CON-ossieur

Jeff McNeice, a good friend and the owner of Dolcetto Wine Room, knows that my biggest pet peeve is the self declaration of Connossieur-ship when dealing with wine. I love wine, it's a major part of my life, and yet my self applied title is simple 'Wine Geek'. I apply the connosieur title to guys like James Halliday, Hugh Johnson and Robert Parker, as they have spent their life in pursuit of the perfect wine(s). In graduate school I learned quickly that you need only learn 15 minutes worth of knowledge on any subject to look like an expert, and in a lot of areas I do just that. Know, however, that I will push this issue when you purport to be a 'know-all' in the wine world. It's not an insult, and its not with pretentious intentions, it's a means to protect all the wine lovers out there who are humble in their wine appreciation.
I talk on long tangents, tyrades at points, about the people who make the wine we so love, but never about those that help us find them or teach us how to enjoy them. Guys who created publications like Parker's 'Wine Advocate' and the venerable 'Wine Spectator'. Places neophyte and sommalier can go to soothe their hedonistic desires and read about the newest hits and misses.
And that's just it, everyone can enjoy wine, but not everyone has the passion to share it. Halliday, my personal favorite critic, is both a winemaker and a wine writer. His musings are my gospel, and though I have a slight disdain for the 100 points system, I read his reviews as I would a text book for any other subject. I recently opened a bottle Yering Station Reserve Shiraz/Viognier that got 97 points on his scale. Rich, soothing Cassis pushed against but not jarringly so, was an invigorating licorice and eucalyptus undertone. It's nose wreaked of pencil box and freshly cut brush fruit. I wasn't surprised to find it completely on the money, but then again it's way easier to tell you what's right with a wine than what's wrong with it. I seldom say bad things about wines that I share, just as I find that if you don't like my writing, don't tell me. However, I will say that I absolutely adore Yalumba's The Menzies, as a counter to that statement I find their Octavius to be one of the most overrated of Australia's high end Shirazes. What's wrong with it? It lacks that robust, fortified berry structure that makes Barossa such a hot spot for Shiraz. The nose is too soft, it's Cassis integration is subtle at best and the undertones wreak of underipened fruit. Yet it gets high ratings. So whatever I'm seeing as inherently wrong with it, may just be my own short comings.
Parker loves the big, jammy style wines from Australia. He loves Ribera Del Duero, and on that note it's easy to find an affordable one these days. Torremoron makes a steal of a deal and is consistently above 90 points Robert Parker. Spain is the new black, and in true connossieur fashion Parker tips his hat to their finer wines. My particular favorite area for Spanish wine is Toro, but again, this article isn't about me.
Stephen Tanzer has a very wide span of favorites, making it easy to see why his name appears in so many fine wine circles as of lately. His love of Cava is quickly making it the next break out sparkling wine. Expect to hear more of his name, he's got a great sense of not only what is good, but what is good for the money.
Again, I have to reiterate, if you don't know these people, don't worry about it. The point is, if you know these names, then they did their job in pushing their views out to the masses. You might be a connossieur, but you might not be. Find someone you trust, a good sommalier, a friend who is into wine, or even a good book. Keep your eyes open, your glass full and remember that opinions can be like bad breath; at times we have something we should keep to ourselves.
Cameron