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The Spit Bucket Award
<<< Santa Margherita
Pinot Grigio, 2007 >>>
Let’s face it. Sometimes consumers
get duped. Sucker-punched. Taken for a ride. And it happens in the world of wine as much as anywhere else, in various ways.
Some wines are actually not bad, but way too expensive for what they deliver. Others are real stinkers, but so cheap that
buyers don’t get hosed too badly. Then there are those elite few that are both unpleasurable to drink and
priced through the roof. The PointlessWines Spit Bucket Award has been established to highlight the
achievements of large scale wineries that are uniquely successful in mass marketing simple swill at an outrageous price. (And
by the way, many thanks to Sonny Ahuja at our favorite cafe and wine shoppe in Las Vegas, Bleu
Gourmet , for suggesting the name of the award!)
The first Spit Bucket Award goes to the wine that inspired its creation, the Santa
Margherita 2007 Pinot Grigio. No other wine that we know of delivers so little pleasure for so much money. Yet,
contrary to any sense of oenological justice, it is the best selling Pinot Grigio in the United States.
Americans go
for it in droves for several reasons, one of which is in fact easy to appreciate: Though it has a sour edge, Santa
Margherita Pinot Grigio is a clean, crisp, light-bodied palate cleanser. Thus many people, quite understandably, think
of it as refreshing compared to other white wines that may be too fruity, too sweet, too oaky, or
too heavy and buttery for the occasion.
But it is a best-seller in the USA for other reasons as well. There is its
Italian pedigree which lends it an air of authenticity and old-world romance. And let's not forget its high
price. Unfortunately, Americans often take a wine’s price as an indication of its quality. Santa Margherita
has been able to capitalize on this through premium pricing and extensive brand marketing. Simply put, a lot of
people think it must be good because it is expensive.Thus, finer restaurants can often sell the Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio
with a straight face for $12 to $14 a glass. Consumers march dutifully into wine shops and allow themselves to be
fleeced for anywhere from $19 to $27 a bottle.
But for all its hype and popularity, the Santa
Margherita Pinot Grigio is an emperor that has no clothes. If it weren't sold in gourmet restaurants for ridiculous
prices, and if its brand image wasn't carefully honed by slick TV and magazine ad campaigns, most people
would think that drinking this thin, sour, wine-like substance was an exercise in taste bud torture. If it
were tasted blind in a group of Pinot Grigios, it would be among the first to hit the dump bucket. Okay,
I know I may have just offended some readers who like this wine. And even those who haven't tried it may
be wondering, "Wow. A best-selling wine can't really be that bad, can it?" If this is what you are thinking,
I offer a challenge: get a bottle of the SM 2007 Pinot Grigio. Then also pick up a bottle of the Yellow
Tail 2007 Pinot Grigio. Our local Longs Drug Store sells it for $6, but in a high-end wine shop it might set
you back as much as $8.
Now, have a few friends over
and taste these two wines blind, side by side. Don’t tell anyone that one is over $20 and the other is $6.
After a few sips of each, I can pretty much guarantee that everyone in the room will prefer the Yellow Tail. That is
not because they have uneducated palates that are incapable of appreciating a great Italian wine. It is because the Yellow
Tail is, objectively speaking, a better Pinot Grigio. Not that it is great, mind you. Hey, for six bucks, what do you want?
In the end, the Yellow Tail is just as thin, crisp, and pale as the Santa Margherita. Indeed, the two wines
are remarkably similar. But the Yellow Tail's advantage is that it lacks the Santa Margherita’s sour
edge, and thus has more harmony on the palate. After you've experience
this side by side tasting, meditate on the fact that you can pick up three or four bottles of the Yellow Tail for
the price of one Santa Margherita. I know it is hard to believe, but I think you will come to agree that the more
expensive wine is simply not as good as the cheap stuff. After
this, you may be wondering what a really good Pinot Grigio tastes like. If so, try the Saddleback Cellars
2007 Napa Valley Pinot Grigio for $18. Here is a wine of distinction and character, with a complexity that
is not present in either the Santa Margherita or the Yellow Tail. Now, if all you are looking for is a refreshing palate cleanser,
the Yellow Tail will do the trick. For $6 it is a nicely made wine and a great value. But if you want to explore
the potential of the grape, see what it can do when it is made in limited production by the talented winemaker Nils
Venge. The Saddleback Cellars 2007 Pinot Grigio is worth asking for at your favorite wine shop. It can also be ordered and
shipped direct from the winery if you live in a state that allows this sort of thing (most people do).
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