Where Have All The Wine Snobs Gone?
January 7, 2010 by dave
Since when has wine become the Drink of the People? Where are those guys who only drink Silver Oak or Opus One? In the last couple of weeks, I have read three different Wine Blogs that were touting a wine that was 1) from Bulgaria and 2) Merlot. It was not long ago that you would keep your mouth shut about drinking either one of those!
There is an excellent tavern in Chicago called The Map Room. They have exotic beers from all over the world, their chalk board lists all the fresh expertly handled kegs on tap, and all the beers are poured perfectly in the proper beer glass that was designed specifically for that type of beer. Down the street is a good wine bar where they pour first rate inexpensive wines in regular every day wine glasses – no pretense, just good wine in a glass (and cheaper than the beer at the Map Room,too)!
About ten years ago, I accompanied a friend to a local high-end wine shop. He had a killer bottle of wine on a business trip and wanted to buy a case of it. We walked into the shop kind of dressed down (hey, it was a Saturday afternoon in the summer). My friend was not a wine drinker – this was the first wine that really piqued his interest. He told the clerk behind the counter that he was new to wine and that he was looking for this particular bottle. The clerk in classic Wine Snob fashion basically told him that the wine was too good for him and that he should go down to the local supermarket to find something that would suit him better. Today that attitude is never on display, although they might still be thinking, “Why is the great unwashed destroying my sacred wine?”
But it seems to be a whole new world – Wine Spectator‘s Top 100 Wines of ’09 had a bunch of under $20 bottles on the list. Noted wine critic Bill Daley in his list of Top Sparkling Wines for the Holiday Season, didn’t just say, “Hey this Barefoot Sparkling Wine ain’t too bad”, but actually put it on his list of recommended wines! You know, if that 1970′s ZZ Top song, Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers was written today it just might be titled Cabernet Sauvignon Drinkers and Hell Raisers, as things have changed.
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Tagged: beer glass, Bill Daley, wine glass, wine snob, Wine Spectator, ZZ Top
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Do you want to out the “local high-end wine shop” off the board (if it’s here in Chicago, I have some ideas on what it might be?) And what wine bar is down the street from the Map Room (must check it out!)