Wine Wankers

POSTED
Feb, 2008
22
Joe Power

Joe Power

First off, is there any funnier word in the entire English language than “wanker?” If so, I can’t think of it. In the context of this article on wine snobs, or wankers, it made me laugh even harder than usual. I think we all know at least one person like that.

There is a lot of good advice for all of us in “Four sommeliers walk into a bar…” Some of my favorites are:

After more than a decade in the wine industry, Sims, 32, has met his fair share of what he terms “wine wankers” — annoyingly articulate wine bores — and he is tired of them.

The worst kind, he says, is someone who “can force their opinion on you and make you feel intimidated, like you don’t know anything”.

and

“When I taste a good glass of wine, I don’t want to break it down. At the end of the day, I just want to say, ‘Geez, that is a good glass of wine. I’d love another!’ “

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View Comments to “Wine Wankers”

Mark V Marino Says:
February 22nd, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Yes I have done tastings with thousands of people now and I feel it very certain that there are many different tastes out there I try not to over describe wines in my articles because I see how much taste varies between one persona and another. I also try not to say what I like for it has little to do with my clients, I try to figure out what they like and get them more of that! this is why I think wine experts are silly so what if so and so rates a wine 90 do you like it? Taste it and also these days if a wine is not 90 then many dismiss it as not good, there are just not that many 90+ wines out there there is little room at the top, what if age improves it so where to we go from there?

By the way I do not drink when I tour people they do I just observe so I can do it day after day!
Mark V Marino Says:
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Yes I have done tastings with thousands of people now and I feel it very certain that there are many different tastes out there I try not to over describe wines in my articles because I see how much taste varies between one persona and another. I also try not to say what I like for it has little to do with my clients, I try to figure out what they like and get them more of that! this is why I think wine experts are silly so what if so and so rates a wine 90 do you like it? Taste it and also these days if a wine is not 90 then many dismiss it as not good, there are just not that many 90+ wines out there there is little room at the top, what if age improves it so where to we go from there?

By the way I do not drink when I tour people they do I just observe so I can do it day after day!
Joe Power Says:
February 25th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Good point on the ranking system. It can be a helpful tool, but if it becomes the be-all and end-all of how wine is judged then it becomes a joke.
Joe Power Says:
February 25th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Good point on the ranking system. It can be a helpful tool, but if it becomes the be-all and end-all of how wine is judged then it becomes a joke.