Eventually they throw up their hands and decide it’s Miller time. Symptoms include a dazed, confused look as victims try to decipher the shelf talker wine jargon. “Shelf-Talker Stupor” may be the leading cause of beer drinking in America. Someone stops to read a shelf talker and their stare soon glazes over. I’ve seen the expression a thousand times. Most wine consumers appreciate the tasting notes or wine reviews on shelf talkers, but those less versed in wine terminology may look down at a shelf talker and get the uneasy feeling that the shelf talker is actually looking down on them.
No one slipped cat pee into your Sauvignon Blanc or horse manure into your Burgundy.
So I’d like to start by correcting a common misconception caused by these shelf talker wine reviews. As you read something like, “this wine displays aromas of galangal root caressed by nuances of Louisiana road tar,” you find yourself thinking, “I never smell and taste these things in my wine and what the heck is galangal root anyway?” Shelf talkers, as they’re known in the trade, tout the virtues of the wine at hand and usually contain a wine review from a magazine or newspaper. You’re in a wine store reading those little signs in front of each wine when you start to feel out of place, kind of like one of those Duck Dynasty guys who mistakenly wandered into a gay pride parade.
