Drink in wine's history and intrigue
Writers who rank wines by points lack colour and flavour
To many North Americans wine is a confusing and evasive subject, surrounded by as much myth as fact (not to mention an unusual amount of pretense). It could be said that wine writers have contributed as much to the confusion as to the enlightenment.
Very few wine publications have the average "Joe" in mind, and most articles are produced to please a small number of "wine geeks" who need constant assurance that the wines they're drinking are worthy and cool. Instead of interesting pieces on how wine can make life a little more interesting and enjoyable, we get endless lists of ridiculous adjectives and scores. Consumers are left feeling inadequate because they choose to drink wine rather than quantify it. I thought that was the whole point of wine – to drink it. Do we really need the opinions of tasters who push through a hundred or more wines in one sitting, tasting and spitting tiny samples? I think the opinions of those who sit down to a bottle of wine with friends and spend some time getting to know the wine are more valuable.
What would it take to bring wine back to the stature that it deserves – one where it is included in our everyday lives and given appreciation without pomposity? Perhaps writers need a better understanding of the inner workings of wine – that it is more than a drink that can easily be reduced to a number or series of descriptions. Wine is made by people and those people have stories: farmers with 10 generations before them, working the same land; feuding neighbours doing their best to one-up each other every year; pioneers breaking ground with vines for the first time. Wine is our link to wonderful tales and fascinating people – this is the kind of information that allows people to drink in its history and intrigue.
To better enjoy wine, it helps to have a little knowledge of how it's made and why it tastes as it does. This is an important part of wine writing, but it is not the only point. Wine writers should be able to entice us to include wine as a part of our lives, to strip away the unfortunate layers of pretense and reduce wine to its simplest form: a beverage with intrinsic value which can enhance our enjoyment of food and hence, life.
What many writers fail to realize is that wine is just a regular guy – it needs to be made fun of from time to time to keep it humble. Writers who fail to poke a little fun at wine are missing an opportunity to make it a little more accessible.
We live in a land where wines are freely imported and thousands of varieties are available. There are fabulous wines with character and charm just waiting for an invite to your next soirée. Embrace these forgotten bottles and let them know it’s OK to be without a high score from a magazine. Let them know even without a high price and gold medal there is still a place for them on your table. Here are a couple of wines you may enjoy. (don't worry – none of these wines scored very well in the fancy wine magazines):
· 1997 Solopaca Aglianico ($10.75) – Soft, spicy and eminently drinkable, available at The Wine Shop.
· 1998 Comte Cathare Fitou ($14.95) – Gamey and lovely, at J. Webb Wine Merchant.
· 1998 Chateau de la Lastours Corbiere Cuvee Simone Descamps ($15.85) – Meaty, ripe and rich, try it out at MetroVino. |
