Today, I started my CSW wine prep class. We began the discussion at its logical starting point with wine chemistry and the constituents of wine. It’s amazing to think of all those reactions going on in the glass. It made me wonder if that makes me a wine snob.
Food for Thought
Part of the reason it came to mind was a section in Michael Steinberger’s pithy book, The Wine Savant: A Guide to the New Wine Culture. He begins with a discussion of how non-oenophiles might view us, wine enthusiasts.
Yes, there is a mystic, if you will, about wine. You have only to look at how some people have left other careers to follow the Muse, such as Master of Wine, Jennifer Simonetti-Bryan.
It’s an easy path to follow.
Wine isn’t just a beverage you toss back after a tough day at work, although, you certainly could. But, it’s so much more than that.
What Is the Magic Behind Wine?
It begs the question, what is it about wine that makes us swoon?
It could be the history. Wine does go back over 6,000 years. There aren’t a lot of other beverages that have that kind of resume. But, there are other things too.
It has a certain romance about it.
It’s esoteric, if you take the wine snob route.
Wine has all those grapes to choose from and all those countries providing them.
I came back to an excellent point made in Steinberger’s book…
Wine Appreciation
Wine is unique in this whole association with snobbery. We don’t call out enthusiasts or experts in other cultural arts for their knowledge. We don’t call art lovers, snobs, nor musicians.
I think there are two factors at work in this arena. Both feed each other to create this monster as “one who has an offensive air of superiority in matters of knowledge or taste.”
First, there is this behavior that creates an unpleasant atmosphere. No one likes to be put down for what they don’t know or perhaps don’t care about.
Their loss.
There is also another force at work, I suspect. That is the dreaded curse of knowledge. That is the fallacy whereby a person may forget what it was like not to know something. When they discuss it, they use jargon and language they assume that others grasp too.
You’ve probably had at least one college professor guilty of that one.
Then, you throw in a bit of the Dunning-Kruger Effect where someone knows enough to be dangerous and far too simplistic in the greater context.
How Not to Be a Wine Snob
If you study wine, something happens that puts you in your place…
You soon realize that the more you know, the more you need to know.
Wine is a complex topic that crosses into many fields, such as viticulture, politics, ideology, history, and a whole lot more. Generalizations are not recommended. I’m reminded of a lovely quote by journalist, H.L. Mencken who said,
“Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always a well-known solution to every human problem—neat, plausible, and wrong.”
Final Thoughts About Being a Wine Snob
Therefore, my solution for casting snobbery to the curb is to remember that wine is just as complicated in its reality as it is in the glass. There’s no need for haughtiness or proving yourself. Chill out and enjoy it.
However, if truth be told, I relish being called a wine snob just as much as I love being branded a science nerd. Always remember that friends don’t let friends derive drunk.
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