Rant: It's A Terrible Time For Wine

2020 was a terrible year for wine, and 2021 is starting off in that same way. It's possible, and hopefully so, that later this year, it will become a much better time for wine. We need it to become better. We need our wine experiences to return to some semblance of normalcy.

Why has it been such a terrible time for wine? Is it because 2020 was a bad vintage? Many wine stores have done very good business in 2020, so what has been so terrible?

We need to remember that wine is best when shared with others, and because of the pandemic, we have been very limited in our ability to drink wine with our family, friends, and others. Thus, we have been largely prevented from enjoying wine in its best manner. We can enjoy a glass of wine all by ourselves, but it would be so much better if we could drink and share a bottle with others.

If you think back, calling forth memories of the best wines you've ever drank, I suspect those memories always involve other people. I doubt, except for the rarest of exceptions, that your best wines were drank all alone. The shared enjoyment of a wine enhances the entire experience, and makes it so much more memorable.

I've sipped a wine, thoroughly enjoying it, and then waited and watched while a good friend then sipped that same wine. I've looked into his eyes, seeing the joy there as he tasted the wine, and then watched his entire face light up in pleasure. Wordlessly, there was a connection there, a shared enjoyment that was mutually understood. Eventually, words would come, a conversation about the wine, and our mutual feelings would be vocally expressed. That shared pleasure elevated the enjoyment of the wine, making it taste even better. 

And when a group of wine lovers get together, sharing multiple bottles over the course of an evening, it can be quite a magical night. We lacked those evenings in 2020, and still cannot experience such an event. We are missing out on the best of wine, and maybe the vaccines will help us return to times when we could gather together and share wine. 

I want to freely share wine once again! What about you?