What is a Wine of Quality?

Whenever broaching upon the subject of quality, I get questions on what is a good wine and what is a bad wine. It is a strange question because we don't usually have problems telling the difference between a good and a bad apple, or an overburnt steak vs a tender juicy piece. The concept is no different from drinking a fresh orange juice vs diluted orange juice.

Judging a wine in absolute terms is the same as setting your own standards of what a good human being is. I prefer to look at a wine in context apart from just basing quality on absolutes.

Are you serving it with food? Get a wine that is not intensely concentrated in flavour or it will overpower the food.
What environment are you drinking it in - hot or cold? Have a robust red in front of the fireplace or a chilled white while basking in the summer sun.
What time of the day is it? Something ligter in the morning perhaps to start the day and heavier in the night to put you to sleep?
Are you drinking it with friend or acquaintance? Open the nice stuff for your friends or if you want to be a crowd pleaser, go for the sweet stuff.

Yes, the absolutes are important - generosity of aroma and flavour; balance between acid, sweetness and tannins; complexity of flavours with layers upon layers; harmony of sensations instead of disjointedness; a long length with a desirable finish of acceptable flavours; no bitterness in the back of the tongue or sourness that makes the wine experience unbearable.

Building a concept of quality requires time, patience and lots of tasting. You find the best pasta by going to different restaurants and comparing your present experience with the last. The same goes to wine and even love. It is hard to know what love is until you experience it or realise that you weren't happy in the last relationship because you notice the difference with your current relationship. You know what a good Pinot Noir is only when you try something better than the last. That's how you build hierachies of quality in your mind.

Most importantly, accept yourself as a unique individual with a unique taste and a biasness to specific wines. I love sherries and wines with huge amounts of oak. It may not be to everyone's liking, but it doesn't mean that it is poor quality. It is an acquired taste. There is quality but there is also knowing what you like to drink.