“I cannot stand Lambrusco [Italian red that is often slightly bubbly]…I lived in Emilia Romagna and tried it a hundred times with lasagna, tortellini, bollito…nothing worked…”
Mario Batali, celebrity chef
“I am not a big fan of big jammy Australian Shiraz. Although I have had excellent bottles of Henscke wines and Penfolds Grange. I appreciate that they are very well made, and especially in the case of Grange, can be quite ageworthy. But they are a little too rich for my taste and I rarely enjoy them with food.”
Geddy Lee, rock musician
“I dislike very ripe Zinfandel. It tastes like dried-fruit compote (i.e., raisins and prunes) in vodka. It goes with no food that I know of and is very tiring on the palate. At our annual harvest parties, one bottle of a particularly famous Zin of this type always shows up: everyone says “wow,” but at the end of the night, it’s always half full.”
Mike Havens, winemaker, Havens Wine Cellars
“High alcohol Zinfandels (15%+). The first sip is always delicious – rich, exploding with fruit and spice, the epitome of great Zinfandel flavors – but after half a glass all that alcohol becomes overwhelmingly cloying and a chore for me to drink.“
Lane Giguiere, co-founder and manager of RH Phillips
“Burgundy. Never have I spent so much and tasted so little – on average I have experienced “corked bottles” on 25% of the wines I’ve drunk and I refer to Leroy, Dugat, DRC. The consumer deserves more than reputation!!”
Park Smith, co-owner, Veritas restaurant
“I love the Gewürztraminer grape, but I think almost all Gewürztraminers coming from Alsace these days are too heavy and too sweet. (Zind-Humbrecht’s are so delicious I forgive them this flaw.)”
Alan Richman, food and wine writer
”I dislike rosé de Provence maybe because I drank too many bad wines at friends’ while growing up, and they gave me headaches plus I don’t like the taste of it.”
Mireille Guiliano, Champagne executive
”Beaujolais Nouveau — this young wine that represents the harvest is one that I could do without because I find the taste very out of balance and rough. It lacks any depth, and character and does not enhance any food I have eaten with it. This is a wine that I would not even cook with.”
Arthur von Wiesenberger, food/beverage writer
