From the drinks business: “The wine trade could benefit from having “a Jamie Oliver” figure to engage with consumers and encourage interest in wine, replicating the chef’s success in engaging a generation with food, a leading retail buyer has said.” (Article continues.)
Interesting article despite the UK focus it resonates. In my area beer has really dominated the conversation in recent years and lately spirits with cocktails and locally made spirits but wine is less on the forefront. It does nt help that in PA wine sales are the purview of the state. There is also very little talk about wine sourcing on food media.
Well, I’ve always focused more on wine, both here, on FTC and on a formerly active (and now moribund) network. ;^) But needless to say, I’m no Jamie Oliver.
Clearly there is more discussion of wine and wine-related topics here in California, say, than in Pennsylvania for your stated reason, or in some other states – mostly for equally obvious reasons. That said, there’s certainly a healthy discussion of beer and cocktails, too, in places like California, Oregon, and Washington, given the number of wineries, breweries, and distilleries that abound.
But I do believe in the cyclical nature of the pendulum analogy (or should I say “arcing nature”?). Right now, distillates and cocktails are “hot.” That didn’t replace wine as the hot topic of conversation; it replaced beer. Microbreweries replaced wine. And, in about 5-10 years or so, wine will probably come back.
This doesn’t negate the need for a “Jamie Oliver”-type re: wine. Without some excitement, some advocacy, wine risks losing its role as a beverage to go with meals. After all is was only 50 years ago that a major steak house chain was called Scotch 'n Sirloin . . .
Yes definitely trends will shift i am hearing “biodynamic” as a wine buzz word in the local gastropubs. Our local “Jamie Oliver of wine” are Greg and David Moore strong following but small. I dont think people are not drinking wine so much as they are accepting mass produced more readily. The same beer snobs buying cheap big maker wines without blinking. Someone getting people excited about smaller artisen produces could do a lot to keep them in business.
