Three Consumer's Views Of Wine

I spoke with three people about wine today. One is an art gallery owner who loves Joel Gott's Zinfandel. Having grown up in Paris, he is completely comfortable with wine. The other man, a very intelligent and perceptive person, also, with some European background, is totally frustrated with wine. He believes he doesn't catch the nuances of wine, is allergic to wine (only in the United States), feels that the terminology is florid and meaningless, and that he can't remember enough information about a wine to find it again, if he likes it. He once liked a Gevrey Chambertin and even remembered the year, only to be frustrated by not being able to remember the name of the producer out of the dozens of producers of Gevrey Chambertin. Wine terminology is a major source of frustration, confusion and intimidation for many consumers. Even if you remember the vintage, the name of the wine, the varietal, and the winery, you may still be confronted with the AVA(wine growing region) or the specific vineyard that produced the grapes that went into the wine. The third person I conversed with today is an established wine retailer, who complained that some of his customers are overly impressed with highly rated, high-priced wines that are living off their reputations based on hype, spin and marketing. He likes to find people real wines at reasonable prices. Now that's integrity, a rare quality these days.