Why is red wine considered posher!

[Spencerfig]

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!

Gin and tonic and prosecco is hardly exclusive and 'in the know'.

Red wine is not posher. My dad drinks red wine indiscriminately, we actually had to buy some cheap plonk for him because he kept guzzling it when he visited. Obviously depends on the meal but a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is delicious and one of our go tos. Most important thing is YOU like it

Your friends sound like rude twats.

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

Branding and fashion, though.

Branding: No-one would put Blue Nun, Mateus Rose and Bulls Blood on a par with other wines, regardless of taste.

Fashion: You next to never see Frascati these days, despite it being so very popular in the 1980s

I think the earlier comment about the chilled nature of white hiding a multitude of sins is behind it. You can quite easily make almost any white drinkable whether you like it or not by chilling to varying degrees so lots of cheaper options are perfectly fine for most people. Reds aren’t supposed to be chilled so a lot of cheap ones can taste less appealing to some people forcing them to more expensive brands, thus creating a perception that white is cheap therefore tacky/lacking class and red is expensive therefore good.

And as an attitude that in itself isn’t knowledgeable or classy. So keep cracking on with what you like. Wine is there to be enjoyed even if it’s red with fish or rosé for breakfast.

I wonder what their comments would be to people who choose not to drink alcohol. Unpleasant people.

I have an intolerance to all red wine, port, sherry etc, some white wines (its more of a lottery, however Prosecco and other sparkling wines are generally safe), and tonic. I am a disappointment to my Scottish ancestors by disliking whiskey. (And tea!)

I presume palate is particularly unrefined. However I think throwing up would be a lot worse.

As someone who doesn't like wine at all, I definitely think wine snobbery is a thing.

But honestly, anyone who thinks they're better than someone else because of what alcohol they drink is going to be a bit of a twat, aren't they? So ignore them.

Op you should have said in a friendly way say " thank you but i really don't need a wine course, I enjoy what I enjoy"

I wouldn’t be sneered at by somebody drinking Prosecco, the fucking cheek.

I just don't like red wine as much as white. Too strong and I don't like the tannin. I've always felt I'm regarded as unsophisticated as I don't appreciate the complexity of red wine. It gives me a headache anyway. I am a bit embarrassed about it but still won't drink red.

I hate vinegar and red wines always taste vinegary

I guess it’s to do with sophistication of palate rather than ‘poshness’. Red wine is too much like hard work for many of us, which means we’re excluded from the club of understanding and appreciating it. I’ve done wine tastings and enjoyed the experience, but none has made me go out and buy a bottle of red. I drink dry white wine (including Prosecco ) and only dry white wine. The lighter and crisper the better. Within that range I can be a bit picky about quality, but it is admittedly a narrow range.

And that is just fine by me - I like a drink to refresh, and life is too short to drink something you don’t enjoy to impress others.

Many of the high priced wines are red, perhaps that is what is skewing their opinions.
There used to be some very plain Chardonnay from Australia that put people off. But the situation is different now. France had a bad reputation for lower priced wines but they also have modernised and improved.
The worst crime of your evening is the G&T after desert or cheese. No discernment at all.

I drink red wine. Usually at around £4 a bottle from Tesco’s 😁Clearly I am not posh! Red wine is “heavier” and I think that once you get used to drinking it, whites can taste too “weak”. I would still drink red with a chicken dish because I prefer it, even if it is wrong. Drink what you like. People criticising says more about them than it does about you.

Not really. An expensive white is "posher" than a cheap red.
The thing is a cheap red will taste better than a mid-range white. Not sure why.

But I'm thinking this was mostly your imagination otherwise you would have had opportunity to ask the people making the comments if they had made any. You can ask anything if you have a good delivery; 'oh white wine considered common is it? chuckle why do you think that is then?' conversation opener.

I went on a wine tasting course ages ago and they said that people generally start liking white and then move on to red as they become more “wine lovers”. I disagree! I love white wine. I don’t mind a glass of red with a steak, but it’s not my drink of choice. And I feel no embarrassment about that!

A friend of DH’s is a master of wine and drinks red, white and rose in equal measure!

Actually, with that food, I would have said that a white is far more suitable than a red. Sauvignon Blanc is my favourite white 😋

I always preferred red wine, even way back at 17 years onward, when most of my friends drank white - I didn't like the taste of white - but since turning 50 I'm now loving a Sauvignon Blanc. My taste changed, possibly hormonal, as went off my favourite perfumes too. What I'm trying to say is we like what we like, and I'd rather enjoy my glass of wine than have something I didn't enjoy just to be the same as everyone else. Enjoy your SB OP!

I love Chardonnay (a creamy oaky Chardonnay ideally!) and my local wine bar refuses to stock Chardonnay! Gives me the rage "Chardonnay is a rubbish wine" the landlord told me! So I bought a bottle of Pinot (I mean come on!!) it was "I ❤️ Pinot Grigio" that's about 6 quid from the co-op. I refused to pay £14 for it and left. At least the Wetherspoons sell Hardy's Chardonnay!!

I went on a wine tasting once and accidentally got mortal... i don't think I'm sophisticated enough. It was great fun though!

I would have pulled them up on their table manners.

I prefer red but will try anything