Recently I was sitting at a bar (big shock!) and, as what happens more times than not, I ended up drawn into a conversation about wine.

The gentleman next to me was rattling off the great California Cabernet Sauvignons he possessed. It was a list of all the usual suspects from Altamura to Whitehall Lane. He then asked me: what is my favorite wine?

Although I have highly diverse tastes in wine, and would not select just one, I’ve learned that it’s best to make life simple in these predicaments and just pick one: French red Burgundy.

“I don’t like French wines.” He snapped back.

I didn’t want to respond– It’s just not worth it. But he took it a step farther.

“I had Petrus once. (A super expensive Bordeaux) And I just don’t get what the fuss is all about. It really didn’t taste good at all.”

Wine conversations such as this are tantamount to walking into a minefield. First of all, I don’t salivate for an opportunity to defend a wine than can easily run $2,000.00 or more a bottle, but there is much unknown about his experience. Was the bottle he tried stored impeccably? Was it a tainted bottle? Was it in a closed state? --Sometimes referred to as a dumb stage: when wines age, they undergo growing pains (not unlike teenagers.) Or, is it simply that he just doesn’t like “Old World” style wines.

Don’t know – don’t care.

But he insisted that I respond: “What do you think?”

I told him that we, as individuals, are the world’s foremost authority on what wines please us. – That no wine, regardless of origin, price, reviews, rarity, age, race, nationality, creed or perceived status should make us feel that we’re idiots not to love and worship it.

My conversational Houdini answer worked – I escaped.

The positive result that came out of this exchange was that his experience got me thinking about the Peggy Lee song: “Is That All There Is?”

Peggy, bless her soul, sang some of the hippest songs ever performed. As cynical and jaded as I think I am, I’m no match for Peggy. Here a few lyrics to illustrate my point:

SPOKEN:

“Then I fell in love, head over heels in love, with the most wonderful boy in the world. 
We would take long walks by the river or just sit for hours gazing into each other's eyes. 
We were so very much in love. 
Then one day he went away and I thought I'd die, but I didn't, 
and when I didn't, I said to myself: Is that all there is to love?”

SUNG:

“Is that all there is? Is that all there is? 
If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing. Let's break out the booze and have a ball. --
If that's all there is…”

I believe the spirit of this song is a healthy way to put many over-hyped and overpriced wines into context. For example:

SPOKEN:

Then I paid $700.00 for a bottle of Screaming Eagle. It was over my budget, way over my budget. But everyone said it’s the greatest Cabernet in the world. I remember my heart racing as I removed its cork and poured it into my glass. I inhaled with great anticipation. And after I brought it to my lips, I said to myself: Is that all there is to Screaming Eagle?

SUNG:

Is that all there is? Is that all there is? If that’s all there is my friends, then let’s keep dancing. Let’s break out a better value Cab and have a ball… If that’s all there is.

Thank you for putting life into perspective Peggy Lee. I often think of you when, at your prime, and with that throaty, sexy voice of yours you also sang: “I don’t pop my cork for every guy I meet.”

Yeah baby!

Oh, and I don’t pop my cork for every wine I meet.