Epistenology by Nicola Perullo;

Author:Nicola Perullo;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lightning Source Inc. (Tier 3)

7

WITHOUT METHOD

Obliqueness and Attention in Place of Method and Intention

A structured and specific language about wine as a thematic discourse has developed in close relationship to sustaining social distinctions. Good wine, as a social marker, is not for all, mainly because not everyone appreciates it—that is, can talk about it. (Pay careful attention here as we will pick up this relationship later: the presumed equivalence between appreciation and being able to talk about wine is not a given because it is clearly possible to appreciate and to express appreciation without using discourse. The so-called tacit knowledge, rather than being silent and implicit, is often very expressive and loud, like in bodily gestures, for example.)

Against this view, however, many have been saying for some time now that the “world of wine” needs new approaches and new languages in order to mend the self-referential asphyxia that has been holding back its well-deserved success, particularly among the so-called younger generations. It is a fact that more beer and less wine is being drunk, even if this is often attributed to the absurd assumption that “today, we drink less but better.” Better or worse with respect to what? (This assumption is absurd because it presumes knowledge of every era and place in the entire world, with truly ridiculous consequences. No time should be wasted on dismissing such, unfortunately, recurring phrases as “Roman wine was undrinkable” since it is sufficient to ask ourselves, “If it was undrinkable, why did they drink it?” The point is, I fear, that some might even respond that they did so because they were unrefined and had inferior tastes.)

Among all these platitudes and clichés, one of the most common is that “the problem lies with communication.” Communication is like stress: when one does not understand why something unpleasant has happened, stress is at fault. Or a lack of communication. Furthermore, it is hard to understand why those who drink and appreciate wine should be concerned with communication. Nonetheless, we can often discover claims that confuse questions that might be useful for people who sell wine with others that relate to the pleasure of those who drink it. In other words, there is a great deal of noise when everyone has something to say.

Therefore we have arrived at the “world of wine,” which is held to be ailing due to too much stress or faulty communication. I have to confess, mea culpa: I once used that questionable expression—the world of wine—myself as the title of a collection of articles I edited in English: Wineworld. We now even speak of worlds of wine. A proliferation of worlds. (Philosophers and sociologists, do not get upset. I know Alfred Schütz’s theories on subuniverses, but we are talking about something different here.) Where is this world of wine supposed to be, and, above all, how does it differ from the world as a whole? It seems to me that all the scientific evidence and all the testimonies we possess (I am being a bit ironic

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