heated conflict or competition or not even show up.

[@Tony1035610]

they thought they had the upperhand having muskets vs pocket knives, they didnt know that the muricans(FUCK YEAH) brought their automatic rifles.

[@TheBrokenLife]

...and Franzia is the biggest wine manufacturer in the world. That's the box-wine, guys. Good stuff!

[@GrimYak]

Those are cheap but good. Carlo Rossi is also good,

[@allanlank]

My favourite wines are from the southern hemisphere. South Africa, Australia, Chile and Argentina make marvelous wines. Global warming is also bringing more wines made in CANADA.

[@garret1930]

My dad has made some of his own wine with a couple of his buddies for the last couple decades. If you have the parts you can put them together without the vineyard anywhere close to you.

[@allanlank]

@@garret1930 My cousin owns a winery in part of Canada that used to be to cold for commercial grapes. Advances in viticulture and global warming have allowed him to diversify his agricultural production.

[@giantred]

Vinland making a comeback, eh?

[@OnlyKaerius]

Mine aren't made from grape juice, and they're from Poland. ;)

[@TupmaniaTurning]

Great video - santé! 😉

[@ezragonzalez8936]

ahh the cork sniffers!! lol

[@Aramis419]

I used to work in the industry and it always made me laugh when some snob would advertise their $1000+ bottle of wine. They don’t like it when you ask, “Yeah. But is it any good??”

[@oldarpanet]

I seem to recall hearing that most, if not all of the French grape root stock fell to some sort of disease and only recovered when root stock from America was imported and the French vines were grafted to this newer, hardier root...

[@Aramis419]

oldarpanet Correct. Most varietals are hybrids these days.

[@hicknopunk]

Liberty Creek Cab is my go to wine. 6 dollars for 1.5L. It usually tastes great.

[@primoroy]

Colorado Koolaide, Texas Cow Chips, and French Fries! Snob's delight! 🤣😂

[@eyesonfire4301]

Yes'Sir ,BottleShock was a killer Docuflick. Awesome Simon,Thanks!!

[@Halbmond]

I’m a connoisseur of fine colas and my palate prefers the delicate richness of Coke Light over the provocative sugary overload of normal Coke and of course, *snicker* the sugared dishwater that is Pepsi *hohohoho* But in all seriousness, Pepsi Maxx is pretty good, too - for a Pepsi, anyway

[@kissingfrogs9302]

I like coke but as you say, its too sweet. So I mix it roughly 65% coke to 35% water at blast in my Echo Popper 5000 (modified soda stream plumbed to a 5kg CO2 bottle) . I end up with super carbonated coke that is so refreshing. Caution: If you try this be sure to release the pressure slowly as you end up with coke everywhere.

[@felonyx5123]

@@kissingfrogs9302 Regular coke with a lime wedge dropped into it is perfect for me, it balances out the excessive sweetness and adds a bit of depth of flavor. Don't squeeze it the lime, you get just enough lime flavor by letting it sit there for a bit.

[@OhMyPearls]

They made a great movie about this. French wine is essentially American wine anyway, because after a blight at French vineyards in the 70s or so, the French had to get root stocks from America. Not sure about dates here.

[@Carlton-B]

The Great French Wine Blight occurred in the nineteenth century, from 1863 to about 1880, so you were right, it was the 70s.

[@BTBHSOHBOY]

I've never seen Simon look this happy before.

[@rozenite]

"$5 boxed *white* wine is the finest *red* wine ever bottled"

[@samsoncrosswood7259]

There’s a film about this. Alan Rickman plays the French wine snob who organized the event and Chris Pine plays the son of the man who created a superior chardonnay from California. Fun little film. Edit: Bottle Shock, that’s the title, had to look it up.

[@joezze-bear]

We watch that movie in culinary school, can not remember the name though.

[@colinwomble931]

You can make great wine anywhere, I made some lively wine in HMP Ranby lol

[@christopherganzer]

Probably from a US perspective, but in the UK Australian wine was on a very high trajectory.

[@deanchur]

Over in Oz it's still just sub $10 plonk unless you start talking about Penfold's Grange, which attracts the sort of people this video talks about

[@paulstaf]

I like the bottle water taste tests that Penn and Teller did.... :D

[@SanBrunoBeacon]

Wine, if It's the right price and tastes good, drink it.

[@hertzyscowicz7066]

Have you already done one about the experiment pitting Stradivarii against modern violins (admittedly, those modern violins were like ten grand a pop)?

[@unclejoeoakland]

See the problem there is, I've tasted French wines. I have no way to tell if I have even ever heard a stradavari.

[@Treblaine]

Great story well told. I think this would make a great setting for a quirky romantic comedy.

[@Seeker386]

"You can make great wines in a VARIETY of places in the world". Well played, Simon.