I’m a fan of CBS’ Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood. It’s not a left vs. right thing for me, but rather I like the easy going flow of stories as I sip my morning coffee, no doubt trying to clear the cobwebs from Saturday night’s festivities which most likely included a shit ton of wine. Mo Rocca and Bill Geist are kind of funny, too, though I’m not sure about Andy Rooney these days. This past week I was caught by a statement made during the segment about the talking-head Punditswe all see on virtually every news channel out there… and there certainly are a lot of them aren’t there? And on for 24 hours! Geez.
The statement was made by a neuroeconomist from Emory: “The areas [of the brain] that usually light up when we’re weighing our options go completely dark when an ‘expert’ offers an opinion.” And I couldn’t help but think, this is probably happening when consumers see the WS score on the shelf below the wine bottle or read the top 100 in the wine magazine. Are our brains going “dark” and letting the so-called experts make the decision for us?
Sure, I give my opinion of the wines I have tasted, but rarely do I score it and my intention is to inform and educate so hopefully the reader can make their own decisions about wine. Of course, ahem… I am sure no one considers me an expert by any means. I liken this to the teaching people how to fish analogy, but a communication message is a two way mechanism that must be delivered, received and, of course, understood. I don’t want to be a pundit, but rather someone that is trusted and who shares experiences about wine with others so that they can create and enjoy their own experiences. This, I believe. is a key to bringing new people to wine and creating evangelists for the next generation.
Checking out… cheers!
Ed, this is a great point that I’ve always meant to write about but never did. I think a lot of great wine gets left on the shelf because there’s not “points” tag next to it. It’s a lot of marketing, and it really works. Worse, a lot of package stores will put the score from a different vintage by the wine. Dirty trick for the unsuspecting consumer.
Like a good butcher or barber- well, the latter not needed anymore
– a good wine shop with someone who really cares about wine and the customers’ personal tastes is critical!
Joe, thanks for the comment…
I have seen the same thing many times, regarding the wrong vintage on the shelf than that which has the high score. I wonder often if a) the store clerk/wine guy doesn’t know or care or b) they ignore it since they don’t think the consumer won’t know the difference and just want the wine to sell? Probably both…
Costco does that a lot. It’s a bit annoying when they’re listing scores for everything EXCEPT the vintage year being sold. It sort of reminds me of prospectuses (prospecti ?) I receive from the stockbroker with that great statement within that says, “Past performance does not guarantee future results.” Every vintage is different, so why do they bother other than to mislead those who may not know any better.
I’m with you , Eric… I think this just makes it that much more confusing for the everyday consumer to better understand what they are getting. Thanks for the post! And Goode Luck!