As a Sommelier, This Is Why You Shouldn’t Believe Everything You See on “WineTok”
Not all social media is accurate. Wine content is no exception
Wine-based social media grinds my gears.
This might sound like I’m a curmudgeonly old-school sommelier who doesn’t want to embrace social media. It might sound like I want to gatekeep wine knowledge.
I don’t. After over 12 years working in wine, believe me when I tell you the more wine drinkers know about the product in their glass, the better.
No. My problem with WineTok — which I’m using as a catchall term for any wine-based social media content— is that so much of it is incredibly inaccurate.
Misinformation. Clichés. Over-simplification. WineTok does a huge disservice to wine drinkers and that breaks my heart.
It saddens me that wine is reduced to two-minute clips of inaccurate information passed off as “demystification.” That social media perpetuates old-school stereotypes — think of the snobby sommelier or the tipsy wine mom.
If you drink wine and watch these videos, I don’t want you falling for it. You — and the wine you choose to drink — deserve better than that.
