The Death Of Expertise
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“Why would I want to sit and listen to someone who expects me to be impressed that they memorized something out of a book?”
-My wife when I ask her if she wants to go wine tasting
I’m someone who has developed a reputation for spotting and predicting future trends as it pertains to the booze industry. It’s at the core of what I do for my consulting company, along with adjusting current business strategies to capitalize on what’s coming. The death of expertise, however, isn’t an approaching fad or emerging trend. It’s already here. It’s a phenomenon that has happened, whether we like it or not. We just need to recognize it and react.
For countless wine and spirits professionals (and many of my closest friends), admitting that expertise is no longer a requisite part of working in the industry will be the hardest step. Gathering that knowledge has always been the fun part of the job. More importantly, it’s where many derive their self worth and esteem.
Unfortunately, being able to wax poetically about Bordeaux or Burgundy is no longer something young people aspire to (see my article from last year about this trend), especially when most of the vital information is readily available online. In fact, talking about wine in a serious manner has gone from intimidating to flat-out off-putting (see the 2019 film Wine Country with Amy Poehler and Tina Fey for their dismissive take on wine professionals). When a particular knowledge set loses its value, the industry around it begins to unravel (see brick and mortar retail as a whole).
Not to get political, but simply talking about any subject with an heir of “I know best” has become so toxic that a majority of Americans recently decided it was better to elect a convicted felon than a political party that—rightly or wrongly—has become synonymous with elitism. I bit my tongue as many of my fellow Democrats repeatedly referred to red state voters as “stupid” on social media, further worsening this perception from the undecideds. Needless to say, I wasn’t surprised on Election Day when Trump won.
If you’ve been paying attention to wine and spirits marketing in 2024, then you’ve probably noticed the same overarching trend that I have: consumers don’t want to be told what to drink anymore. Not that they don’t want ideas, or a lead, or an off-hand recommendation from a friend. They absolutely still want those things. However, what they clearly and unabashedly are moving away from is professional expertise from pundits who tell them what is and isn’t good.
To give you an example, a marketing email about a wine that received 95 points from a renowned publication no longer drives sales at retail. Flaunting a gold medal from one of the five thousand spirits competitions out there doesn’t move the needle either. Aspiration to be drinking what the experts drink is dead. If you need further evidence, look at the world of wine and spirits influencers on social media right now. The most popular ones aren’t the most knowledgeable. Rather, they’re able to command an audience because they’re funny, good looking, or both.
When former customers and friends ask me why I don’t write reviews anymore or post educational content on social media, it’s because I recognized years ago that the value of expertise as it pertains to the quality of a product was continuing to devalue. Expertise on how to navigate the industry, on the other hand, was still worth something to business owners, so I made the switch.
That being said, points and press still play a role when it comes to the validation of a particular product by consumers doing their own research. We’re in a moment right now that I’m calling “trust, but verify” with my clients. Consumers continue to want new ideas from everyday people rather than subject matter experts. At the same time, they also want some sort of verification that the recommendation has legs. Much like we might check the reviews on Yelp against a restaurant suggestion, or the consumer feedback on Amazon before making a decision, consumers do appreciate professional expertise as a backstop; just not as a selling point.
Why the backlash against wine and spirits expertise, you ask? It might have something to do with the fact that so many wine and spirits professionals like to pretend they’re more important than they are. When retail store workers refer to themselves as sommeliers and bartenders prefer to be called mixologists, it sets the tone for elitism. Having worked in this industry for eighteen years now, I can tell you first-hand that it seems to attract personalities in search of admiration, and those people tend to use knowledge and expertise as a mechanism for achieving it.
Have you ever been invited over to someone’s house for dinner, only to be made to sit there while the host gives you a forty-five minute lecture on the origins of the food and how they came to choose the wines? More importantly, have you watched that same host react with anger and annoyance when they lose the attention and focus of the group?
I have, dozens and dozens of times. As has my wife, which is why she no longer accompanies me to wine and spirits events. Unfortunately for those personalities, the industry is flashing clear signals that their “expertise” might no longer be necessary. Fortunately for us who love this industry, and see it as more than just a vehicle for pedantry, we might soon get back to basics and start understanding how we can actually make consumers happy.
As an Instagram post I read this week so eloquently stated: “What leads us to ignore experts isn’t their expertise, it’s their arrogance. Trust is earned by expressing humility, not authority.”
-David Driscoll