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Original poster

Why is red wine considered posher!

46 replies

Spencerfig · 03/07/2022 00:17

Out for drinks with colleagues tonight & ordered a glass of sauvignon blanc my usual tipple of choice.. They all start sneering ooooh "wine novice" "we'll bring you on a wine tasting course"... Others all had red wine with dinner, red wine or g&ts for after...
Love my white wine (in moderation of course) but was made to feel very unsophisticated, not the first time this has happened!
Can any mumsnet wine conniseuers explain why red is considered posher than white?!!! Sorry in advance, totally first world problems but I was the victim of wine snobbery tonight!

OP posts:
Cuckoo48 · 03/07/2022 00:22

It's not. It depends what you're eating.
You wouldn't drink red wine with a light chicken dish example, or white wine with a beef stew.
I don't know enough about wine to tell you if Sauvignon Blanc is an unsophisticated choice though.

Luckingfovely · 03/07/2022 00:27

A. Red wine is not 'posher' than white wine.

B. The people you were with are imbeciles who know nothing about manners, respect, or wine.

Original poster
Spencerfig · 03/07/2022 00:27

I drink sauv blanc with dinner &, for post dinner drinks, I was made feel uncomfortable tonight with my tipple of choice & sick of it..! It ain't the first time!

OP posts:

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General food
Moomoola · 03/07/2022 00:27

Well Screaming Eagle Sauvignon blanc is $5800 a bottle. That’s quite posh.

Scottishskifun · 03/07/2022 00:28

It's not posher it's more that for many it's a more robust flavour mostly served room temp (not all you do get chilled reds).
Many white wines alot can be masked with it being cold I would say with exception of a good oaky chardonnay which is still pretty strong in flavour.

I'd you were having wine with a meal it's probably because a white wouldn't compliment the food choice but you wouldn't drink red with fish for example.

Some people are just wine snobs though I always order what I wish to drink but also think will I enjoy it alongside what I'm eating.

Original poster
Spencerfig · 03/07/2022 00:29

Luckingfovely · 03/07/2022 00:27

A. Red wine is not 'posher' than white wine.

B. The people you were with are imbeciles who know nothing about manners, respect, or wine.

Thank you, it's 12. 30 I'm sober & fuming... I work with toffs & hurrah Henry's.. For all their posh education & red brick unis they don't have a shread of common sense & plenty of groundless fucking opinions...

OP posts:
Liv93 · 03/07/2022 00:30

As someone who works in the wine trade, it is not. I also have my WSET (wine) qualifications.

Wine varietals/blends complement different foods. Generally the UK has a preference for red wine (in terms of sales), but it does not make it any better.

The only thing I can think of, and this was well before my time, but I believe there used to be a stereotype about Chardonnay being a bit cheap, and the type of person that would drink it. Same with Chenin Blanc. This is certainly not the case anymore.

Red wine has more tannins generally, which some people like, and I guess they think as some red's have a more complex taste? It may also be linked to French wine being really known for their red blends, and people generally think French wine good, everything else bad.

Sauvignon Blanc is a lovely varietal, particularly from New Zealand, and is loved by the middle classes (demand outstrips the supply by a ridiculous amount now.) Only putting the middle class bit, due to your friends' comments.

Either way, enjoy your white wine! I am with you on the love of Sauvignon Blanc.

Original poster
Spencerfig · 03/07/2022 00:33

Scottishskifun · 03/07/2022 00:28

It's not posher it's more that for many it's a more robust flavour mostly served room temp (not all you do get chilled reds).
Many white wines alot can be masked with it being cold I would say with exception of a good oaky chardonnay which is still pretty strong in flavour.

I'd you were having wine with a meal it's probably because a white wouldn't compliment the food choice but you wouldn't drink red with fish for example.

Some people are just wine snobs though I always order what I wish to drink but also think will I enjoy it alongside what I'm eating.

Tonight we had finger food (platters) informal & drinks, work do for team building so I order my usual sauv blanc... The finger food was not fillet steak, think breaded chicken slivers, battered calamari, croquettes etc... Nothing that demanded a red or white preference..

OP posts:
Luredbyapomegranate · 03/07/2022 00:34

It isn’t.

And there’s nothing wrong with SB either, it’s just got v popular so people have become snotty about it the way they used to be about Chardonnay.

A good CS paired with the right food is delicious, and you are the only person who can decide what combinations work for you.

They are just idiots. Conventionally you wouldn’t drink g and t after dinner, so next time one of them does that you could say Gosh, I’ve never seen anyone drinking gin after dinner.. [head tilt]

Lolliepoppie · 03/07/2022 00:35

Really not ‘posh’ to embarrass others. Anyone with breeding would never have dreamed of mocking your wine choice.

They sound resoundingly and depressingly middle class.

Luredbyapomegranate · 03/07/2022 00:37

.. well in that case you would normally drink white with chicken or seafood. And an aromatic SB would be a good option to cut through the grease of that kind of finger food. If they were drinking a heavy Malbec like red with that, they are the weirdos

Original poster
Spencerfig · 03/07/2022 00:37

Liv93 · 03/07/2022 00:30

As someone who works in the wine trade, it is not. I also have my WSET (wine) qualifications.

Wine varietals/blends complement different foods. Generally the UK has a preference for red wine (in terms of sales), but it does not make it any better.

The only thing I can think of, and this was well before my time, but I believe there used to be a stereotype about Chardonnay being a bit cheap, and the type of person that would drink it. Same with Chenin Blanc. This is certainly not the case anymore.

Red wine has more tannins generally, which some people like, and I guess they think as some red's have a more complex taste? It may also be linked to French wine being really known for their red blends, and people generally think French wine good, everything else bad.

Sauvignon Blanc is a lovely varietal, particularly from New Zealand, and is loved by the middle classes (demand outstrips the supply by a ridiculous amount now.) Only putting the middle class bit, due to your friends' comments.

Either way, enjoy your white wine! I am with you on the love of Sauvignon Blanc.

Thanks for your kind reply, yes a New Zealand Marlborough is always my first choice... Felt ridiculous posting this after my night out but mumsnet is great for putting thing in perspective... DH thinks it was my imagination 🙄

OP posts:
SickSadWorId · 03/07/2022 00:41

Just drink want you want. It doesn't matter if it's white wine, a pint of lager, a Jagaermister shot or red wine.

As long as you like it and you're not getting drunk to the point of embarrassment, you're OK.

Anyone who says otherwise, well that's their problem not yours.

Clymene · 03/07/2022 00:51

I think red wine is considered more sophisticated because it's something men bore on about and more women prefer white.

So it's sexism basically

AuntTwacky · 03/07/2022 01:04

Luckingfovely · 03/07/2022 00:27

A. Red wine is not 'posher' than white wine.

B. The people you were with are imbeciles who know nothing about manners, respect, or wine.

This!

Original poster
Spencerfig · 03/07/2022 01:08

Clymene · 03/07/2022 00:51

I think red wine is considered more sophisticated because it's something men bore on about and more women prefer white.

So it's sexism basically

Just what I was saying to DH (also a white wine drinker), male collegues drank red while female drank either prosecco or g&ts... Why the need to comment or be snobby.. My bloods still bubbling...

OP posts:
Aria999 · 03/07/2022 01:15

I would just be baffled if someone said this. 'Sorry, what?!'

(I now routinely put ice and/ or water in white wine, your colleagues would choke on that lol)

Aria999 · 03/07/2022 01:19

And when we had a blind tasting of red wine for my BIL's wedding I identified 4 out of 4 so I don't feel am a wine novice 🤣)

RamblinRosie · 03/07/2022 01:26

Putting my booze snob hat on, G&Ts are preprandials (ie for drinking before the meal), after a meal a cultured person would drink port, brandy, whisky or possibly a liqueur.

(Personally I’ll drink any or all, before, during or after a meal, but I’m a peasant)

Your colleagues are ignorant, Sauvignon Blanc is the grape used in Pouilly Fume and the main Bordeaux whites, all very posh wines.

I bet they won’t drink Chardonnay, but would love a white burgundy…. White burgundy IS Chardonnay! Again very posh. (Hint, try the Waitrose own brand white burgundy, horrible blue label, but lovely wine and amazing value).

Red wines tend to have a more assertive flavour, so go better with red meat, whites tend to have a more subtle flavour, so go better with fish or chicken. But there are some white wines that will stand up to anything, similarly some reds will work happily with lighter food. And there are some amazing rose wines which go with anything.

None is posher than the others, as the French will tell you.

Wine is meant to be enjoyed, so drink what you like with whatever you want!

I would suggest that you widen your palette by trying other wines, a whole new world of pleasure awaits. But if Sauvignon Blanc is what you like, go for it!

Aria999 · 03/07/2022 01:47

I bet they won’t drink Chardonnay, but would love a white burgundy…. White burgundy IS Chardonnay!

To be fair there is Chardonnay and Chardonnay. Oaky Chardonnay makes me ill but I love me a bone dry Chablis

BEAM123 · 03/07/2022 02:13

Spencerfig · 03/07/2022 01:08

Just what I was saying to DH (also a white wine drinker), male collegues drank red while female drank either prosecco or g&ts... Why the need to comment or be snobby.. My bloods still bubbling...

Show quote history

The females drank prosecco?
They are hardly in a position themselves to be snobby then are they?!

AffIt · 03/07/2022 02:20

I worked in the wine trade and hold the WSET Advanced Diploma.

Wine snobs are THE worst sort of snobs, as they're generally utterly clueless.

There are some guidelines when it comes to pairing wine with food, but they're just that - guidelines, not laws. They can also be disrupted, and innovative winemakers / sellers are always trying to do that (for example, I recommend putting a young Pinot Noir in the fridge for an hour or two, it's delicious!).

My role involved running tastings for very high-end clients, who would buy thousands of pounds worth of wine at a time, and my base rule was always if you don't like the taste, don't buy it (with the exception of people buying very high-value pre-vintages, but those are investment opportunities and they'll never drink them, anyway).

Anybody who has any experience in the trade will be familiar with the ABCs (Anything But Chardonnay) - normally a completely unfounded belief that was soon changed by a good Chablis!

Fundamentally, drink what you like and to heck with everybody else.

AffIt · 03/07/2022 02:25

Oh, and good manners are, at heart, about not making other people feel uncomfortable in your company: anybody commenting on your choice of food or drink is, IMO, very rude indeed and not in the least bit 'posh'.

TrufflesForBreakfast · 03/07/2022 02:32

Aria999 · 03/07/2022 01:47

I bet they won’t drink Chardonnay, but would love a white burgundy…. White burgundy IS Chardonnay!

To be fair there is Chardonnay and Chardonnay. Oaky Chardonnay makes me ill but I love me a bone dry Chablis

Agree - big oaky sun-drenched Chardonnays taste grim to me but a cold flinty Chablis is just divine Smile