Forget The Dance Club And Go To The Wine Club
It might be hard to say that something that has been around for over 7,000 years is finally having its moment in the sun, but wine today continues to reach new levels of popularity and accessibility. The two distinct parts that make up the history of wine, especially in modern times, are finally coming together, and the best way to be part of that is to join a wine of the month club.
People have been making wine for home consumption since the first times humans went from being hunter/gatherers to developing an agrarian society. Grapes are easy to grow, many are hardy enough to grow in a variety of climates, they age reasonably quickly, and all it takes to make wine is grapes, yeast and time. Even though the most important element of wine was the fact that it was alcoholic, it was not for the same reasons people drink wine today. As anyone will tell you, alcohol kills germs, which made wine inherently much safer to drink than a water source that might be suspect. The vast majority of people who were making wine were not too concerned with body, nuance, nose and aroma. They just wanted to have something to drink that would not kill them. It was basically table wine before tables were even invented. The flip side of it is the part that has kept many people turned off of wine, and that was the elitism associated with rare wines, vintages aged 20 years, limited production and exorbitant prices. Even a hundred years ago it was difficult to ship wines safely and successfully, creating an artificial demand because supply was limited, not so much by scope but by territory. The truly exceptional wines never made it out for most people to try.
Today, all of that is different. Wineries today across the country and around the world focus not only on some of the big name varietals, but also take the time to reintroduce small, lesser known grapes. Thanks to the internet, direct marketing and online communities, these small batch winemakers can find their target audience, and wine lovers can discover their newest experience. All of this comes together perfectly in the world of the wine of the month clubs.
These wine clubs serve as the perfect meting ground for wine makers and wine lovers. By choosing a specific varietal to focus on or a particular region to explore, each wine of the month club creates the perfect atmosphere for wine lovers, first time explorers and lifelong converts, to experience wines that even a generation ago might only be discovered by traveling to the wineries themselves. They democratize the world of wine, and allow everybody to enjoy both the quality of exceptional wines with the quantity of worldwide availability.
About the Author
Jack Terry is a food and travel writer who loves being surprised by his wine club deliveries whenever he returns from an assignment. http://www.wineclubworld.com
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