What irked me, however, was the attitude of some wine fundis towards wine education. The implication coming from a few people (who should have known better) was that if you don't know about wine then you shouldn't be allowed to drink it. Yes that's right - we shall now be instituting a short quiz at all supermarket checkouts and wine shop counters and if you fail it, then back to the shelf with your bottles, because if you don't thoroughly understand all the in's and out's of our product, then we cannot allow you to buy it! What on earth is this all about? Where does this 'wine Nazi-ism' come from? I got very lucky when it comes to acquiring wine knowledge - I fell into the right hands in my mid-twenties when I started working for Adnams, a UK wine merchant who had a strong policy of education for all their staff and who paid for me to go on courses and learn all about wine. But the truth is that I was perfectly happy drinking wine before I knew anything about it - my favourite tipple was a quaint little number from Asda called Sicilian Red - non-vintage, non-varietal specific, cost me less than £3.00. I liked it because every few months or so, it would go on promotion and I was able to buy 1 litre for the price of 75cl which seemed a big deal in my cash-strapped youth, but mainly I drank it because I could afford it and it tasted nice to me. If I hadn't started working for a wine merchant and developing sadly expensive tastes, I daresay I would be happily drinking it right now in blissful ignorance. And I'd probably be a lot richer as well. Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying that wine education is a bad thing at all. I get a lot of pleasure from tasting and drinking lots of different wines and I relish the fact that the more I drink, the more I know about the subject - what a great way to get an education! I think that if people want to know more about wine, then that can only be a good thing for the industry as a whole and we must try and make it as interesting, relevant and accessible as possible - undoubtedly a challenge within itself. But we can't make people want to know more about wine, and any attempts to do so will all end in failure. All we can do is make sure that those who are interested in stepping up their game and their palates can get hold of that knowledge easily and quickly. And allow those who are perfectly content with their Libertas or Graça to enjoy it in peace without fear of snobby condescension and disapproval. Because if we have that kind of an attitude, it will only ever lead in one direction and that won't be to increased wine sales; it will be to beer. One final thought which I think really illustrates the situation perfectly. My friend was chatting to an eminent Sauvignon Blanc winemaker at a show and asked him 'Doesn't it annoy you when people put ice blocks in your wine?' The winemaker shrugged 'Not really' he said. 'As soon as they've paid their money, it isn't my wine anymore - it's theirs.' Perhaps the real problem isn't that the wine-drinking masses need more education, but rather that we, the self-proclaimed 'wine-drinking elite', ought to have a little less attitude about it all instead. Sicilian Red anyone? Cathy is a freelance writer and wine editor at www.Food24.com. She enjoyed ignorance, but thinks a little knowledge is slightly more delicious these days.