Why are there wine snobs?

Question

I enjoy a nice bottle of wine as much as anyone else. I also enjoy a tasty potato chip, or a good flavor of ice cream. What I don't get is why people are wine snobs and not 'ice cream' snobs.

I understand that some people think that being into wine makes them seem more refined, but lots of really smart people who don't need to convince people they are refined are really into wine as well. How people can go on and on about some breed of grape and yet no one cares about where a particular potato comes from. Is a potato just too common? So, is it just me, or is being super in to wine more than just a hobby?

hmm...maybe people just like having a hobby. Perhaps being a wine snob is no different that being really into video games, or skiing? I guess it just seems that wine snobbery is a more arrogant form.

Answer 1

It's not really a matter of refinement at all. I'd call it more of a hobby. There are so many different types of wine and flavors and whatnot, that in order to even make a bottle in the first place you have to know a lot about the process.

I myself like to drink wine, and I have a preference for sweet wines. So when I go to the grocery store, I want to pick out a wine that I'll enjoy. I need to know what types of grapes, fermentation process, and brands will produce wines that I'll like. In my case, I know then that I'll enjoy a Muscato or an Eiswine variety (sweet), more than a Cabernet, or a Pinot Noir.

As for potatoes....there's not that much variety in choices or preparation. People who consider 'wine snobbery' a manner of prestige need to get over themselves.

Answer 2

I have wondered that too. People also do it with nice restaurants and things like cheeses. I think they think it makes them seem more sophisticated.

Plus, a lot more thought does go into making a fine wine than goes into making a bag of potato chips -- so there's information out there for them to get fussy with.

But ice cream flavors -- I once read an article about how Ben & Jerry's comes up with new flavors. It was very interesting. A lot of thought can go into that as well.

Some people do it to show off. Those people annoy me. Some people do it for the same reason people talk about sports; it's a way to start a conversation. Fine. And some people -- restaurant chefs, the winemakers themselves -- do it because they really do know a lot. Those I listen to because they'll probably tell me about things I'm going to want to try.

Answer 3

There is a slight differential in being a wine snob and playing computer games, you don't have to be smart or refined to appreciate wine, it does, however attract a more, dare I say, intelligent person rather than some brain dead moron with a game of gratuitous violence. If you wish to become a potato snob, then be so, there are as many varieties of potato as there are varieties of grapes, each has its own merits.

Answer 4

For some it is an expensive hobby. Others use it for status. I found that most "act" like wine snobs and do not know the difference between "cheap" wine and expensive wine.

My husbands uncle who is well off threw a huge party. Halfway through the party he decided to bring out the "cheap" wine from his cellar. The "cheap" wine was stuff that ran $20.00 a pop. I thought wow he must know his stuff.

At our wedding my husband and I had box wine and bottles of wine. We knew that this uncle makes fun of box wine and probably would not go for it. His wife brought him his first glass and it happened to be the box wine. He did not know the difference! He was told us that we had some good red wine. The best part was he was serious and was not humoring us. He truley did not know. LOL!

Answer 5

I'm with you. I love great wines, but I also like a lot of $10 wines. But my true area of expertise is in potato chips! When I open a bag of chips, I like to smell the aroma for freshness, look into the bag to see that the chips are nice and robust without being all broken into pieces. Then I take a chip and place it on my tongue, letting it gently dissolve as I taste the potato flavor and the saltiness. But unlike wine tasting snobs, I never spit out a chip, unles their is a hair on it.

Answer 6

No, it's not you. Those who take it more seriously than others do think they're more refined; at least they come across that way. Bet they don't even try tasty wines under $10. There is a lot of good wine out there that isn't all that expensive.

Answer 7

FYI there are ICE CREAM snobs!
Actually there all kinds of snobs.
As for those who truly are into wine, some are real snobs, others are just clueless and some are real experts with very refined taste buds.

Answer 8

Are you kidding, there are ice cream snobs, I have a brother who won't touch ice cream unless it's haagen daas. And then there's the juice snobs that will only drink 100% juice and the rest are garbage. There are snobs in all the walks of life.

Answer 9

you want some cheese with that wine. Waaaaa:) This is what I
would tell the snobs. We are not all that way. I had rather have ice cream than wine. I agree that allot of winos are snobs, but not all. Your right, threr is snobs everwhere around us. Sometimes we just have to look at the possitive in them.

Answer 10

I have found that snobbery is usually coming from someone who is up to their eyeballs in debt and a wanna be. There are some rich snobs out there, I have found that most truely rich people are just people like you and I, not snobs. (I do have very rich relatives who are snobbish jerks, but on the whole, most are pleasant.) (I have no need for their money, by the by.)