One foggy afternoon, a group of us—leading-edge boomers all—moseyed up to one of the hundred or so wine tasting bars in the Napa Valley to sample the wares. It had been a decade since I’d last sipped my way up Highway 29. Back then, I remember a whole lot of tobacco overtones with acid, mushroomy notes, tannin, licorice and/or whatever those other odious-sounding words are that make a cabernet or pinot pucker your lips upon first sip—but ages to perfection given enough time.
For rest of today's blog, continue at The Boomer Blog
By virtue of having sat through “Sideways” twice, and therefore considering myself to be a self-educated connoisseur, I warned the group not to judge the quality of the wine by its first impression. But I was wrong. Glass after glass slipped down our throats like butterfly wings on silk. Tobacco was replaced by apricot and spice. Boy, had my palate ever developed over the past decade!
Boy, was I wrong.
Bragging to the pourer about my newfound sophistication, he filled me in on a little secret.
Just around the time I’d last visited the Valley, the wine industry had realized that baby boomers as a rule don’t have the patience to let a wine age to perfection. They want their wine ripe and ready—okay, maybe shelve it for three months, or stretch it to a year—but generally, that day. Ergo: the age of “drinkability”, where you buy your bottle in the shop and take it outside to the picnic tables outside to imbibe—did I say “that day?” I meant: that minute. Drinkability: blended to go down as smoothly as possible right now—but to never grow old enough to truly know the complexities of the aged vintage. Tragic! Of course, such rare wines are still available, but you’ll pay a premium. And especially if you’re a baby boomer at the bar, you’ll have to ask specially.
All that said, the wine industry is toasting baby boomers, the leading demographic in which wine consumption clocks in at 39 percent. Garnering a particularly hearty “cheers” are those leading-edge boomers (61) and beyond who increased their wine consumption from 17 to 21 per cent in the past three years. According to the Wine Market Council of St. Helena, who recently sponsored a gathering of wine industry leaders, the boomer numbers combined with an impressive growth spurt by Millennials (at least that percentage of those of drinking age through 30, who increased from 10 percent in 2004 to 17 percent in 2006), put the U.S. on track to become the largest overall wine consumer globally. Yes, that’s right: if the trend continues—as it has for 13 consecutive years---eventually beating out Italy and France. So salute, boomers and beyond. The French and Italians may snicker at the wines we have come to prefer, but the US wine industry thanks you.
Carol Orsborn
Comments (1)
I didn't know all of this about baby boomers and
wine consumption. I do know I really
liked "Sideways."
Posted by Rhea | February 16, 2007 8:37 AM
Posted on February 16, 2007 08:37