Board darlings you don't like

[Bob_Hughes]

Dan, Mike captured my thoughts pretty well. Jay Hack and Mike both drink pretty well - but rarely do they drink a wine that I will find is in my wheelhouse. Patricia Green is an AFWE-styled Pinot Noir - I wouldn’t have expected you to like that wine given that you are usually drinking the likes of EMH Cabernet.

And, as Mike said, it’s just a convenient way of pigeon-holing someone in order to categorize folks. None of us are locked into some definition of what we must (or must not drink) unless we choose to do that ourselves. Mike can post a TN on a Barolo (although I am still waiting to see him post a TN in the proper “context”, i.e., when he is drinking said Barolo with one of his homemade pizzas ) and I recently ordered a few EMH Cabernets from Merrill just to check them out (she does seem like a nice person on the Board, despite her being a Red Sox fan ).

I will make one suggestion with regard to the PGC Berserkers Cuvee - while a lot of folks have immediately “Pobega’d” bottles to post notes, I think you can also consider letting these sit for a bit instead of continuing to try a bottle every two months. While it’s quite possible the wine will never be in your “zone”, it’s also possible that you might like it a little older when the acidity becomes more “harmonious”, for lack of a better term. I will be checking out my first bottle over the Holidays, and will make sure I post a note.

[Markus_S]

@mike pobega

Nothing very Rodney King about that.

?“Can we all just get along?”

[ClarkstonMark]

I’ll go with Pegau, and I used to love it.

[Dan_Hammer]

@Bob Hughes

I will make one suggestion with regard to the PGC Berserkers Cuvee - while a lot of folks have immediately “Pobega’d” bottles to post notes, I think you can also consider letting these sit for a bit instead of continuing to try a bottle every two months. While it’s quite possible the wine will never be in your “zone”, it’s also possible that you might like it a little older when the acidity becomes more “harmonious”, for lack of a better term. I will be checking out my first bottle over the Holidays, and will make sure I post a note.

Mike Grammer suggested that very thing.

[PaulMills]

@Michael Martin

The thread title should be “The consequences of not liking what you bought.”
It is not the darlings’ fault.

Very true. It is actually the peer pressure. No way it is my fault for buying into the hype.

(Said totally in jest of course. It is really the fault of all the enablers here. Said again in jest).

[PaulMills]

@Marcus Goodfellow

…and while a winery may not love hearing it, an honest opinion is always helpful. I make my wines the way I see fit, and while a “shock and awe” drinker isn’t my bread and butter I’m a better winemaker for hearing what they have to say.

Good to see you are on here Marcus; we are visiting OR in January and Goodfellow/Matelo are on our list to visit. Haven’t had one of your wines yet but I have a Matelo in the cellar.

[PaulMills]

@mike pobega

I am not sure this is a evenly-balanced question UNTIL you decide if the wine you don’t like is actually a style/variety you usually do. Only then can this be answered.

One of the darlings makes the varieties I love but I don’t love theirs. So it isn’t the varieties, it is the style/vineyard. I think style.

[PaulMills]

To those who have mentioned the PG Beserkers Cuvée, I have a case in the cellar but have not opened one yet. I ordered based on a few peoples palate’s I trust and will open some soon. I like AFWE but only to a point, but knowing the style I have confidence in it.

[Arv_R]

I’ve never gotten the oohs and ahhs that some people lavish upon expensive white Bordeaux.

The whole thing reminds me of Scandi volk around the holidays, and The Tasting of the Lutefisk. Everyone has to try it, heap praise upon it, and then delicately decline any more, while piously saying they want to save some for those coming to the smorgasbord later.

[Nevin_Miller]

Bedrock…don’t understand the love for this producer at all.

[Dennis_Kanagie]

@Nevin Miller

Bedrock…don’t understand the love for this producer at all.

That’s one I do get - love their OV Zin once it has a handful of years age. No worries though - to each his own.

[Marcus_Goodfellow]

To each their own…thankfully.

I think we pigeon hole just about everything, and I tend to pigeonhole wineries more than people. A persons preferences can change pretty drastically, and like the stock market, sometimes over years and sometimes in 24 hours. I have had “light bulb” wines at every stage of my career.

Wineries tend to be vintage dependent, but easier to frame stylistically. i.e. Shea is a very warm site and makes a big Pinot Noir vs. PGC is driven by a passion for Burgundy and traditional wines that typically take longer to develop.

Paul-let me know when you’re coming in January, it’s a good month for visiting and I’m happy to host you at the winery, introduce you to our wines, and answer any questions. (Also, I’m happy to give you a list of the best options for life’s necessities in the valley-coffee, lunch, other wineries, etc.)

[Bdklein]

I used to like EMH until I found out the owner is a Patriots fan.

[Dennis_Kanagie]

@Bdklein

I used to like EMH until I found out the owner is a Patriots fan.

Red Sox fan too.

[Howard_Cooper]

Oregon and California Pinot Noir.

[Brian_Tuite]

@Arv R

I’ve never gotten the oohs and ahhs that some people lavish upon expensive white Bordeaux.

The whole thing reminds me of Scandi volk around the holidays, and The Tasting of the Lutefisk. Everyone has to try it, heap praise upon it, and then delicately decline any more, while piously saying they want to save some for those coming to the smorgasbord later.

I find myself constantly googling things when reading this board. There sure are some strange epicurean traditions out there.

[Brian_King]

I’ll throw Cornelissen into the mix (from Sicily). Multiple bottlings (including Magma), multiple sources touting great shipping conditions (Crush, Garagiste) and… I just don’t get it. To me it’s sour and shrill - and I love Italian wines and their typically higher acids

Also not sure I understand Vin Jaune. The color and smell are fantastic. Then it hits the palate and you are left expecting something more - like actual flavor? I have some more bottles to try, so maybe it will float my boat next time around

Sincerely hope these confessions don’t cost me my “wine geek” card

[Michael_Martin]

Two things that bother me about this thread:

1. People did not read the OP or understand the OP and are answering based on the title alone.
2. What constitutes a “board darling” has been lost in translation. Obscure wines are not board darlings.

[NickC]

@PaulMills

As an off take from the Board Darlings post, what do you do when you have bought into a board darling that you have determined you don’t like and just don’t understand the love. I don’t want anyone to mention specific wineries because that is not the purpose, but there are times I feel I should not give a negative response here or on CT (forum or tasting notes) about a winery that gets love here or on CT. I don’t want to rock the boat, but there are some wines I now have in my cellar that I will let sit because either I don’t like them, or will drink because they are good but don’t think they are worth the price.

Give them away as gifts, open for guests, or sell them. If you post notes to CT, there’s no reason to not post your honest impressions. If it were me I would probably end up not posting on WB about those wines, because I tend not to duck into threads pertaining to subjects that don’t interest me, but it’s a good thing to not be a dick about it in any event.

[Ian_Sutton]

@NickC

Give them away as gifts, open for guests, or sell them.

Good prompt, time to put my Schrader’s up on Commerce corner methinks