I’ve grown up learning wine the hard way: pulling bottles off the shelf, trusting only the reviews posted in-store and in-print.  I’ve also been privileged enough to be ‘that guy who writes the tasting notes,’ and recognize that bias consistently enters descriptions.

It took my wallet a long time to realize that there are too many good wines available today.  If you have the capital to afford it, modern vinification technology can make up for many qualities otherwise lacking in a wine.  Everyone in the business knows the bar for minimum quality is high.  ‘Great’ wine looks similar to ‘Very Good’ wine, which is increasingly blurring the lines with ‘Good’.

Here in Ontario, the LCBO’s “Vintages” program releases scads of new bottles biweekly.  In the more populated urban centres, glowing reviews of limited-availability wines can incite friction, if not line-ups.  (So I’m told.  Being from the backwaters of Niagara-on-the-Lake, I’ve yet to experience this.)  While I’d often purchase wines based on the Vintages-catalogues’ write-ups or reviews, I became disenchanted with strictly following high scores.  I needed to find what appeals to my palate, and, my neuroses.

Enter: ‘Between the Lines.’

Posts categorized Between the Lines feature wines to-be-released by Vintages which I’ve selected much like any customer might: without having tasted them, reading only the reviews listed in-catalogue.  Many wine descriptions have words which subtly infer its true quality while making it appear exceptional.  Every description is an ad which appeals to some sort of authority to convince us of its quality — a point score, a critic’s review, a medal, or the Vintages expert-panel.  It all sounds good… but, we know better.

We must be smart shoppers, after all.  The critic being cited (or lack thereof) probably has his/her own preferences and habits when scoring wine.  The medals may be prestigious, or possibly just made of chocolate.  Does the tasting panel intentionally leave any type of information out of their description?

Since this feature will be written in advance of the bi-weekly releases (and I’ve yet to be invited to the LCBO’s pre-tastings), think of these picks as my wish list.  The sad truth is that too many bottles today taste alike.  I will attempt to focus on value-oriented bottles, unique offerings, and wines of special charm.  I can’t guarantee they’ll be exceptional.  I can insist that I’d like to try them, though.  If I’m off the mark, I apologize, but I’d strongly wager that even if I’ve recommended a wine you don’t enjoy, it will still have a distinct quality that’s at least a little refreshing.

Even a wacky bottle that fizzles out with your guests will be worth a story.  Don’t we all love stories when we don’t know how they’ll end?

-JW