Ep. 110 Eric Asimov, NYT Chief Wine Critic
/What can a glass of wine tell us about the person who made it—and about ourselves?
In this episode of The Value of Values, I explore wine as something far bigger than a beverage: an entry point into culture, history, agriculture, nature, economics, place and human connection with Eric Asimov the chief wine critic for the New York Times.
The conversation begins with independence and integrity and moves into some much bigger questions. Can a winemaker’s philosophy be expressed through wine? Can people share certain values while holding radically different worldviews? Why do we stereotype entire grape varieties based on a handful of experiences? And what gets lost when wine—or culture itself—becomes homogenized?
Along the way, they explore the “blue highways” of wine: local expression, individuality and the wines that resist becoming just another standardized product.
They also challenge the way wine culture defines greatness. The most important wine for a particular moment may not be the rarest, most expensive or most complex bottle. Sometimes greatness is about whether the wine fits the occasion.
Ultimately, the conversation returns to curiosity.
Because inside a glass of wine are stories about people, places, cultures and nature—and perhaps a few lessons about how we move through the world.