Talk Nerdy to Me - An Ode to Wine Geekdom
Talk Nerdy to Me - An Ode to Wine Geekdom
“What is a wine geek?”
Good question! If you run in the right circles, the label “wine geek” is something
worn like a badge of honor. From an outsider’s perspective, it probably appears like
something closer to mania. For those of us who love the vine, it’s a distinction without
a difference.
Being a wine geek means taking your wine knowledge and your wine habits to a
gratuitous level. If you refuse to drink Pinot from anything other than a Burgundy
glass, take all your first dates wine tasting or routinely reference 2012 as a “good
year” you might be a wine geek.
At some point, every wine geek experiences a similar moment of clarity where we think
to ourselves, “I have really gone off the deep end”. Mine came while arguing with a bar
tender over the appropriate serving temperature for Sauvignon Blanc (51.8 degrees F but why
quibble). Moments like these are both a reflection of my passion for wine and the
source of endless jokes for my closest friends.
In fairness, pestering an overworked bartender wasn’t the first clue that I’d become a
full-blown wine geek. If a brief look at my Internet search history over the past 10
years didn’t tip-off an independent observer to my wine obsession, a look at my credit
card statement certainly would. For a wine geek, knowledge and experience are
accumulated over years of faithful exploration. A shrinking bank account and an
overstocked wine fridge are just the cost of doing business.
In a really important way, wine geekdom is the characteristic by which oenophiles, like
myself, identify kindred spirits. In a sense, I really came of age in the Santa Barbara
wine community. I’ve since been lucky enough to travel the state from Paso Robles to
Napa Valley and beyond, and I’ve had the good fortune of sharing a glass with some of
funniest, most brilliant and utterly bizarre characters a person could ever hope to
meet. These people taught me the language of wine and drew me deeper into their
community. So from one wine geek to another, I hope you’ll join ours!
Visit our membership page to join a growing community of wine lovers today!
Happy sipping,
Aaron Lober
PS: Thank you Wine Folly for always knowing exactly how we feel :)
