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Can sommeliers and influencers really be trusted?
To answer the question posed by the title, we must first clarify the two figures, Sommelier and Influencer, trying to identify the strengths and weaknesses of both sides.
Let's start with the Sommelier, a figure that in the common imagination is probably perceived as elite and fascinating but also a bit haughty and old-fashioned, with all due respect to the category to which the writer belongs. The word Sommelier derives from the old French “saumalier” and before that from the Latin “sagmarius,” and it originally referred to the driver of pack animals. Later, perhaps giving more emphasis to the load, the “soma” itself, the term began to be attributed to the person who managed provisions and later, in particular, wines, their storage, knowledge, and use.
The Sommelier is without a doubt a highly respected profession, and to be able to boast such a title, one must study a lot, and not just about wine as a final product. In fact, it is necessary to know history, geography, and chemistry, starting from the grape varieties and production areas up to the different winemaking methods, not to mention the ability to perceive all the sensations hidden in the glass and to organize food pairings. It must be said that the figure of the Sommelier is not only dedicated to wine; in fact, there are Sommeliers of EVO oil, beer, coffee, chocolate, and even mineral waters!
Therefore, it can be said with some certainty that relying on the advice of a wine Sommelier is never a bad idea, provided you can tolerate their ostentatious ability to swirl the glass every two seconds and their habit of uttering a fair amount of unusual terms while sniffing the contents of a glass!
Now let’s move on to Influencers, decidedly younger and more modern people. They often rely on their communication skills more than on real knowledge of the subject they discuss. It is not unusual for them to start their activity as a game and then, over time, acquire the right skills to best convey their message.
It is clear that we cannot know the cultural background of an Influencer, but in the end, if they want to have lasting success, they cannot always and constantly rely solely on their communication skills. Many people in this category, in fact, are capable individuals and have a very respectable knowledge background. If we talk specifically about wine, many Influencers are also Sommeliers, and thus you get a winning and reliable combination.
Let’s make a further consideration related to the quality of what is told by an Influencer, whether they are a Sommelier or not, because often this profession comes into conflict with the economic aspect linked to the promotion of a particular product or brand. In this case, we necessarily have to be critical of what is published and ask ourselves whether what we have seen or read is truly the result of a genuine and in-depth analysis or simply the result of a good financial agreement.
To trust or not to trust? The right question to ask is rather: is that person communicating something to me because they are paid or out of pure ethical and cultural spirit?
The right answer is always in front of our eyes; we just need to analyze and not passively absorb the message, avoiding being seduced by multimedia frills or linguistic artifices typical of social media.
Luigi Chiera
You can also find this article in PopZone magazine!
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