Domaine Kuentz-Bas 2014 Alsace Blanc

The Wine Critic’s Dilemma

Sometimes a wine review doesn’t start with the wine but how the writer discovered it.  Finding great wines at any price point would be impossible if I were to taste every wine. There are over 2 million wine brands globally, which breaks down to about 5479 wine tastings every day. Assuming an 8-hour workday, that comes to about 11 wine tastings every minute.  IMHO, that’s a little too much wine.

A Simple Heuristic

Instead, I use a simple heuristic to reduce the clutter. I start with a list of all the people in the wine trade whose opinion I trust. One of those people is Kermit Lynch. He started his wine import company back in 1972 and has always had a sense of great wines from the smaller wine regions of France and Italy. As a rule, if his name is on the back label as the importer, I’ll give it a try.

Wine Review

This particular bottle is what’s known as an Edelzwicker, a simple everyday blended wine. In this case, it’s Sylvaner, Muscat Ottonel and Auxerrois. Crushed oyster-shell and Wisteria on the nose. This white wine has a bright, fresh body with flavors of mint, lemon, and freshly picked pears. The finish is mineral-rich with a touch of ocean air.

Shuck some Maine Oysters (Glidden Point if you can find them), dress them in a classic mignonette, and slurp away.