White Zinfandel - the Pariah
I found this wine site recently and followed it through to its wine reviews. Note that the tasting notes for white zin take you to www.women.com. Is this meant to imply that WZ is only for women (who buy 70% of the wine in the US) or that WZ is one of those wines you "drink but don't write about"? I hope its the latter, as I agree that WZ reviews are generally unnecessary.
This brings me to a larger point about elitism and the continued snobbery I find in the wine world. Its still okay for some wine drinkers to turn up their noses at other wine drinkers because the former "drinks better wine" than the latter. Why is this? Is it because of wine's elevated status as a beverage of the bourgeois? Is it because some wines sell for much higher prices than others? Is it because of our relentless need to climb enological social ladders?
Most wine drinkers have stories about the horrid plonk they drank while in college, but many quickly move from there to actually disdaining those who drink sweet or generic wines and make those who drink them feel like they should apologize for what they choose to drink (we've probably all seen this happen, it happens frequently to me when I go to people's homes for dinner - I tell them not to apologize and join them in a glass of whatever they're drinking).
I for one don't think that Bob Trinchero should have to apologize one iota for his creation. The headline of Linda Murphy's excellent article on the history of white zin says "The wine snobs won't touch it, but that's their loss". As she points out, the majority of Americans don't even drink wine, so why are we going out of our way to look down on those who do, even if they choose something different than what we like. Can't we all just get along?
I am said to be a revolutionist in my sympathies, by birth, by breeding and by principle. I am always on the side of the revolutionists, because there never was a revolution unless there were some oppressive and intolerable conditions against which to revolute.- Mark Twain
This brings me to a larger point about elitism and the continued snobbery I find in the wine world. Its still okay for some wine drinkers to turn up their noses at other wine drinkers because the former "drinks better wine" than the latter. Why is this? Is it because of wine's elevated status as a beverage of the bourgeois? Is it because some wines sell for much higher prices than others? Is it because of our relentless need to climb enological social ladders?
Most wine drinkers have stories about the horrid plonk they drank while in college, but many quickly move from there to actually disdaining those who drink sweet or generic wines and make those who drink them feel like they should apologize for what they choose to drink (we've probably all seen this happen, it happens frequently to me when I go to people's homes for dinner - I tell them not to apologize and join them in a glass of whatever they're drinking).
I for one don't think that Bob Trinchero should have to apologize one iota for his creation. The headline of Linda Murphy's excellent article on the history of white zin says "The wine snobs won't touch it, but that's their loss". As she points out, the majority of Americans don't even drink wine, so why are we going out of our way to look down on those who do, even if they choose something different than what we like. Can't we all just get along?
I am said to be a revolutionist in my sympathies, by birth, by breeding and by principle. I am always on the side of the revolutionists, because there never was a revolution unless there were some oppressive and intolerable conditions against which to revolute.- Mark Twain
posted by Anonymous at 10:53 AM
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