My brother recently forwarded me this article, Tip of the Tongue (California Magazine, link here). The author W. Blake Gray is a wine writer who authors a blog, along with writing about wine for several publications. Gray makes some great points about how language and culture affect wine perception; it's a very interesting read.

Gray makes a good point about linguistic relativity; "the structure and syntax of a language affect the way its speakers experience the world". Gender plays a major role in wine language; wine is masculine in Romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian) and though it's not as obvious in English, gender preferences are heavily prevalent in American wine culture as documented in various consumer opinion polls. Many wine companies aim marketing towards specific genders in advertising, whether its word choice in description or labeling (think R Winery's Bitch label).

I am constantly asked my opinion on wines, and always try to think about who is asking the question. Is this person knowledgeable about wine? Does this person even drink wine? I do take into account a person's cultural background, but I must admit that I don't always think about my word choice. For instance, Gray talks about the connotation of the term "acidity" when referring to wine. As he mentions, American consumers often think of this as a negative while European consumers may take this as a positive; as a winemaker, I regard this as one of the most important aspects of a wine.