‘Everyday sommeliers’: Canadians getting more comfortable with wine
Consumption up by 15 per cent in last five years: Study
You start out experimenting in college: a social gathering here, a food-pairing class there. Before you know it, you’re subscribing to Wine Spectator, quoting Robert Parker and pronouncing Gewürztraminer like a German viticulturalist.
So it goes in the world of wine, with new research from Wolf Blass and Trend Hunter suggesting Canadians are becoming “everyday sommeliers” with the help of social media, smartphone apps and unprecedented access to vintners. The report notes, for example, that there were more than 450 wine apps for the iPhone alone in 2011, and nearly two million wine-related blog posts as of 2009.
“It’s so easy for anyone to learn more about wine these days, and to sound like they know what they’re talking about — and, for that matter, actually know what they’re talking about,” said Shelley Boettcher, a Calgary-based wine columnist with no affiliation to the report.
“If you’re nervous about asking questions of a sommelier, you don’t have to worry anymore; you can find the information without one.”
Boettcher, author of Uncorked: The Definitive Guide to Alberta’s Best Wines Under $25, also cited winemakers’ dinners, mainstream media attention and complimentary in-store wine education classes as helping shape the trend.
The upshot is that Canadian wine consumption has risen nearly 15 per cent in the last five years, according to research by Vinexpo. The evolution has been so dramatic that even industry insiders confess they’re scrambling to keep up.
There is, however, an underbelly to the emergence of all these fledging connoisseurs, and Sasha McCauley sees it routinely when she teaches consumer wine classes at major-market retailers.
“There are a lot of people who feel like they’re experts — except they’re not, necessarily,” said McCauley, a certified sommelier from Edmonton.
Other trends identified in Wednesday’s report — commissioned to mark the 30th anniversary of Wolf Blass Yellow Label in Canada — include wine-inspired style, such as statement cellars and stylized stemware; and wine-asexperience, with a focus on winecations, pairing parties and social sharing.