February 26 2008
I have been giving a lot of thought lately to a very simple premise related to people’s fascination with wine.
I believe that most people that crossover from being drinkers of wine to having general wine enthusiasm just before turning into a full-on wine elitist go through a sub-conscious process akin to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
In this process, you realize that there is something about wine that transcends what is merely in the glass. It is the whole shooting match that goes with wine, particularly an orientation to lifestyle. Like the hierarchy of needs, we eventually actualize and project our self-image outward and into wine as a vehicle for how we see ourselves.
So, here is what I have been thinking about: Do we think that wine and its associated lifestyle is more appealing from an agricultural perspective, or from a luxury perspective?
Oh, there is a huge difference.
Do wine enthusiasts fantasize more about a winery as a cultured farm, or living the high life as a gracious ambassador to customers?
The difference is really the image of Dover Canyon versus, say, Ferrari Carano.
I know which way I lean, and it is not related to Fumé Blanc.
Maybe my preference for the rural activities is related simply to my own background. I am only a generation removed from the farm.
Perhaps others who had a different upbringing are more predisposed to the bon vivant lifestyle associated in pockets of the industry.
What do you think? And, more importantly, are you an Agrarian or an Opulent?
On a separate, but related note, please check out a beautiful post from Mark at winecanine.com. He is a fellow Hoosier wine blogger and has written an elegy to rural Indiana that everybody can appreciate.
The gist of it is, our version of agrarian, not wine-related, but instead a maple sugar farm, had a tragic fire in the last week.
You can read his post here and see associated pictures here.
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