In Reply to: If you find a way to have them through US customs... posted by orejones on November 15, 2002 at 02:23:06:
I was of course was joking - I would not want to abuse the generocity of a wine lover. I do have good appreciation of good wine, and some experience in that area, but I am by no means an expert.I also see a process issue with the test as described by you. At least in my case, when I don't have a well-established absolute scale, just a semblance of it, I would do much better if all bottles were open and available at the same time. Given the potentially good nature of the wines involved and the absence of nitrogen displacement system in my home, that would represent a huge waste of good material, as, say, six bottles in a couple of days is well above my normal load. I have similar issue in audio, with my long term memory being good, but not good enough for rock solid comparissons, so I usually try to shoot for the side-by-side tests.
I think where I am today with respect to wine is that I know good one when I try it, and this is similar to the point about the movies that Patrick and I were making - knowledge that comes through experience and education. A true expert of course can taste hundreds of wines in one day and put them in a row... however God knows how reliable such gradation would be. Have there been comparissons done with several experts rating the same hundred of wines?
Even with the imperfections in the proposed test, I would see it as fun enough undertaking with six samples or so. I would, however, like to know the possible monetary penalty implications before commiting to it. If there is going to be a bottle of Chateau Lafite 1961 included in the batch, then I am out - I already have two mortgages on my home.
Shipping and customs-wise, I would not remove the labels. You could rely on my honesty in covering them right away with duct tape or brown paper. I am not good at telling the wine by its cork.
Regarding the deadly slicer, I would be happy to take my chances and cover the shipping cost. Shipping such stuff overseas is trivial, we do it all the time, as long as the customs form says Antique/Collectable dagger or something close it is free of duties. That ia generally speaking, of course. I don't recall receiving stuff from Spain, but Italy, Germany, France, England, Austria have not been a problem.
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Follow Ups
- Re: If you find a way to have them through US customs... - Victor Khomenko 08:14:12 11/15/02 (4)
- Will UPS Red Service be OK? - orejones 09:22:05 11/15/02 (2)
- Re: Will UPS Red Service be OK? - Victor Khomenko 11:32:38 11/15/02 (1)
- Received. Loud and clear. - orejones 01:58:35 11/16/02 (0)
- An real " ivrogne " always find his way home... - patrickU 08:56:41 11/15/02 (0)