Accessibility Assessments.
Attempting to make wine so accessible that nobody cares.
Hello.
Firstly, the title of this piece may lead you to believe this is a post about actual accessibility in the form of inclusive spaces, and braille on wine labels, which is probably more clearly categorised as ‘inclusivity’. Nope, this is a free from musing on the existential quest to bring the entire planet into the wine community.
Answering the eternal question: Why don’t more people care about wine?
I read this article yesterday:
It’s broadly about the ‘de-professionalisation’ of everything; from amateur podcasters, to this very platform facilitating aspiring writers. Not forgetting unpaid internships and erosion of profitability in creative endeavours.
We now live in a world where there are so many amateurs, that ‘the machine’ has retro-fitted turning careers into hobbies in many industries, but not all.
Enjoyment as a Hobby
The trajectory goes from the identification of something you like, through to learning enough about that thing for it to become a hobby; the point at which spectatorship becomes participation. Finally, monetising a hobby to a sustainable point at which it could become a career.
Identify >< Spectate
Learn >< Participate
Teach >< Monetise
Obviously, there are parallels here with most activities, particularly creative ones like writing, or music, the whole gaming industry, sports, all sorts.
You can watch Formula 1 on the telly as much as you like, find your community around a shared love of watching the cars go round and round really quick. In fact, you can really delve into the learning, but actual participation is hard.
Zoom out. Racing cars or heading to the Go Kart track at the weekend to have a go. If you start early enough, you might work your way through the ranks to driving real fucking fast.
Turning that hobby into a career is unattainable for most people.
The Industry’s Hobby Recruitment Problem
The wine industry quite often poses the question of how to bring more people into what I’ll now refer to as ‘Phase 2’: Learning and/or Participating. The problem is, there aren’t even enough people in Phase 1.
Drinking wine, however voraciously, is not a constituent part of calling it a hobby. That is where most of the wine biz gets itself in a muddle. If you’re in it, properly, it’s easy to get confused by people who drink wine but couldn’t give a shit about it.
As Sara’s article references, I’ve also created myself a logo for this online identity I refer to as the dnkrby wine club, but I do not care about design enough to call it a hobby. I do read about wine when I’m not at work, though.
There’s a difference for me, wine is both a hobby and a career. It’s perfectly feasible to go straight to a career and bypass the hobby stage too.
The Problem with Wine Education
The struggle with making wine accessible enough to bring new people in is that the industry is focussed on Phase 2. We educate, we teach, we write articles about grape varieties, we talk through the intricacies of the seemingly innocuous as a way to bring people in.
How many Instagram reels are there explaining the difference between F1’s wet and dry tyre protocol?
The problem is, wine is a commodity, a consumer product it’s just a drink in a bottle, and it’s highly accessible. Almost every grocery store in the UK sells wine, soft drinks, and tea bags.
I’ve not yet seen some guy holding an iPhone on a gimbal, a Bluetooth mic clipped to their scarf, wandering down to the corner shop to give you a quick overview of the differences between San Pellegrino and Fanta Lemon.
“Actually, because the residual sugar in the Fanta Lemon is higher, the acidity in the San Pellegrino feels higher, but actually they’re about the same—it’s just that the sweetness is more balanced in the Fanta, you see. You can save 50p and get something far more delicious…”
Can I suggest this faux education is not the entry point either? It’s actually not viable for the industry to take this on as a marketing strategy.
Filling the funnel by converting passive consumers to engaged enthusiasts is almost impossible because passive engagement is utterly absent. Getting people to care requires an entertainment factor.
Does anyone remember the TV show Pot Black? That turned a passive spectator sport into entertainment, and sparked a generation of engaged new hobbyists.
Turning a Career into a Hobby
There hasn’t really been a groundswell of challenger hobbyists enough to drive professionals out of a career in wine, unlike in other industries. No matter what your instagram feed might tell you.
The actual winemaking remains largely insulated. The barriers to entry are too high. Anyone can start a podcast or a blog, write for free for exposure.
Sara’s article suggests the rate of pay for long-form articles is much lower than it was in the 1990s. Writing about wine is clearly the most vulnerable.
Many good writers have diversified their platform, scope, and reach enough to remain relevant. Started a Substack?
Final Thoughts
The wine industry struggles to engage new people because it assumes education is the entry point when, in reality, most drinkers don’t care enough to get past Phase 1.
Unlike industries where passive engagement (watching, listening, following) creates enthusiasts, wine lacks a compelling cultural pull beyond the product itself.
Education and technical content can’t fill the funnel, entertainment and emotional connection must come first. Wineries should take note here as that’s where influencers are perhaps doing a better job.
The challenge isn’t getting people to care about wine, it's making wine interesting enough that people decide to care.
Interesting analysis. Based on this why are you attempting the MW ? I’ve talked to many MWs and they’re dismayed to find out it didn’t help their career.