Buy Smarter and Drink Better Wines

When I studied British political reform of the 19th and early 20th century, there was a wealth of source material available to me.  These ranged from government documents, through newspapers to publicity material from the political parties, but the one source that helped understand the public’s perception of what was happening in Britain the most, was Punch.

Punch was the 19th century’s Private Eye, a satirical paper that showed the absurdities of political debate, and reflected (or should that be influenced?!) the public’s opinion on the issues of the day.  By depicting the 1820’s landowner, who owned land with an allocated MP for it, despite having no population, as having the government in his pocket, Punch brought to light the undemocratic ways of the old system of government.  It wasn’t the whole story, but it was a valuable source to use in conjunction with others, as it gave an under represented majority’s opinion.

Wine blogs do the same in representing the masses, but unlike Punch, it isn’t just one voice doing the job, it is many, and these voices are often, like Punch, considered to be frivolous and irrelevant by many of the establishment.

But I think that these voices are essential when you are trying to buy good wine and this brings me to the point of this blog post, buying smarter and drinking better. In my day job as a wine retailer, I frequently see sheep buying wine.  Not the woolly variety, but people who hang upon every word a newspaper wine critic says and refuse to be swayed from the advice of the scribe.  And these customers are the most stupid I have.  Not because they shouldn’t listen to the critic, of course they should as they are experienced and have a talent for tasting wine, but these people aren’t buying smarter.  They are being led to a wine and not using the brain that they were given to listen to other people and opinions.

The same applies to some other customers who won’t listen to my staff when they give them educated recommendations, and only want to deal with me and take my advice.  I am only one voice and I know that, from time to time, I might suggest a wine that they wouldn’t like. They too are not being smart, they are just being told what to buy and this isn’t an intelligent way to buy wine in the slightest.

To truly 'buy smart', and therefore drink better, you need to listen to a selection of voices.  You need the government or the wine critics.  You need the party propaganda or the retailer, and you certainly need Punch or the bloggers.  Their information may on occasion be sketchy, their knowledge maybe not to the same level as the newspaper columnists, but they are the voice of the general population whether the critics or retailers like it or not.  They are the people who spend their money on wine and don’t get samples or invitations to tastings, they are the ones who that will say when a wine is terrible when a specialist retailer simply won’t stock the wine and the critic won’t comment for fear of legal issues, their view is just as valid as anyone’s else.  The blogger is a vital source when it comes to selecting a wine to drink, and, like Punch, should never be taken in isolation but always in context with other pieces of information or opinion.  Only when the blogger is factored into the decision making process of wine selection will consumers really be buying smarter and drinking better.

Wine Conversation - Spot the Wine Blog
The Wine Gang Live Blog

Post this...