of nobility and class, and if we could adhere to the near Victorian
regulations that we ever so passionately promoted, then we too
would be noble and cultured. Nobody likes rules, and snobbery will
get you nowhere. So we drank beer instead.
“After a generation of insipid
cavity-inducing wines, we began to
discover real wine – the kind that
actually enhances a meal.”
fsmomaha.com
Wine became popular, not because of its perceived sophistication
and class, but rather in spite of it. It took many years – a couple
of decades in fact – of pop beverage wines, fizzy sweet sparklers,
white zinfandel “Kool Aid” wines, and boatloads of wine coolers
to acclimate the public to wine as a user-friendly and common
beverage. From a strictly qualitative standpoint, the bait that
hooked the American masses was the lowest on the food chain.
Most of it was just plain nasty. It was only when we dummied it
down that the public bellied up and began to feel comfortable.
Slowly but surely, after a generation of insipid cavity-inducing wines
flooded the market, we began to discover real wine – the kind that
actually enhances a meal, with flavors and nuances unlike any other
beverage. Now we get it. Now we love it. Now it is a commonly
consumed product, appealing to the masses.
Many wineries may lay claim to turning the tide of the American
wine industry, but in truth, there was no “big bang” that singlehandedly changed the culture. The ship turned very slowly. Many
different brands over the course of many years are to credit.
However, a common thread does weave through all of these brands:
They all made the world of wine more user-friendly and less stuffy.
The very qualities of upper crust sophistication that the industry
had promoted so fervently had proven to be the very barriers that
needed to be overcome. Now, isn’t that ironic.
“Content to learn as they go, today’s
young wine drinker is typically not
lingering long on the bottom rung
of quality.”
For those passionate about wine it is quite encouraging to see
a younger generation embracing all of its magical qualities. The
majority now seem to skip over the bubble gum phase that an older
generation chose to first endure. They like a good glass of wine.
Their fear of a penalty flag being thrown for violation of wine rules
is far less inhibiting than it ever was for their predecessors. Content
to learn as they go, today’s young wine drinker is typically not
lingering long on the bottom rung of quality.
I greatly appreciate quality stemware and a beautifully matched
wine with a meal. Even wine ratings have their place in assisting
consumers as they navigate through the plethora of wines out there,
but rules and standards should enhance the wine experience – not
define it. When a wine absolutely cannot be served without the
proper glass, then something is wrong. If a wine cannot be enjoyed
or purchased without a wine rating to testify to and define for us
what we should like, then we have gone too far. Only when we
softened the rules did wine become popular. That’s when wine
got cool.
39