DARIUSZ GALASINSKI 'The amateur wine lover sees wine as a source of experience'

For wine professionals, good or great wine is defined simply by what the wine is like.

- 

Distinctiveness, balance, precision, capacity to age; even the ability to evoke an emotional response are all presented as objective characteristics of the wine. As a wine lover, I have been wondering whether such descriptors resonate with us, regular wine consumers. Recently, I got an answer to my question, and it was a resounding 'no'.

Last October and November, Jan Andrzejewski, a researcher and wine merchant, and I convened tastings and focus groups that are part of a larger project on wine communication. A few of the almost 50 participants had attended wine courses in the past, but the group was entirely one of self-declared non-professional wine consumers.