Mirror, mirror
Great wine is about nuance, surprise, subtlety, expression, qualities that keep you coming back for another taste. Rejecting a wine a wine because it is not big enough is like rejecting a book because it is not long enough, or a piece of music because it is not loud enough.
– Kermit Lynch, Wine Importer
A recent article in the WSJ attempted to shed some light on the topic of the consumer’s fear of wine. It did a rather poor job; it quoted some wine retailers and sommeliers describing customers’ fears and offered scant advice, save for its closing, frequent BYOB restaurants. Of course, that’s a fine idea if navigating the wine list is trauma inducing, but presumably, one would still have to go to the wine shop.
Selecting the ‘right’ wine can be nerve-racking, but it doesn’t have to be. The first step is to relax and realize that the wine is secondary to the company. The other important thing to realize is that wine preference, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
There is no perfect wine, no perfect pairing. Every wine region on earth produces good wine; some wineries even make interesting, dare I say, compelling wine. The selection of the right wine depends far more upon context (who, what and where) than the wine itself.
The wrong way to select wine, and the way that induces stress, is by selecting wines based upon what you think the wine says about you. I have bad news; the wine doesn’t care about you. And selecting a particular wine because of a misguided need to impress others is foolish.
An expensive wine might announce that you can afford an expensive wine. Or it might announce that you’re worried about what others might think so you’ll pour a wine that you really shouldn’t afford. Or it might announce nothing at all because:
a.) your guests don’t care,
b.) your guests don’t know what the wine costs,
c.) your guests don’t like the wine, or
d.) all of the above.
If you’re hanging out with people that are impressed by your (or their own) wine choices, I’ll argue that you’re hanging out with the wrong group of people and that is the real cause of your stress, not the actual choosing of the wine. Remember, it’s only wine. It’s a non-existent factor in the success of the evening, or at least, it should be. Remember, only in areas that don’t actually make wine are people pondering which wine is the right wine. In those places where the grapes are actually grown and the wine is actually produced, the right choice is always…wine.