The languages of wine

There are many languages that can be used when talking about wine: scientific, literary, colloquial, descriptive, slang, promotional and so on.

Describing, explaining and even evaluating wine involves the use of specific languages that can be very different from each other. There are those who use technical terms, relevant to enology, with a prose that can appear to be dry but which is backed up by scientific expertise. It goes without saying that this is targeted for those of a similar background and thus involves using certain terms and concepts. Others prefer to use a literary style to underscore that, aside from the wine itself, what is important is the context, which may involve stories about people and places as opposed to the organoleptic or enological aspects. Then there are those who, rather than explain a wine, try to place themselves at the center of attention, by using slang terms and focusing on their own sensations, creating a kind of an aesthetic delirium. These are three different styles of communication, which at times can even intermingle but that also demonstrate how it is not possible to have a single vision of a complex and multifaceted topic such as wine.

What is certain is that what matters is the efficacy of what one writes and says. Efficacy can be measured by the degree to which it grabs the interest of those reading, inspires their passion, how informative it is or at least how much it sparks curiosity in the greatest number of people possible. This is, in my view, the objective of communication and not just in regard to wine.

In the specific case of wine literature and journalism, which is a specialized form of journalism, what is important is also an informative skill on subjects that are at times very technical and not immediately comprehensible for a vast area of a potential public. Sometimes people can stumble into communicative pitfalls, just to be kind, when they become too self-referential. These situations can even become involuntarily comical, even though they are easily avoidable since they are the result of attention-seeking behavior or excessive aestheticism.

In recent years, with the explosion of online communication, influencers, certain bloggers and sales sites have greatly mixed offering information with promotion, which may also be a sign of the times but that makes everything more confused and slippery. While such using language is legitimate, it needs to be more transparent than it is now. In other words, I believe that if you’re advertising or promoting something you should make this clear.