Our Favorite Beverage

Is This a Good Wine?

Wine is an interesting beverage. Not only does it taste nice and help conversations, there’s also a mystique about it. People want to know about wine so they seem more cultured. Often, in a restaurant, wines are given a status above the food and definitely above the cocktails and beers. Wine is seen as something to figure out.

Here’s a secret. There is nothing to figure out. One of the biggest goals of most new businesses and retailer campaigns in the wine industry is a misguided effort to help uneducated consumers find better wines—or the right wines—for themselves. The industry is worried that consumers are choosing the wrong wines.

I have a lot of friends who are not wine experts. They drink wine and they like it. They don’t always know what they’re drinking. Usually they have no clue about any backstory to the wine. Often they think the region name is the grape, but they drink the wine, laugh with friends and have a good time. 

Shocking, I know.

I happen to be a member of the American Wine Society. When I show up for a dinner, the host or other guests ask me, “Is this good wine?” They’re looking for validation for their choice.  These people who, when I’m not in the room, open a wine and enjoy it for what it is, panic the minute an “expert” enters, hoping to avoid criticism for their choice. They’ve been taught that there’s a correct answer to the question: “Is this good wine?” The wine industry has taught a generation of wine drinkers that there is a right answer, and that it’s possible to get wine wrong.

Shame.

I like cars. I know a bit about cars. When I was a young boy, my Mother would take me for walks around our neighborhood.  She would point out different cars and tell me which one was a DeSoto, or a Packard (I’m old!). I learned to identify the different makes and models, and that likely started my interest in cars.

I can’t fix anything on my car anymore, other than maybe a stain on the seat or a flat tire in an emergency. But I still love cars. I used to know makes and model numbers. But I don’t have to know how to build a Ferrari to enjoy a Ferrari. When I meet someone who knows more about cars than I do, I never ask them if I liked the right one. I never ask if I was really enjoying driving my convertible, or if the car complimented my outfit. I don’t really care. I just enjoy it and that's enough.

You may be just like me and cars. You may be someone who wants to drink something fruity and fresh on a terrace in summer or rich and red with your steak at night. Who should care what you’re drinking? Only you should care! Quaff away. Add ice cubes to the glass. Mix the wine with 7Up. Use a straw. Slurp if you want to. Are you smiling when you do it? Are your friends laughing with you? That’s great. You did it right.

If you’re that intellectual type who loves stories, facts and figures, or a person who is out to discover something new and exciting and wants to understand different facets of the same wine, enjoy! Argue volatile acidity levels and vintage ratings. “Drink by” dates may be gospel to you, so have fun with it. Do you want to take a class? Why not? Go deep. Immerse yourself.  By all means, join the American Wine Society!

BUT. . .

Please don’t assume that your new found knowledge is somehow absolute. Don’t assume that your palate is better than anyone else’s. Definitely don’t assume that your ideal wine is everyone’s ideal wine. It isn’t. We all have very different palates, cultural histories, childhood memories and favorite meals. We aren’t the same. There’s no perfect wine. There’s no right wine.

Winemakers who make consumers afraid of picking the wrong wine are doing a bad job of selling wine overall. Consumers need confidence that their preferences are normal, not that they have a lot to learn, or that they could somehow make a mistake.

Today, wine consumers don’t need help finding new wines. Wineries need help finding new consumers. Instead of admitting their failure as sales people, the wineries have succeeded in convincing the consumers that they’re doing something wrong.

Shame.