Baffled by wine buffs?

This shouldn't have come as a surprise to anyone. If there is one industry that is out of touch with its customers it's the wine industry. A study in the UK has found widespread bewilderment among wine drinkers at the "pompous"terms used by producers, retailers and critics to describe how a bottle tastes. Apparently more than half of wine drinkers who took part in the survey (55 per cent to be exact) said the descriptions given to wines failed to help them get an understanding of the flavour. They were given a list of 43 words and phrases used to describe different wines and were asked to identify the five they found most and least helpful in conveying the drink's taste.

Those found most confusing were the phrases "firm skeleton"(designated least useful by 37 per cent), "old bones" (35 percent), "nervy" (31 per cent) "wet stone" (27 per cent), "tongue spanking" (21 per cent) "haunting" (21 per cent), "spring hedgerows" (19 per cent) and "brooding" (18 per cent). Other terms found puzzling included: "vegetal", "leathery","chunky", "canny" and "minerality".

I have to agree one hundred percent with this survey. If you are trying to sell something just tell it like it is and stop trying to hide behind fancy words. I mean who in their right mind would use the phrase "tongue spanking" to describe how a wine tastes other than a pretentious little snob. I think my attitude towards this particular industry is best summed up in this great Fry and Laurie sketch below.