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I've always had a theory that everyone would hate the taste of wine and other alcohol if it didn't give us a buzz. In other words, our brains make us like it t
by mchahn 11y ago
I've always had a theory that everyone would hate the taste of wine and other alcohol if it didn't give us a buzz. In other words, our brains make us like it to get more.
I base this on my early hatred of the taste and the later liking. I know this isn't much evidence but I think it could possibly be true.
- justifier 11y agoon an individual basis this may be true, but broadly speaking i can think of a number of counter examples vinegar, cranberry juice, ume, ..
- magic_beans 11y agoOT -- My mouth waters just thinking of ume... how can someone not like it!
- jghn 11y agoAll sorts of things are acquired tastes, not just booze. Also tastes tend to change by age so some of the effect you describe could be an effect of most people starting to encounter alcohol around roughly the same age
- bcook 11y agoVery similarly, I once had a pain pill addiction and I would chew them up (Hydrocodone APAP). I dunno if you have ever chewed up a pill, but they are awful... very bitter. During my addiction, they would taste almost sweet when I chewed them up.
- danieltillett 11y agoThis theory doesn’t really explain why more expensive wine tastes so much better.
- elthran 11y ago2 options spring to mind for me 1) Placebo effect - you know it's expensive, so your mind makes it taste better 2) It's expensive /because/ it tastes better edit: Although, if we run with the hypothesis it only tastes nice because of the alcohol content - alcoholic drinks are usually taxed according to their proof (in UK at the very least), therefore a wine with higher % will be more expensive than a weaker wine, all other things being equal.
- danieltillett 11y agoI tend to think that hypothesis 2 is the more likely. I like good wine, but I love it when I get a good wine for a low price. I get far more pleasure out of drinking good cheap wines than I do out of drinking good expensive wines. Also pointing towards hypothesis 2 is that unreliable wine regions are on average cheaper than consistent regions (all other things being equal). The best value wines in my experience are wines of a good vintage from a marginal region. The history of the region prevents a producer being able to charge a premium when they actually have a great product.
- curiousGambler 11y agoCan you give any examples of great wines from marginal regions? This sounds like a great strategy for finding great wine at a decent price, but I'm not enough of a connoisseur to know where to start.
- runamok 11y agoAt the end of the day it's all farming. Granted one region can have more consistent rainfall and temperature but there is still a pretty wide variance. Even in the same area one winemaker may be more talented and know when to pick, etc. I think certain areas are very overhyped and thus receive a price premium. I tend to enjoy the general flavor of Paso Robles more than Napa for instance even though the 2nd is usually much more expensive. At the end of the day making wine is still very high touch and manual and I am happy to support the industry. I do miss the days not so long ago when wine tasting was at most $10. Last weekend I went to a place in Napa where it was $40 and they only had one wine to taste! O.o
- raverbashing 11y agoWell, cheaper wine probably has defects (things that shouldn't be there) On the other hand, cheap (but not so much) wine is usually sweeter, which might explain the findings of the article (that people dislike more expensive wines)
- raverbashing 11y agoDrink strong spirits diluted in water, see if you like I think also taste is desensitized with time