What a great illustration about wine! Often when I tell people I'm a wine drinker the first thing they say is they don't "get it". Neither do I! I've drank enough over the years to have a feel for what I do like and what I don't and take note of the ones I do so I can find more like them. I'm not too worried about mouthfeel and notes and all that jazz.
Scotch suffers from the same issue, although I think recent “outsider” entrants like Japanese whiskey and Georgian natural wines have made both categories more approachable.
Engaging piece, Emily! You’re so right about how off-putting the jargon around wine can be. Mouthfeel? Makes me think of canker sores! I love the no-nonsense approach of the 1945 ad. You can indeed drink any wine with any food without worrying about “leather” and “notes of blackberry.” Remove the snobbery and I think Millennials —and everyone else—would be happily uncorking (or unscrewing) bottles of vino!
I agree that language is a barrier, but this isn’t just a problem in the wine industry, it seems to be an issue in many industries. Sometimes we need to learn precise technical terms because there are no other words that will suffice, but often wanky terms are used to exclude people.
Thanks for the comment, Marg! I agree with you; this is not a problem specific to wine. The funny thing about wine in particular, with all its hand-wringing about losing new consumers, is that the beer, spirits, and cider industry doesn't seem to have the same industry jargon/lack of clarity problem ... at least to the average drinker.
What a great illustration about wine! Often when I tell people I'm a wine drinker the first thing they say is they don't "get it". Neither do I! I've drank enough over the years to have a feel for what I do like and what I don't and take note of the ones I do so I can find more like them. I'm not too worried about mouthfeel and notes and all that jazz.
I was always a big fan of The Grub Street column that inspired the book! https://www.grubstreet.com/author/vanessa-price/
Scotch suffers from the same issue, although I think recent “outsider” entrants like Japanese whiskey and Georgian natural wines have made both categories more approachable.
Engaging piece, Emily! You’re so right about how off-putting the jargon around wine can be. Mouthfeel? Makes me think of canker sores! I love the no-nonsense approach of the 1945 ad. You can indeed drink any wine with any food without worrying about “leather” and “notes of blackberry.” Remove the snobbery and I think Millennials —and everyone else—would be happily uncorking (or unscrewing) bottles of vino!
I agree that language is a barrier, but this isn’t just a problem in the wine industry, it seems to be an issue in many industries. Sometimes we need to learn precise technical terms because there are no other words that will suffice, but often wanky terms are used to exclude people.
Thanks for the comment, Marg! I agree with you; this is not a problem specific to wine. The funny thing about wine in particular, with all its hand-wringing about losing new consumers, is that the beer, spirits, and cider industry doesn't seem to have the same industry jargon/lack of clarity problem ... at least to the average drinker.
It makes you wonder what power games are at play. I really enjoyed reading your poster about the five types of wine.