Drunk on a Feeling

Published on Monday, October 8, 2007, by Daniel Duane / Edit Post

I have to credit the eRobertParker.com news feed for this, but I just saw two short articles related to a subject that has been on my mind lately. One piece, from the website of a Southern California CBS affiliate, reports that wineries in the Temecula Valley wine country, where free tasting rooms are commonplace, are seeing more and more drunk, out-of-control customers. Some of the blame apparently goes to wine-tour limos and buses with on-board bars. According to one winemaker, “We had an individual in one of our wineries just a couple of days ago that decided, for whatever reason, to get himself over intoxicated and decided to strip in front of all the people that were out there.”

The second article, from a Rochester, New York, ABC affiliate, reports the same problem at Finger Lakes wineries, and a proposed remedy: The wine-trail associations want to hand out yellow or red warning cards to “groups treating a wine trail as a pub crawl.” I guess the feeling is that these wineries have too much to lose: With thousands of visitors every weekend, “they don’t want to risk losing customers who may be offended by crude behaviors like, ‘extreme profanity, people taking their clothes off, people going to the bathroom on my lawn,’” says one winemaker.

All this captured my attention because it raises again the disconnect between the culture of wine-tasting and the truth of wine-drinking. The former is built around education, information, and connoisseurship, and an atmosphere in which alcoholic intoxication is déclassé—as if only rubes would drink fermented grape juice for the funny feeling it gives them. But the latter, the truth of wine-drinking, is that the alcohol is the key ingredient. This is why I enjoyed a quote in the Finger Lakes piece from limo driver Stewart Alexander: “So long as they’re not destroying property—being boisterous and having a good time is what wine tours are about.”

I know it sounds like I’m siding with the limo driver, and that I’m all in favor of getting sloshed on wine tours. The truth is that I’m not sure what I think about all this. I’m reminded also of that scene in the movie Sideways when the Paul Giamatti character snaps and demands more wine in a tasting room and, when refused, begins gulping from the spit bucket. Giamatti’s character is a consummate intellectual wine-lover, and also a man drinking alcohol because he’s in a kind of emotional pain. So perhaps this is what I’m wondering: Is there a way to write and talk about wine that tells the whole truth about wine-drinking (i.e., that it can offer a lovely combined experience of kaleidoscopic flavors and drunkenness) all at once?

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  • winemakers want to bring thousands in to their tastings. it is simple math percentages then that demonstrate that they will get their share of low-lifes, drunkards, psychopaths, etc., especially since the alcohol content encourages it.

    the culture of wine can do nothing about that, except keep such people off the road.

  • Well, it seems that a possible answer to your question.... "Is there a way to write and talk about wine that tells the whole truth about wine-drinking (i.e., that it can offer a lovely combined experience of kaleidoscopic flavors and drunkenness) all at once?"..... could offer an entirely new way to classify wine.

    Why not start classifying wine by the way it makes one feel (i.e. happy,...+READ

    Well, it seems that a possible answer to your question.... "Is there a way to write and talk about wine that tells the whole truth about wine-drinking (i.e., that it can offer a lovely combined experience of kaleidoscopic flavors and drunkenness) all at once?"..... could offer an entirely new way to classify wine.

    Why not start classifying wine by the way it makes one feel (i.e. happy, introspective, sullen, baudy, sexy, confident, etc.)? Already some wine afficiandos characterize wine in terms associated with human emotion or qualities, so why not start matching wines to mood (or to create a desired mood) just like you match wine with food?

    This could offer a new way to articulate what the wine drinking experience is all about. To me, wine is alive. It breathes. It has a climate. It evolves. It ages. And it dies. Sometimes within the span of one night.

    Just like human beings, wine is complex and nuanced with history. Being slightly buzzed, tipsy or full on loaded is just another aspect of the wine experience.

    Wine is a transforming substance. But remember, it is just grape juice without the human palate that tastes it.

    f.-COLLAPSE

  • Still in favour of buses or limos - or better yet, local trains. A bit of acting up is infinitely preferable to the murderous outcome of drink driving.

    But yes, it is always a delicate balance.

  • Great commentary! It's a delicate balance, tasting wine, enjoying wine... and then there's letting things get out of control. I think for the most part, the public behaves fairly well. The limo set-up though, may make some people feel like they have a license to drink. This is unfortunate because that really spoils the experience of visiting a winery. It also puts the winery staff in an awkward...+READ

    Great commentary! It's a delicate balance, tasting wine, enjoying wine... and then there's letting things get out of control. I think for the most part, the public behaves fairly well. The limo set-up though, may make some people feel like they have a license to drink. This is unfortunate because that really spoils the experience of visiting a winery. It also puts the winery staff in an awkward position if they refuse to keep serving someone who's obviously intoxicated. All the winery wants is for you to enjoy their wines, and hopefully buy a few. I'm not sure how effective "warning cards" would be. It will be interesting to see if any action arises from those two articles. Time will tell.-COLLAPSE