Do We Still Need a Wine Critic?
The wine world is vast and intricate—most of us can’t, or don’t, dedicate our lives to learning about every producer worth recommending. In the same way that film critics and restaurant reviewers champion hidden gems, wine experts have long done the same. But in today’s world, do we even need them?
With the rise of the internet and wine culture, more people are discovering wine on their own. Easy travel (well, pre-2020 when this article was written) means vineyard visits are no longer reserved for the elite. It’s refreshing to see people actually curious about what’s in their glass—and willing to take a tour, buy a bottle, and bring it home.
But when did wine become all about scores and points? Blame the 1970s, when Wine Spectator made wine a numbers game. While it brought wine into the mainstream in America and forever changed the global scene, has its job been done?
Wine has been around for millennia—though far less refined in ancient times. Back then, it was less about prestige and more about practicality. It was safer to drink than water, and calorie-rich enough to stave off hunger on long sea voyages.
Of course, when trade routes opened, wine became a commodity. Even during France’s phylloxera crisis, Spain’s Rioja region stepped in to fill the gap. But America, with its young wine industry, has long played catch-up to Europe’s centuries of wine tradition. And its history with alcohol—particularly Prohibition—has made wine a complicated topic here. Thanks to outdated laws, shipping wine across state lines is still a hassle, a relic of the past.
These days, wine info seems to come from sommeliers and stores—or, increasingly, wine clubs (like Campió Collective, which I co-founded this year). But that’s the new normal. The old days of clipping wine recommendations from a newspaper and trekking to multiple wine shops are, frankly, over. I’ve seen older folks do it, but let’s be honest: it’s a dying practice.
In an age where everyone’s got an opinion to share, social media has flooded us with noise. It’s up to us to sift through the chatter and find what’s worth listening to.
