The American blogger 1 FENAVIN attempt to dismantle the myth of the guides and wine ratings-driven international wine gurus, some publications that determine, in many cases, demand, tastes and prices of many wines in the entire world, as explained in an interview with the organization.

Since its space on the web, The Wine Trials, calls for double-blind tasting to ensure honest criticism of a wine because, in his opinion, “when we tasted a wine tasted so we know it.”

During his talk, which begins at 11 am, on May 10, Goldstein, Neurology at Harvard who studied and graduated in law from Yale University, will provide the keys to the enjoyment of wine, regardless of labels or prices.

Question. What are the main conclusions of the work he has done in recent years in The Wine Trials?

Response. I learned a lot in the process of updating of The Wine Trials, since its initial publication, to present the third edition, “Wine Trials 2011.” One thing that has changed a lot in this time has been that consumers in these tough economic times, are becoming increasingly aware of the absurdly high pricing on the wine market. People are demanding more value every year, and wine drinkers have learned through blind tasting experiments like ours often get as much pleasure from drinking cheaper wines as the most expensive. The result of both factors has been that the demand for wines that cost more than 25 or $ 30 per bottle, or more, has been reduced dramatically.

These days, the only thing holding the sale of high-priced wines is growing demand for luxury brands in emerging markets like China. In countries like this, where there is a short history of wine consumption, the new rich tend to follow the recommendations of “experts” who continue to perpetuate the myth that really good wine has to cost hundreds of dollars per bottle. Fortunately, this myth is being eroded elsewhere. Even consumers who do not have US-drinking wine for as long as Europeans have become increasingly skeptical with that kind of snobbery.

The quality of many wines under $ 15 that have entered into a classification of “The Wine Trials 2011” reflects the interesting fact that wine producers have responded to changes in the market, offering better wines in this segment and also In some cases, have lowered their prices just to get into that market cheaper. This is a great benefit to wine lovers everywhere.

P. Is there a real confrontation between 2 and The Wine Trials team? Parker’s new book, with recommendations for wines under $ 15, do you think is inspired by his work of recent years?

R. I do not know if Parker and his publisher released its new guide to wines under $ 15 in response to the success of “The Wine Trials”, or rather in response to the explosive demand in the market for cheap wine. Either way, however, I think there are huge differences between his approach and mine. The biggest philosophical difference between us is that Parker’s ratings recognize heavy wine styles, or with a high concentration of alcohol.

At the same time, he virtually ignores the major categories of wine following the $ 15 category, as the Pink Provence or Spanish cava. These are the fastest growing segments of the market for cheap wine, and yet, Parker and his colleagues, and the incredibly pretentious David Schildknecht, even see them as worthy of mention in your guide. When I recently checked Parker’s book for The Journal of Wine Economics, wrote the following:

“The Provencal rose is dispatched by Schildknecht as a” sea of ​​pink plonk, “whose” existence “is largely attributed to the” uncritical behavior “of the” tourists who go there “(although the ‘natives’ share of the fault as well). As a result, only the “upper echelon” of the pink is “interesting.” What ignorant tourists on the coast watching the waves and just enjoy the refreshing wines with fish and seafood grilled instead of complaining about how little interest they are! “.

My colleagues and I took the opposite approach in The Wine Trials. We try to emphasize that the price is not indicative of low quality, but rather that is the point at which prices should be addressed naturally.

P. What impact will the great gurus of wine on consumer choice?

R. Although wine gurus still have much influence with expensive wines, I think his strength on the simple wine consumers is declining rapidly. This is not only skeptical of the price too high, as I said before, but also due to the growth of the Internet as a new platform for wine evaluation and exchange of views.

Not all wine bloggers know what they’re talking, of course, and certainly there are plenty of crackpots out there prescribers whose sole purpose is to get free wine, acting as a puppet of any public relations agency. But many of the biggest independent wine writers are also taking a lot of force, either through their own blogs, videos, or comment on other wine sites, as opponents of the gurus who overestimate the expensive wine and want to preserve the status quo.

This diversity of views has made consumers aware that the famous wine critics do not have a monopoly on taste.

P. How do you see the Spanish wine in the U.S.?

R. I’m a big fan of more traditional wines, the terroir, the wines of Rioja and other regions that have not succumbed to the vision of Parker about what a great wine has to be. I’m looking wine producers and Lopez de Heredia, Cune, or Marques de Murrieta, whose land, flowers and evocative style is noticeable in their wines. For me, their prices are very reasonable compared with other traditional regions of the Old World, such as Burgundy.

And what I admire most about La Rioja, perhaps, is that the wines are usually released after several years of bottle aging. I love that in Spain are reluctant to release wine that is too young to drink. We can not expect all consumers or restaurant with a large warehouse or the patience to wait years before drinking wine.

P. Do you think that Spanish wine would be more present in the U.S. market if sold under one label and Wine of Spain, or think it is better to be there with different denominations of origin?

R. I think that the distribution of all the wines of Spain under a name would be a terrible idea. Not only would confuse consumers in the U.S. (as you would anywhere else), but also would be an insult to the diversity and heritage of the tradition of the noble wine of Spain.

P. What are your upcoming projects?

R. I am currently involved in an exciting project that will combine my academic side and my most popular work, and have a more concrete impact in the worlds of food and wine. I just put the foundations of Sensory Perception Center at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, California, in collaboration with Stanford Business School, INSEAD in France and leading researchers in neuroscience, sensory science, and behavioral economics. The objective is to conduct experiments that will help us better understand the external influences and counter-intuitive bias in our own sensory experience.

For example, we are trying to understand better why we have more experience palatable when we believe that a wine is expensive when we are told the same wine is cheap, or why food seems to taste better when you know it has been prepared by a celebrity chef. It’s not as simple as mere snobbery. It is a profoundly human phenomenon that affects us all. Traditionally, these phenomena have been neglected under the general title of “placebo effects.” The most exciting project for me is to embrace these effects as part of what makes us human beings, and accept our suggestion when it comes to taste. Furthermore, we find a way to unleash the power we all have within our own brain to have amazing experiences with the taste without the external signs that we shoot.

P. What is your opinion about FENAVIN?

R. It is, in a word, overwhelming. The last time I came, in 2009, I had the honor of meeting Santi Santamaría, one of the last great voices of controversy in the culinary world. I was very lucky to have known him before his untimely death, which was a very sad moment for the culinary community. I think the fair will bring together not only experts in the wine industry, but also intellectuals from around the world in different fields, unlike other such events.

In 2009, I was so stunned by the variety of wines could taste that I focused mainly on the tasting of wines from the regions he knew something, like the Canary Islands or the wines of Castilla-La Mancha. Still, I felt I had barely scratched the surface. This year I hope to broaden my horizons even further, experimenting with other regions of Spain that I know well and trying not to get too drunk in the process. It is a sincere privilege to be invited again.