HFF Hates: East Bay Express' Wineau Column

I've talked about this before. The East Bay Express' Wineau column. I haven't encountered a more worthless pile of shit in print since Percy Ross died. It's a column that nobody asked for and nobody needed.

It'd be one thing if it offered reviews of good hard to find value wines in the $10 price range. Instead, it reviews shit wines that are available at pretty much any place that sells alcohol. If it's available at Albertson's it doesn't need to be reviewed.

A quote: "A similar concept rendered somewhat less impressively comes from Beringer: the 2005 white Merlot ($4.50). Our first tip-off was the aroma, which evoked Sno-Cones. The taste was equally cloying. 'On ice, with Sprite, for Grandma,' said our Token Winemaker, complaining that the treacly cherry and strawberry flavors had not been adequately balanced with acid. I thought this one could be passable if served properly chilled with an appetizer that would offset the sweetness (think spicy Asian, like spring rolls or kimchi)."

If you're going to review $4.50 wines, don't bitch about it when they're uninteresting.

My point isn't to be a snob. That's not it. I've enjoyed many a wine that's sub $10 in price. In fact, they reviewed an excellent Borsao in one column that I drink semi-regularly. But to devote an entire column to wines that are not only trite but available anywhere? Why? Who is this helping?

There are so many better ways to do a value wine column than this pile of semi-liquid horse manure.

East Bay Express: focus your attentions on interesting, non-hangover-inducing, sub $10 wines that are hard to find, unusual, or, well, basically not fucking available at fucking Albertson's.