For decades, we’ve tried to educate people into loving wine. But most aren’t looking for a lesson—they’re looking for a moment. They don’t want to memorise regions and varietals. They want to feel something — connection, identity, atmosphere. That’s where loyalty lives. We’ve confused education with entry. But education isn’t what brings people in — emotion is. People learn when they care. And they care when something moves them. Because no one falls in love with information. They fall in love with how it made them feel.
Some people want this level of education, and it should still be available for them. The problem is when it leads to arrogance and snobbery.
So it’s not necessarily the education itself, but rather the byproduct of the current system. This may need to be separated from wine education itself… (somehow)
I talk to people about wine every single week in a relaxed tasting setting. When I weave in education — whether it’s about the terroir, the AVA, or what makes the wine taste the way it does — people lean in. They’re engaged. They ask questions. They genuinely enjoy learning.
Maybe formal wine schools are seeing dips in enrollment. But that doesn’t mean people don’t want education. It means they don’t want to be lectured. When education shows up naturally at the table, connected to what’s in their glass, it sparks curiosity. It creates a moment — and then they want more.
People often ask how or why I know so much (trust me, I do not know a ton). I tell them it’s a hobby — something I love and continue to study. I share resources like WSET, the Court of Master Sommeliers, or local wine education opportunities, there are a lot here in Texas. And I like to think that maybe I’ve inspired at least one person to keep learning about something they love.
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