kirk wallace
kirk wallace
I am surprised that there hasn't been more opprobrium here about James Laube's idiotic and dishonest piece on In Pursuit of Balance and the reign of terror imposed by certain "Dim Somms." (I can't get the upload function to work on a pdf of it; perhaps others can or can get behind the paywall here: http://www.winespectator.com/magazine/show/id/50346 .)
It is as if he thinks Sommeliers are entirely in control of what customers want. Perhaps it just my time at Chicago, but I think more of the market than that. Indeed, I think it is the opposite. IPOB is a very logical reaction to market forces. And in that vein, I happened on this comment by a merchant with whom I am not familiar:
I wonder if he even keeps track of his prior writing: http://www.winespectator.com/blogs/show/id/46582
There may be no magic to 14%, but doesn't it, or even some lower line, make sense as a rule of thumb? One has to start somewhere. Saying that that doesn't work for sunny, warm climates is an odd answer. If I like high alcohol fruit and tannin bombs, great; I know where to seek them out; if I don't, and enough others don't, then the question is whether the market will encourage wine makers, even in sunny, warm places to figure out how to address that market demand. maybe different grapes? maybe different sites or canopy management; maybe a dozen other things I know nothing about. But a sommelier or wine director who ignores what his customers want --or can't educate and inspire folks such that they become REPEAT customers -- is quickly unemployed. To this customer, the only "Dim Somms" are those who don't listen and learn from their customers desires (and in some cases experiences) and then in turn delight and surprise their customers and, ideally, expand their horizons.
Wine writing, at its best, does the same. Not in evidence in Mr. Laube's piece. Nor, piling on, in Huon's piece that Jay posted today.
It is as if he thinks Sommeliers are entirely in control of what customers want. Perhaps it just my time at Chicago, but I think more of the market than that. Indeed, I think it is the opposite. IPOB is a very logical reaction to market forces. And in that vein, I happened on this comment by a merchant with whom I am not familiar:
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piazzadiscepoli.com
I wonder if he even keeps track of his prior writing: http://www.winespectator.com/blogs/show/id/46582
There may be no magic to 14%, but doesn't it, or even some lower line, make sense as a rule of thumb? One has to start somewhere. Saying that that doesn't work for sunny, warm climates is an odd answer. If I like high alcohol fruit and tannin bombs, great; I know where to seek them out; if I don't, and enough others don't, then the question is whether the market will encourage wine makers, even in sunny, warm places to figure out how to address that market demand. maybe different grapes? maybe different sites or canopy management; maybe a dozen other things I know nothing about. But a sommelier or wine director who ignores what his customers want --or can't educate and inspire folks such that they become REPEAT customers -- is quickly unemployed. To this customer, the only "Dim Somms" are those who don't listen and learn from their customers desires (and in some cases experiences) and then in turn delight and surprise their customers and, ideally, expand their horizons.
Wine writing, at its best, does the same. Not in evidence in Mr. Laube's piece. Nor, piling on, in Huon's piece that Jay posted today.
