Grape Expectations
The lowdown on trends
By Victoria Neal
How did a divine cordial once honored and revered by all
economic levels of the Athenian masses turn into a stodgy,
luxurious beverage only the privileged (and aged) few were suited
to enjoy? How indeed, when there's an untapped market of
potential oenophiles, curious to absorb the chemistry behind its
infectious character, anxious to visit the rich landscape of its
origin and thirsty to sample the vast cellar of its vintages. The
potent potable known as wine is ripe and pouring its way into the
hearts and minds of Gen X crowds. Yet mainstream wine marketers are
still ignoring this age group, a sad reality Darryl Roberts, 37,
editor of Wine X, is determined to change. "There are 80 million Gen Xers out there, and nobody is
really targeting them," says Roberts, whose bi-monthly wine
consumer magazine, Wine X, and e-zine, www.winexwired.com, target 21-
to-35-year-olds with edgy and humorous articles serving to
demystify wine and attack the elitism surrounding it. Inspired by a
trip to the Napa and Sonoma Valleys, the Santa Rosa, California,
entrepreneur started a tasting group and newsletter in 1997 and
turned his passion into Wine X. Roberts isn't alone. "So much of how wine is presented
is so boring," says Kim Caffrey, whose Wine, Woman &
Laughs in Calistoga, California, seeks to remedy that with its wine
education classes. Currently developing regularly scheduled classes
in Napa Valley, Caffrey uses humor to make the topic more palatable
for younger audiences. Content Continues Below
Wine devotee Todd Alexander, 32, got his own education in wine
through a post-college job at a leading Italian wine importer,
experience at a high-end Manhattan wine retailer, and five months
spent interviewing wine makers in Italy. In 1994, he turned his
passion into Vendemmia, a wine distribution company in Atlanta. In
jeans and a T-shirt, he smashes the smug image associated with
wine. "We pull corks and let people decide if they like
it," he says. "We try to take the snob appeal out of
wine. I mean, the people who make the wine aren't
pretentious.
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