This is the real problem. The extreme majority of the "snobs" as you put it really don't have the pallet or skill to really be able to discern what they think t

This is the real problem. The extreme majority of the "snobs" as you put it really don't have the pallet or skill to really be able to discern what they think they can, it's mostly brand loyalty, marketing, etc. There often are people who can discern these things but they're much fewer and further between than people realize. Of course, those in the first category who agree with my statements will never have their mind changed, they'll just assume that they're in the second category. The likelihood of that being true has a lot of zeros after the decimal. The problem with articles like these is that many "experts" fall into the first category, not the second. This is not without merit though as often these are the same "experts" that people trust to make buying decisions.