No offense, Andre Mack, but it’s not you – it’s the Wine Curmudgeon
What better way to end the blog’s almost 14-year run as a free website than with this throwdown to sommelier Andre Mack, who has the nerve to call himself the world’s greatest cheap wine expert.
Andre, I don’t care how many initials you have after your name, how many fancy restaurants you’ve worked for, or how many Bon Appetit t-shirts you’ve sold. You’re not the world’s greatest cheap wine expert.
I am.
The best evidence for this is your YouTube video, in which you proclaim your greatness and recommend 20 red wines that cost $15 or less. Frankly, Andre, there are wines on your list that are so badly made and so overpriced – even at $15 or less – that I’m stunned and surprised. What were you thinking?
How, if you’re so smart about cheap wine, did you leave off red wines from Sicily? Or Portugal? Or Italy’s Falesco Vitiano? Or California’s McManis? Or Spanish wines from Ole & Obrigado, which, frankly, are so much better than the Campo Viejo on the list that it’s embarrassing. Check out the $8 Flaco.
Know, too, that I’m not objecting to your mass market and supermarket selections. As I’ve noted many times before, quality is quality regardless of who makes it or where it’s sold. I’m the fellow, after all, who reviews two Barefoot wines every year. And that some of the wines are sweet? Doesn’t matter to me, either. I just wish you had picked sweet red wines of better quality.
So here’s what I want to do, Andre. Have your people call me – because, since you’re a sommelier, you must have people – and we’ll figure out a way to do some sort of pandemic-enabled tasting. That way, I can help you find better quality cheap wine.
Because, in the end, isn’t that what we both want? To help wine drinkers find what they like, not over pay for it, and come back for more?
Photo: Alfonso Cevola