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But this is something that's really difficult to regulate. A good example is that wine brewed from natural yeasts that smells like horseshit. It was branded as

But this is something that's really difficult to regulate. A good example is that wine brewed from natural yeasts that smells like horseshit. It was branded as "barnyard".

threatofrain 4y ago
> But this is something that's really difficult to regulate. A good example is that wine brewed from natural yeasts that smells like horseshit. It was branded as "barnyard". How does that make things hard to regulate?
- karmakurtisaani 4y ago
  "Selling crap as premium" is hard to regulate. Yes, you can put laws in place to say what is allowed to be called truffles etc., but it will be hard to stop people from selling what is technically a truffle as a premium truffle. I.e., selling crap as premium.
  - threatofrain 4y ago
    The issue here isn't whether a wine company can creatively brand smelly wine as "barnyard". Before we even deal with the question of how do we grade products, we first have to ask whether companies should be able to simply lie to customers about whether listed ingredients are even present.
    - karmakurtisaani 4y ago
      That is definitely true, I got a bit side tracked there to be honest. However, those laws already exist in the EU, so the article could probably be summarized as "truffles should be protected".
  - danaris 4y ago
    All we have to do to get the people selling petroleum-derived oil as a truffle is require good-faith truth in advertising. Now, catching people selling a cheaper truffle as a more expensive truffle may require more educated customers.
  - bostik 4y ago
    There's also the funny angle that some real "premium" stuff is actually awful crap, or at least an utterly crappy experience. Years ago, I bought some very pungent blue cheese, must have been either from SW France or NE Spain. Definitely not a household name, and priced quite high. One of the worst eating experiences I can remember. The flavour was so strong a small crumb was enough to burn your tastebuds. Almost painful to eat, and we had to toss the thing out. It smelled really good, though. I learned my lesson. These days I refuse to buy any unfamiliar cheese I can't sample in the shop first.
- noasaservice 4y ago
  Another such 'flavor' is boxwood. That description is what cat piss smells like. If you see a fine wine with 'hint of boxwood', run.
  - DonHopkins 4y ago
    Or a rich potent wine with the sweet distinctive scent of Linden tree. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoqlYGuZGVM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoqlYGuZGVM
jet_32951 4y ago
That is due to a species of yeast called Brettanomyces, usually shortened to brett. Judicious use of brett can impart smoky or leathery characteristics - lumped together politely as "barnyard" or "horse blanket" notes in beer or wine.
petre 4y ago
The wine industry is pretty well regulated in the EU. In my country wine was generally a hit and miss before we got into the EU. Now, almost everything bottled over 5€ is okay and also cheaper wine sold in bulk. This year we've bought some excellent white wine by the bulk directly from the producer and it was cheaper than gasoline. I mostly buy local bottled wine rather than imported table wine sold as premium. Why? Because I know most of the big producers and also some of the smaller ones. If we go to another country with good wines, we ask the waiter and it works out better than looking at the wine menu and making assumptions. One waiter in Sicily even suggested that he chose the wine for us and we were very satisfied with his choice after we also tried to get the same wine ourselves and ordered something different. Also, Moldova used to export crappy sweet wine before their agricultural products were banned in Russia. Now it exports mainly into the EU and they have some good quality wines if you skip the ones made from hybrid grape varieties, which I wonder why I've even found on the EU market. Must be the new 2021 regulation allowing hybrid varieties in wines with protected denominations of origin. Apart from the usual varieties, they also produce wines with a Georgian variety called Saperavi, which I like quite a lot and also a local older variety called Rara Neagra which is popular but I don't like because it's acidic, however it can be sucessfully used in blends where one needs more acidity.

But this is something that's really difficult to regulate. A good example is that wine brewed from natural yeasts that smells like horseshit. It was branded as "barnyard".

threatofrain 4y ago

> But this is something that's really difficult to regulate. A good example is that wine brewed from natural yeasts that smells like horseshit. It was branded as "barnyard". How does that make things hard to regulate?

karmakurtisaani 4y ago
"Selling crap as premium" is hard to regulate. Yes, you can put laws in place to say what is allowed to be called truffles etc., but it will be hard to stop people from selling what is technically a truffle as a premium truffle. I.e., selling crap as premium.
- threatofrain 4y ago
  The issue here isn't whether a wine company can creatively brand smelly wine as "barnyard". Before we even deal with the question of how do we grade products, we first have to ask whether companies should be able to simply lie to customers about whether listed ingredients are even present.
  - karmakurtisaani 4y ago
    That is definitely true, I got a bit side tracked there to be honest. However, those laws already exist in the EU, so the article could probably be summarized as "truffles should be protected".
- danaris 4y ago
  All we have to do to get the people selling petroleum-derived oil as a truffle is require good-faith truth in advertising. Now, catching people selling a cheaper truffle as a more expensive truffle may require more educated customers.
- bostik 4y ago
  There's also the funny angle that some real "premium" stuff is actually awful crap, or at least an utterly crappy experience. Years ago, I bought some very pungent blue cheese, must have been either from SW France or NE Spain. Definitely not a household name, and priced quite high. One of the worst eating experiences I can remember. The flavour was so strong a small crumb was enough to burn your tastebuds. Almost painful to eat, and we had to toss the thing out. It smelled really good, though. I learned my lesson. These days I refuse to buy any unfamiliar cheese I can't sample in the shop first.
noasaservice 4y ago
Another such 'flavor' is boxwood. That description is what cat piss smells like. If you see a fine wine with 'hint of boxwood', run.
- DonHopkins 4y ago
  Or a rich potent wine with the sweet distinctive scent of Linden tree. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoqlYGuZGVM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoqlYGuZGVM

jet_32951 4y ago

That is due to a species of yeast called Brettanomyces, usually shortened to brett. Judicious use of brett can impart smoky or leathery characteristics - lumped together politely as "barnyard" or "horse blanket" notes in beer or wine.

petre 4y ago

The wine industry is pretty well regulated in the EU. In my country wine was generally a hit and miss before we got into the EU. Now, almost everything bottled over 5€ is okay and also cheaper wine sold in bulk. This year we've bought some excellent white wine by the bulk directly from the producer and it was cheaper than gasoline. I mostly buy local bottled wine rather than imported table wine sold as premium. Why? Because I know most of the big producers and also some of the smaller ones. If we go to another country with good wines, we ask the waiter and it works out better than looking at the wine menu and making assumptions. One waiter in Sicily even suggested that he chose the wine for us and we were very satisfied with his choice after we also tried to get the same wine ourselves and ordered something different. Also, Moldova used to export crappy sweet wine before their agricultural products were banned in Russia. Now it exports mainly into the EU and they have some good quality wines if you skip the ones made from hybrid grape varieties, which I wonder why I've even found on the EU market. Must be the new 2021 regulation allowing hybrid varieties in wines with protected denominations of origin. Apart from the usual varieties, they also produce wines with a Georgian variety called Saperavi, which I like quite a lot and also a local older variety called Rara Neagra which is popular but I don't like because it's acidic, however it can be sucessfully used in blends where one needs more acidity.