The de-Snobbing of wine (let’s discuss)
There is a trend in the wine blogging community and I have dubbed it the de-snobbing of wine. I read many blog post daily and I would say 90% claim to be bringing wine to the common folk, de-mystifying it, de-snob it, etc… Ok so this is a good thing I guess. Right? I mean wine is a complicated subject with lots of history, nuances, and regional variations. There are people who dedicate their lives to studying and understanding it. However you don’t have to be an expert to know what you enjoy. Everyone seems to want to de-mystify wine, why? The mystery is part of the allure and experience. Wines (at least good ones) do a slow reveal in your glass, unfolding with time, morphing, evolving, all the while telling you a story about the people who made it, the land that grew it, and its journey in the bottle (or 3 liter bag-in-box). To draw an analogy with the music world wine can be as simple as a Britney Spears or Jonas Brothers song or as complex and layered as a 10 minute Pink Floyd psychedelic experience or one of Vivaldi’s masterpieces. Do we want to de-mystify these too? Or is the mystery part of the allure? I fear that some bloggers and press might be confusing making wine approachable with dumbing it down, trying to suck out the mystery and complexity. We can not make the complex simple but what we can do is encourage more people to attempt to understand the complexities of wine through experience, experimentation, and open mindedness. To truly understand wine all you need is a willingness to try different wines, a corkscrew, and a glass, oh and an open mind helps too.
What are your thoughts?
Cheers,
ChrisO ‘the everyman’s wine snob”
I don't necessarily think that “dumbing down” is synonymous with making wine accessible. Let me give you another musical example. Opera, which historically has been music for the masses in Italy and France, but in the US very elitist, in very much the same way that wine is viewed. I love both wine and opera, and in trying to gain converts for both, i think it is edifying to show people that, in other countries, these “products” are viewed as part of everyday culture, not something on a pedestal.
Love your blog by the way.
Thanks for the comment and compliment!
You make a very valid point. Wine like Opera is for the people, but in no means needs to be simplified to be enjoyed. We need educate and give everyone the freedom to interpret it for themselves.
Cheers and thanks for the support!
ChrisO
What a thought-provoking post.
I agree with johnrbt – making wine accessible shouldn't/doesn't mean dumbing down.
Whether it's opera or wine or literature, I think it's a hugely positive development when final consumers have access to the tools necessary in order to interpret complex subjects. There will always be people who know what they like without going into the intricacies of the subject and similarly there will be people who need the handles and vocabulary to increase their enjoyment. It can be a good book even if you don't know what synecdoche is, a good wine even if you can't define dry extract, a great opera without knowing your Berlioz from your Verdi…
You can appreciate without understanding, but understanding increases appreciation and, in my opinion, giving good information actually increases the allure of wine.
OK, I admit it, I'm trying to do this on my blog so not really objective!
Laura-
Very eloquently put “You can appreciate without understanding, but understanding increases appreciation” What a spot on comment! I could not agree with you more.
Going to head over and check out your blog right now.
Cheers!