I must say, it is extremely hard for me to keep up with this blog. I write so much for work, that when I do get around to write for fun -it seems like work. I have even found myself questioning ideas, punctuation, etc., with the fun stuff. Not fun. The following is a blog that I wrote for my work blog. When I submitted it for approval, I got the thumbs down. My piece was called a rant, which was too controversial and attacked the people who we depend on for wine ratings. I didn’t think it was a rant–but when i gave it to my co-worker, she felt it was a little tough as well. Posting it here will help me feel as though my hard work hasn’t gone to waste.
Isn’t that Obscure?
Wine has been around for thousands of years- and wine critics just as long, describing the nuances of the wine they experience. So it shouldn’t seem unusual to see reviews of wine that are quite outlandish, even laughable. In an effort to avoid being vapid or circular, it seems as though the reviewers have created their own language. Can they do that? Sure! Our pop culture has created an environment where popular words and phrases tend to become legitimate. But, in an effort to be creative, don’t let the professional wine writers unknowingly ostracize you. Trust your taste buds.
To illustrate the unique language some wine writers employ, I went to a popular wine website and read through ten ratings. Here are a few of my favorite descriptions: “minerally with hints of tar, incense and hot stone weave in and out.” ; “crammed with loganberry and linzer torte flavors laid over dense but polished structure.”; “ Pungent aromas of slate, violet and black currant are immediate and intense.” Original? -Yes. Interesting? -Certainly. Appealing? -Not in all cases. Their job is to report flavors and sensations as creatively as possible, good or bad. And who knows, someone might be looking for that special bottle of wine, crammed with hot stone and slate aromas…we’re not here to judge!
In the end, it is my advice to all the common winos not to despair when your taste buds don’t measure up to a critic’s large spectrum of descriptions. If all you taste is berry, so be it; there’s no need to invent a type of berry to prove to the guy next to you that you like wine. I’m sure he’d appreciate a subtle nudge with a, “this stuff’s good!” rating.
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