The Emperor's New Beaujolais

 I know I don't appreciate good wine. I have more of a pallet than a palette.

However, that said, I do wonder about the price of wine. For instance, DangerPoint ( Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot), being knocked out at £3.99 a bottle. A very fine taste it is too.Just in case you suspect me of bias and/or being in cahoots with the winery, even wine bloggers agree ( to an extent!).

Contrast that with the stuff that I normally don't buy, i.e. anything over a fiver. The difference between the nice for the price DangerPoint is noticeable and will , on rare occasions , make me dip deeper in my pocket.

So, story so far, you get what you pay for, more or less.

Now here is the but...

BUT, what about in restaurants?  Now, ok, I know and appreciate about corkage, paying for the glasses, service , etc. and have no trouble with that. IF you don't like, don't order any wine! I am not really talking about 'normal' restaurants , but about the 4 and 5 star swankeries that have proliferated since the arrival of celebrity chefs.

I paid £60 for a half bottle of a red wine (it was a big occasion, largely paid for by someone else and I am embarrassed to say that I cannot remember the label - maybe it was better than I thought!). The sommelier assured me it was perfect for the course I was about to have......and to be honest, if it had been a bottle of DangerPoint, I would have been more satisfied.

Summary:
DangerPoint to  £10/15 reds - noticeable, they are better

£10/15reds to  5* Restaurant plonk - nope, can't see it myself, for the difference in price.

Final but....

BUT, if you had just paid £100  a bottle for something a sommelier  tells you is exquisite, what would you say?

'MMMMmmmmm c'est magnifique, mon Empereur!"