What really makes wine great?

In the last couple weeks I have had the pleasure of having a number of very memorable experiences surrounding wine.

First, I recently spent an evening in Las Vegas at a Wine Spectator event. Almost all the famous names from Cali. where present and many from Australia and South America (theme was the New World Wine Event, if you hadn't figured this out yet). We walked around a grand ballroom and tasted many wines priced into the stratosphere. I personally relish these types of opportunities, as there is simply no other way to experience these wines other than an event like this, simply because of the prices. Many of these wine where great, many where good, and just as many where insanely over priced, but all where spare-no-expense juice. Incidentally, the wine of the night, for me, was the 1999 Catena Zapata Cabernet from Argentina. (A certain somebody would be very happy to know the winery is based in Mendoza)

Second, I spent a couple days in Sonoma wine country. We visited a couple wineries. Those in attendance can attest to the beautiful wines being made a Truet-Hurst in Dry Creek Valley. We then spent two evenings dining in Santa Rosa. With both meals we drank our fair share of wines. Never wasting time drinking the same bottle twice, we got to experience many wonderful wines in a setting these beverages where crafted to be drank in.

So what's the point you are asking?

While it is a necessary (and very enjoyable) experience to get to events like the one in LV, the most memorable are those when wine is part of the experience, not just the experience itself. Enjoying a great meal and great wine with loved ones is what makes wine the experience it should be.

A week after the these memorable dinners in Santa Rosa, I was at another event and one of the wines we drank at dinner was being poured. Corison Napa Cabernet 2002. Always a very good producer, these wines typically add a considerable amount of dimension with 5-10yrs of bottle age. My opinion of Corison 2002 at dinner in Santa Rosa was very high. Wonderfully defined, complex, and still holding on to the density that makes Napa Cab. great. At the later tasting, this wine was good. All the components where there, but not setting the world on fire...not truly memorable.

I think my conclusion is we can't separate the quality of the wine from the experience of drinking it. Nor should we. While this may certainly frustrate many producers, as they obviously can only control the quality of wine, not the quality of our loved ones, if you enjoy a wine, than it must be a good wine...regardless of what anyone says, as they didn't have the chance to experience that wine exactly the same way you did.

I tasted many wines in LV that, technically, are far superior to wines drank at the above dinners. But, at the end of day, the wines drank at dinner gave considerably more pleasure than even the greatest of the great wines being poured at the Spectator event. Think that drives the producer of a $300 Cabernet crazy?