Demystifying Wine

Sixty years ago, there were few people in the United States who regularly drank wine with their meals. Conversely, in Italy and France wine was considered an uncomplicated, civilized and simple pleasure that accompanied every meal.

Changes began to occur in this country when numerous soldiers returned from World War II with some newly acquired knowledge of dining with wine. But it was just a start. Even by the early ‘70s, I remember that most customers at a good steakhouse preceded dinner with a mixed drink and did not order wine.

Contrast that to today. Oftentimes there is a bottle or a glass of wine on virtually every table. A large part of the catalyst for this change was the effort of French and Italian restaurants all over the country.

It was not obvious that things had changed dramatically until the early to mid-‘80s. By then, Robert Finigan, Robert Parker and Denman Moody, the three favorite wine writers of Food and Wine magazine at that time, had been publishing their newsletters for five years or more. And wine columns began appearing in newspapers around the country—not just in the major metropolitan areas. At about the same time, a small undertaking called The Wine Spectator was purchased by Marvin Shanken and has now become a remarkably successful endeavor. In fact, the behemoth now publishes over 300,000 copies each issue.

Along the way there have been several well-meaning writers who may have hampered the progress of wine enjoyment rather than enhancing it. For example, one writer insisted on publishing misinformation such as the following (these are not quotes, but you’ll get the general idea):

“X” wine—Open 25 minutes prior to drinking and then re-cork between servings so as not to overaerate.

“Y” wine—Refrigerate for one hour and 40 minutes and then open 12 minutes before serving.

“Z” wine—Open one hour and 15 minutes prior to drinking to let breathe properly, and do not re-cork between servings, as it needs to continue to aerate.

I’m sure that many readers bought into this malarkey, thinking that there must be some exact amount of time for “aerating” and chilling that each wine needed prior to being served. Believing that wine was some esoteric substance only understood by the cognoscenti, some readers probably just gave up, or worse, pawned off this spurious information to others as if it were wine gospel.

There are, of course, some general rules concerning wine temperature, and there is room enough for an elephant to wander through on the subject of whether “breathing” is necessary or mostly bunk.

Finally, the first screw caps that appeared on premium wines were greeted with derision; however, studies in the last couple years show that a substantial percentage of wine consumers have accepted them, and for good reason. This simple change and the growing acceptance thereof is another step in the education process.

I sincerely believe that with the proliferation of top-notch journalists, the vast increase in the quality of wines, and the enthusiasm of the public for wine knowledge and enjoyment, we’re on the right path to being able to, as a nation, enjoy a bottle of wine with a meal as an uncomplicated, civilized and simple pleasure.