The Colonization of Taste: Reclaiming Wine Histories
When traveling and visiting local vineyards or wine bars, sommeliers or staff would often ask me where I’m from (ethnicity and nationality). Depending on where I go, in response is a pretentious commentary on islands and other cultures whose wines (queue the palm wines, fruit wines, meads, and rice wines) are “not really wine” and the terroir unfit for cultivating wine-worthy grapes.
Now, I’m no sommelier or critic. I’m not aspiring to be either and have no interest in pursuing those occupations. I prefer to be on the other end of the bottle — an enthusiastic consumer and observer untethered by a system that historically imposes challenges for aspiring vintners a) outside of legacy vintning or b) of diverse backgrounds. I’m already enmeshed in another white, cis-male-dominated industry.
Although I’m not an active contributor to the wine industry’s legacy system, I’m conscious of my role as a consumer. The brands I inadvertently choose to support could uphold, almost justify, the lack of diversity in the wine industry. Because of this, to expand my palate beyond canonical varieties and to find myself in fewer circles where sommeliers and tasters alike are dismissive and undiverse, I intentionally explore unconventionally made, BIPOC-owned wines when traveling.
Regardless of the evidence of vintning across cultures, methods, and sources, a dominant narrative persists of who the legitimate heirs to wine cultivation are and from where they hailed. The existing categorization — “Old World” referring to “birthplace” regions, and “New World” referring to regions post-European colonialism — fails to acknowledge a diverse and expansive winemaking history.
The use of language plays a significant role in shaping our values and culture. By examining the centralization of Latin-Germanic etymology and colonial language through a linguistic anthropological lens, we can better understand its impact on how we appreciate and consume wine. After all, “vinum” is Latin for vine and, subsequently, wine, particularly of grape origin. Our indoctrination to wine consumption is vine-biased.
According to research at the College of Enology, Northwest A&F University in China, there is a deep-rooted European bias in the term “New, New World.” Instead, they propose using the term “Ancient World” to decentralize European influence and include other cultures’ viticulture histories (Li et al., 2018).
While I enjoy various wines from many vintners, I am keen on highlighting and supporting lesser-known, BIPOC-identifying vintners aiming to reclaim and preserve the stories behind diverse methods, cultures, and tastes. My experience seeking out these wines on my travels remains a soul-gratifying one: I get to taste a world beyond what’s described in wine literature and photographed in social media posts promoting enotourism centering people who don’t look like me.
Wine tastings featuring uncommon wines and unique pairings — with servings of everything from pão de queijo, salty squid crisps, or plantain chips to spicy beef turnovers or fried seasoned cassava — resonate with me and feel more like the celebratory feasts of my ancestors. These flavorful fusions transcend the rules of traditional wine tasting because the experience invokes nostalgia to explore what you’re tasting rather than prescribing what you ought to taste.
What are some of your favorite BIPOC-owned vineyards, wineries, wine bars, etc.?
References:
Alley, L. (2004, December 6). Earliest Evidence of Winemaking Found in China | Wine Spectator. Wine Spectator; Wine Spectator. https://www.winespectator.com/articles/earliest-evidence-of-winemaking-found-in-china-2305
Bileta, V. (2023, January 19). 9 Facts About the History of Wine You Didn’t Know. The Collector. https://www.thecollector.com/history-of-wine-facts/
Durrani, N. (2005, January 6). Oldest Wine from Jiahu, China. World Archaeology; World Archaeology. https://www.world-archaeology.com/world/asia/china/oldest-wine-from-jiahu-china/
Hagan, M. (2020, October 13). A Curious and Captivating History of Wine. Usual. https://usualwines.com/blogs/knowledge-base/history-of-wine
Lawrence, J. (2016, March 6). Final Frontiers? Wine’s New New World | Wine-Searcher News & Features. Wine-Searcher. https://www.wine-searcher.com/m/2016/03/final-frontiers-wine-s-new-new-world
Li, H., Wang, H., Li, H., Goodman, S., van der Lee, P., Xu, Z., Fortunato, A., & Yang, P. (2018). The worlds of wine: Old, new and ancient. Wine Economics and Policy, 7(2), 178–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wep.2018.10.002
Malin, J. (2014, May 11). The Oddly Interesting Origins Of Wine Words | Etymology. VinePair. https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/etymology-wine-words/
National Geographic. Discover the secret birthplace of wine. (2018, May 21). National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/sponsor-content-secret-birthplace-of-wine
Puckette, M. (2016, February 8). A Brief Illustrated History of Wine. Wine Folly. https://winefolly.com/lifestyle/a-brief-illustrated-history-of-wine/
Teo, K. (2021, May 31). A Brief History of Wine: Its Origin and Evolution. Filled with Wine; Filled With Wine. https://filledwithwine.com/history-of-wine/
Tufts University. (n.d.). A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), VINUM. Perseus Digital Library — Tufts University. Retrieved August 26, 2023, from https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=vinum-cn
VinePair. (n.d.). The Guide To Old World Wine Vs. New World Wines | Wine 101. VinePair. Retrieved August 26, 2023, from https://vinepair.com/wine-101/guide-old-world-vs-new-world-wines/
VinePair. (n.d.). The History Of Wine Timeline | How Wine Colonized The World. (n.d.). VinePair. Retrieved August 26, 2023, from https://vinepair.com/wine-colonized-world-wine-history/#1