Interview with Matthew Citriglia, MS -- Part 2

Below is the second part of E.S. Brown's interview with Matthew Citriglia.

On the problems in the wine industry:

EB: Would you say the biggest problem that you see in the wine industry is the homogenization of wine?

MC: One of the most depressing things that I have found over the last ten years in the wine industry is the oversimplification of wine. It’s not that wine is complicated, it is incredibly diverse. Wine makers, critics, consulting enologists, they try to make wine fit into a box, so they can communicate that easily to someone else who can go out and carry the message of the wine. It has caused the homogenization of wine and the loss of regional identity in wine. It makes wine boring, like listening to elevator music. I like listening to a lot of different types of music, just like I enjoy many different types of wine. Part of it is that we live very busy lifestyles, so oversimplifying something leads to a very easy choice, even if it is a boring choice.

The industry has grown up, yet many of the wines taste the same, and it has made the wines harder to sell because you have lots of wines with high ratings but you have consumers who are better educated and they are asking the question “Well, what’s the difference between this 98 point wine and that 98 point wine, besides the difference in price, if they both taste the same?” Now the wine industry has actually come full circle, and they have realized that they have painted themselves into a corner, and instead of saying what rating their wine got, or why their wine tastes the same, you are hearing about what makes Monterey and Santa Lucia Highlands different, and why Santa Lucia will taste different from Russian River. Bordeaux was trying to make their wines taste too much like bad California wine, instead of Bordeaux. They have lost their identity.

On understanding wine:

EB: It seems that our lifestyles make a big difference on the industry. As Americans we lead such busy lives. We have exactly six seconds to learn something and then apply it to whatever we are going to do. It seems that there is very little personal research into things. The California wine industry certainly caters to our style preference, yet also impacts how the rest of the world buys, drinks and makes wine. I believe that a lot of wine makers out there are trying to achieve that California style, and this is also contributing to the homogenization of wine. What do you think about the influence that the U.S. market has on the world of wine?

MC: I wouldn't say the US market has had much of an impact on the world of wine, rather I would say American Winemakers and Critics who for the last 20 years have dictated to the American market what wine should taste like that has had a major impact on the world of wine.

Because most Americans learn about wine late in life and have a very busy lifestyle, Americans tend to look for the easy answer as they get older. Most American consumers have very shallow wine knowledge and those who think they know wine, really only know brands and not wine. Because of this Americans are willing to throw out their own personal taste and rely on ratings to make their decision. It amazes me how many well educated people drink wine they don't like simply because of a score. These same people would never base their music or art selections on a critic's opinion, yet they allow a single-dimensioned score determine what wine they should like.

This has translated into companies like Enologix and hired gun consultants like Helen Turley and Michel Rolland that help winemakers use technology to construct a wine that will score points with famous critics, which in turn are used by mindless sales reps, retailers and restauranteurs to sell their products. It is the combination of consumers poor wine knowledge, critics over-simplifying wine into a score, and advanced technology that allows winemakers to sculpt a wine into something it is not, that has caused this global homogenization.

Forget about the impact of global warming on wine, there is a more immediate and dangerous impact upon the industry right now and that is lethargy! Wineries, retailers, restaurateurs and wholesalers have forgotten their role to the consumer. It is easier to sell a number than explain the diversity that wine has to offer.

On servers and retailers:

EB: What role do you feel that servers and retailers should play in wine education?

MC: They should be the primary people to educate consumers, but I say that with a giant asterisk. They should only be there to educate those people who want to be educated. As a Sommelier I am not there to force people to drink the wines that I want them to drink. I am not there to force people to learn about wine. I am there to answer questions as they arise and provide them with the information they need when they need the information, not to open my mouth up and insist that they learn this and remember that. Their role is to provide service to the customer. Some people want lots of information, others just want a glass of wine in front of them. Good Sommeliers and good retailers are able to read the customer and not make them feel uncomfortable, because if the customer is uncomfortable then they won’t get the sale.

On getting into wine:

EB: For someone who is new to wine, what advice would you give to help that person become more acquainted and familiar with the world of wine?

MC: It’s kind of like learning music. There is a tremendous amount of diversity. But if you remember that wine is simple, and that it can be broken down into three basic things: You need to understand the grape variety or varieties that it is made from. You need to know the geographical impact on those grape varieties, the impact that Mother Nature has on the location and grape varieties. And you need to know the style the wine was produced in. Is it coming from a new world country or an old world country? If you keep those three things in mind as you are learning about wine you will create in your mind or on paper a filing system that allows you to categorize a vast amount of information because you are really only looking at three things as far as the impact on the style of the wines.

That is our blind tasting method in a nutshell. Starting out with the entire world and looking at the clues of the wine, and narrowing it down until you come to the conclusion that you are looking at an old world wine from a cool to moderate climate that is one of two different grape varieties. Wow. You have gone from the entire world to that? If you understand that you will learn a lot about wine in a very short time.

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