Don't Let the Best Source of Wine Knowledge Go Untapped
The most unappreciated wine resource is the wine merchant.
Last Thursday, I sat in the back of an ornate room at the University Club of New York. I watched as 4 representatives of fine wine retailers opined on the state of wine retailing in America as attendees at a conference listened to them. It struck me (reminded me?) that no sector of the wine industry is filled with more wine knowledgeable people than fine wine retailing. And yet, it is exceedingly rare that this cohort of wine geeks gets much love or attention from those who write or comment about wine. Why?
I have two theories: Sex and Self-Interest.
First, I should note that for some time I have worked closely with fine wine retailers as the Executive Director of the National Association of Wine Retailers.
Second, I suppose I should define my terms. When I write “Fine Wine Retailer,” I’m referring to that small group of merchants who focus almost exclusively on wine, on wines that represent the artisan side of the industry, and who don’t sell candy bars and Slim Jims alongside their bottled offerings.
To give a more specific example of what I mean by this term, I point to the fine wine retail outlets represented by the folks speaking last Thursday: Astor Wine & Spirits, Berry Brothers & Rudd (DC), Grapes The Wine Company, and Copake Wine Works. No one would mistake these outlets for Snickers and Slim Jim sllingers.
When wine lovers and the wine curious read or watch content about wine, they are overwhelmingly presented with the wine producer as an authority or example of the dedicated exemplar of the fine wine world. I get this. Something is alluring about the person who toils in the dirt to produce liquid in a bottle (or at least owns the place where grapes are transformed into wine.
Readers and watchers are presented with winemakers and vintners and imagine themselves living the life of the artisan farmer and producers, delivering up elixirs that represent a patch of land and the continuation of an historic pursuit. It’s romantic. They are romantic.
On the other hand, the wine merchant simply hawks, peddles, and hustles. Less romantic. Less sexy. More pedestrian.