Do you enjoy wine? Well, this article is actually for the folks who DO NOT enjoy wine, but don’t worry wine lovers, I will need your participation! I know people who do not enjoy wine. I have asked many of them why and their reasons vary from “I can’t taste the difference from one wine to the next,” to “wine is just for snobs.” I have found that a major reason people are not into wine is from a bad experience. Maybe a bad wine, OR wine with bad company. Both of which can turn someone off of wine. Does that sound like you? Well, I want to tell you why wine might be something you give a second chance, and I want to do it through good food and fun people!
For the wine lovers reading this I want you to think about how, and when, you got into wine. Very few of us grew up around grapes, so what was it that opened your door to wine? I would wager that for the vast majority of wine lovers it was when you had a glass of wine with good food! Perhaps at a dinner, maybe at a nice restaurant, or your family’s or friends’ house, who were great chefs in their own right. Additionally, you probably tried that wine while eating. Not only was it probably with food, it was presumably with people that you cared about; family, friends, significant other. And when you tried it, a spark was struck, leaving you thinking “man, that was good!” It was an experience! It is this experience that those of you who don’t enjoy wine potentially have missed.
In my previous life I studied warfare and culture, specializing in counter insurgency and counter terrorism. While that might not seem applicable here, I will tell you that the core is all about people and how people come together. I have previously talked about how I grew up around grapes and wine making, but it wasn’t those aspects that were the major contributors to my enjoyment of wine. It was the food and the people. Every time my family came together to celebrate there was always food (great food) and wine. I was blessed to drink some high-quality wine at those gatherings. “Quality” being the key word, not “Price.” You never heard anyone talk about the price of a wine; it was a total faux pas...making it the opposite of “snobby.” That is when I learned one of the most important aspects of wine, and I have mentioned this before: you don’t need expensive wine to bring people together. Good food plus great people can make even an “average” wine into a great experience!
If you do not enjoy wine and are still not convinced that maybe you should give it a second chance then maybe science can help win you over. Give the following some thought: How often do you see “Beer Dinner” or “Whisky Dinner” advertised? They do exist, but they are rare, and there is a reason for that. Beer, on one end, and Spirits (Whisky, Rum, Tequila etc.) on the other just do not pair with most foods. Wine does, and the right wine with the right food is just plain fantastic! Beer and Spirits are great, and have their place, but that place just isn’t with food, and chemistry backs me up here. The level of alcohol, acid, and taste compounds (such as tannins) make wine the “goldilocks” of the alcoholic world for food pairing, just right. Beer and Spirits are either “too cold or too hot” on the alcohol scale to work consistently.
I often get asked what got me into wine. After I tell them my story of how I grew up I frequently get the response “Of course you are into wine!”, but, that’s not the whole story. Yes, I think wine is amazing. The best wines that I have tasted have blown away the best rums and bourbons that I have had, and I really do enjoy a nice rum and wheated bourbon. I also love food and we know wine just pairs better with food, but for me, the most important aspect is the people. The social aspect of wine is truly a healing force! Wine is special because, at its core, it brings people together. Wine is better when it is not snobby, and when you get together with fun people, people you care about, wine just makes the gatherings feel special, the true antidote of seriousness! So, no matter if you can’t taste the difference from one wine to the next, plan a tasty dinner with some friends and try a wine or two with it. You just might find the wine doesn’t matter as much as the experience itself!
Cheers to that!
For the wine lovers reading this I want you to think about how, and when, you got into wine. Very few of us grew up around grapes, so what was it that opened your door to wine?