Wine Isn’t About Snobbery — It’s About What You Like
Not everyone enjoys wine. And even if they do, not everyone chooses to drink it. No one should feel pressured to sip wine simply to appear “cultured.” Taste—whether in food or drink—is deeply personal.
However, as someone who has spent years immersed in culinary education and professional kitchen culture, I’ve often been asked to select wines for events, pair wines with dishes, or recommend bottles for cooking. The questions are always the same:
What’s your favorite wine?
What’s the best wine for cooking?
How do you know which wine is actually good?
My answer has rarely changed:
The best wine is the one you like the most.
Wine appreciation, like food, is subjective. What tastes balanced and beautiful to one person may seem too dry, too sweet, or too acidic to another. Personal preference matters far more than reputation or price tag.
The Myth of “Expensive Equals Better”
If you’ve ever heard of “Two Buck Chuck,” you’ve seen this principle in action.
This famously inexpensive wine—sold exclusively at Trader Joe’s—developed a cult following. People loved it, recommended it, and drank it proudly despite its low price.
The irony? According to stories circulating in the wine world, some of that wine originated from surplus grapes from the famous Mondavi vineyards. The barrels were sold at a discount after a large harvest.
Legend even says that Robert Mondavi himself once mocked the wine, not realizing that the grapes came from his own vineyard’s surplus production.
It’s a reminder that price, prestige, and marketing often shape our expectations far more than the wine itself.
Even Wine Experts Disagree
During a visit to Napa Valley, I attended a tasting class as part of a tour at the Mondavi winery. The instructor walked us through the classic steps of wine tasting:
Look – examine the color and clarity
Swirl – release aromatic compounds
Smell – identify aromas and complexity
Taste – evaluate sweetness, acidity, tannins, and finish
There is certainly technique and science involved in tasting wine. But the final verdict—the enjoyment—is still completely personal.
Even professional judges struggle with consistency.
Robert Hodgson, a California winemaker, conducted an eight-year experiment at the California State Fair wine competition. His findings were surprising.
“The results are disturbing. Only about 10% of judges are consistent and those judges who were consistent one year were ordinary the next year. Chance has a great deal to do with the awards that wines win.”
In other words, wine scoring and competitions are far less objective than many people assume.
Cooking With Wine: A Simple Rule
If you’re choosing wine for cooking, the rules are refreshingly simple.
Use a wine you would enjoy drinking.
One important exception:
❌ Avoid bottles labeled “cooking wine.”
Most of these products contain added salt and preservatives, which makes it difficult to properly control seasoning in your dish. When you’re cooking, flavor balance matters—and salted wine makes that nearly impossible.
Instead:
Choose a simple, inexpensive table wine
Use the tasting notes on the label as a guide
Ask friends what they enjoy
You don’t need a $40 bottle to make a great sauce or braise.
Wine Tasting Like the Pros
If you ever attend a professional wine tasting or judging event, you’ll notice something interesting.
Experts don’t swallow every sample.
They spit.
Wine tastings were never designed for drinking glass after glass. The purpose is to evaluate multiple wines objectively without alcohol affecting judgment.
By tasting, analyzing, and then spitting, judges can compare dozens of wines in one session and narrow down the best options.
Once the tasting is finished, then maybe—just maybe—they’ll enjoy a full glass with dinner.
The Real Secret to Wine
Wine culture often feels intimidating because of its language, traditions, and perceived rules.
But the truth is much simpler.
You don’t need to memorize flavor charts.
You don’t need a sommelier certificate.
And you definitely don’t need to spend a fortune.
The real secret is this:
Drink what you like. Cook with what tastes good. Ignore the snobbery.
Wine was meant to be enjoyed—not judged.
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