Palate divergence between wine professionals and consumers

Two recent encounters with contemporary South African Syrah reminded me that there’s less agreement about what constitutes quality among the wine community than we might like to admit. In the first instance, I served Sons of Sugarland 2018 and Harry Hartman Somesay 2021 blind to friends very much expecting them to be impressed by these two highly regarded wines. It must be said, though, that both are new wave in style, which is to say relatively low in alcohol and “stemmy” in texture. With labels out of sight, my audience was not as enthusiastic about the two wines as they might otherwise have been…

In the second instance, I recently tasted Gravel Hill Syrah 2017 from Stellenbosch property Hartenberg fully expecting it to be rather too big and brazen for my liking but instead was impressed that although powerful, it is still remarkably poised and maturing well – its relatively high alcohol of 14.5% and its heavy oaking regime (19 months in barrel of which 60% was new) might be out of fashion but it’s an excellent wine (see here).

It made me think that there’s a dichotomy between the opinions of wine professionals and those of consumers that’s probably always been there but has escalated in recent times. Critics and buyers, armed with extensive knowledge and experience, are committed to making assessments which can significantly influence the perception and commercial success of a wine. Evaluating quality is obviously necessary in a vastly overtraded market but the danger is that the colloquial “circle jerk” arises, a situation in which members of the trade are guilty of reinforcing each other’s views or attitudes, out of touch with what consumers really want. Light, fresh reds might have geek appeal but there’s also place for big reds made without artifice. Similarly, I’m regularly asked by punters to recommend a rich and round Chardonnay but where to find such a thing these days?

The above is only exacerbated by the tendency in some quarters towards verbose tasting notes, this seemingly done to assert expertise but really the more detail provided serving only to result in the taster talking to himself and alienating others – wine appreciation occurs across multiple sensory channels and people simply do not smell and taste the same way. The point should also be made that there are few abstract and vastly more associative words for odours and flavours – the background culture of the individual wine drinker is important and the wine trade should look to be as inclusive as possible. “Garrigue” as a descriptor means something to the French as does “fynbos” to South Africans but is there one word that would work equally well for both?

On the other side of the spectrum, we find the consumers, who comes to wine with their own complicated set of requirements – wine as socially acceptable drug, wine as investable asset but hopefully also wine as a source of pleasure, something that tastes good and goes well with food. While the best wine professionals are trying to be as responsible as possible in their judgments, consumers are influenced by a multitude of factors, from their own sensory sensitivities through to brand affinity. There are plenty of wines out there that are more status symbol than anything else…

While objectivity in wine appreciation is necessarily unobtainable, the trade has constant exposure to a wide range of wines, which allows its members to assess any one example against a backdrop of industry benchmarks. Consumers, however, approach wine in a less systematic way, allowing personal preferences and experiences to shape their judgements. That’s why wine tourism and the visitor experience is so important.

Ultimately, the disparity between wine professionals and consumers is not an ugly clash of absolutes but it is an interplay that we should all constantly be aware of. Critics provide guidance, shape trends and elevate standards. Consumers infuse emotion and personal connection into their wine experience. The implications for producers in all this that they must balance the pursuit of excellence with the need to cater to diverse consumer palates. Get this right and icon status awaits.