The global wine industry hasn’t figured out how to capture and secure the interest of people living in the middle third of their lives. Perhaps a starting point would be for wine writers to not further isolate them.
I say this having come across a story entitled, “In Praise of Wine Elitism,” recently published to the Tim Atkin blog by a contributing writer. This is a piece that, in nearly 1,000 words, gallops through an array of them vs. us complaints about the democratization of wine. It bemoans perceived pressure to “dumb down” wine language, and gaslights anyone who would level the charge of “pretentiousness.” Somewhere along the way, the column crescendos with an ill-fitting comparison of wine elitists to medical professionals before the writer takes us on a denouement into the smug realization that they’re fine with the status quo.
Yikes.
I think a further dissection of this particular piece is merited, not to single out any one writer but to call out a pervasive problem that plagues this entrenched industry. (And we’ll get to that dissection in a moment.)
We know the rate of people under 60 choosing to drink wine is generally understood to be on the decline. In the last decade, direct sales shrank by 5.5% for people between 50-60; by 7.3% for those between 40-50; and by 1.2% for people in the 30-40 age bracket.
Figuring out exactly why this is the case is a nettlesome riddle to detangle. Certainly at play is the fact that the millennial generation has less disposable income than their parents, and certainly more economic fear. Also in the mix is marketplace with many options — including popular hard seltzers. And then, more recently, a trend toward drinks with low-to-no alcohol is shaping where spend goes.
With that in mind, and as a relative newcomer to wine, I confess that I continue to find entering the wine shop a bit nerve-inducing.
Is this a good wine? What even is “good” wine?
If it weren’t for my learning about hybrid and native grape wines, I probably would have moved right into to stocking my apartment with black cherry White Claw, or I’d have settled on weekends spent concocting simple mixed drinks. Truth be told, a lot of weekends I am doing just that. But the hybrid and native grape wine space offered a non-judgmental entry into wine, and not because the wines are any less complex or delicious. It’s that the people, language, and culture around them are far more approachable than that of the “traditional” industry.
It’s sad that anyone would need to create a safe space to explore something as old and universal as wine, but elitism around wine makes this a reality.
To better understand that elitism, I think walking through a public case being made in favor of it is apropos. So let’s dig in.
Every now and again as a wine person, it’s salutary to be reminded of the limits of the British public’s knowledge of wine and the dense knot of anxieties surrounding it.
In a charitable reading of this, I suppose it’s reassuring that, from time to time, elitists do, in fact, descend from Olympus to engage with the muckity-mucks. And in this instance, this elitist is reminded of a problem that exists down here, which is that anxiety around wine is real.
Don’t you feel seen?
…it seems to me that no matter how much wine is democratised, we will always face fresh pressure to dumb down how we talk about it.
And with that, the good vibes die before we reach the end of the third paragraph. In this bifurcated world of the knows and know-nots, the rubes with their democratized wine just won’t ever be satisfied. They’ll just never understand wine! But that won’t stop them from wanting — nay, demanding! — to learn.
Worse: always concomitant with those demands are accusations of being “elitist” and “pretentious” – whether, in fact, we dumb down or not.
By paragraph four, our pilgrim is already fed up.There is simply no way to talk about wine in ways that are inclusive, inviting, and illuminating. Maybe best to turn around and head back up the mountain. I wonder if he’ll having a conversation with himself about this as he trudges up the slope?
It’s silly: why should it be any more embarrassing to ask for wine advice than to ask a doctor’s opinion on an ailment? Specialists can help you. But the panic induced in many by a long wine list seems real.
I—
Let’s just continue.
The charge of “pretentiousness” is a defence mechanism against that insecurity.
This part really gets me because it’s just good old fashioned gaslighting. It’s calling into question people’s ability to reason, to say what they see right in front of them. ‘I’m not pretentious! How dare you! This is just you being defensive!’
Self-awareness? Out the door.
And for those who still find any such celebration of wine knowledge “elitist”, I must simply plead guilty. Some people are just better at some things than other people. You know more about football than me; I know more about wine than you. Just deal with it.
After waxing about wine critic Jancis Robinson’s BBC Maestro series entitled “An Understanding of Wine,” in which Robinson cheerily invites novices and aficionados alike to learn more about wine, our pilgrim ends his screed by simply throwing in the towel.
‘The hell with all of you. I know more than you, and you’re just going to have to deal with it.’
And if that doesn’t get you psyched about exploring the world of wine, what on earth will? 🍇