A friend of mine recently told me that he saw my wine enthusiasm in recent years as a natural next step to my punk rock days of yesteryear. I have to admit, I never would have found a connection between this -
and this –
Still, maybe he was onto something. After thinking about my old punk rock ethos and my current wine ethos, I found that the two are surprisingly similar.
Punk Rock Ben |
Wine Geek Ben |
| Obsessive about authentic bands with a message | Obsessive about terroir driven wines |
| Makes snarky comments about pop music fans | Makes snarky comments about Yellowtail fans |
| F#&! the mainstream media! | Screw the mainstream wine media! (I don’t curse as much as punk rock Ben did) |
| Writes angst filled songs and poetry | Writes an occasionally angst filled wine blog |
| The Velvet Underground is the greatest band of all time | The Velvet Underground is the greatest band of all time (Some things never change) |
So maybe my friend was right. Who knew that wine was so punk rock?
I leave you with this -
It is pretty interesting that it seems a bunch of us wine nerds were once music nerds (though I could never play, I enjoyed it heavily). I guess it’s all the same, really.
“You don’t understand/enjoy (Fill in: Black Flag, Tool, Riesling, Merlot) like I do!”
Flash to my real life: I’m working on my company’s master grape list while rocking out pretty hard. Hmm.
So I guess the two or three companies that make de-alcoholized wines are straightedge?
Amanda – Yeah, I think it probably comes down to the fact that a nerd is a nerd.
We just shift our focus from one thing to be nerdy about to another. Keep on rockin’ for the kids! 
Benito – Nice! I like it. All kinds of ways that we could apply this connection.
Ben: Agreed. I’ll gladly admit to being a nerd.
Benito: Genius! I just burst out laughing.
Can you nominate yourself for the Good part of your weekly “good bad and ugly” post! This is the best post I’ve seen all week!
Amanda – Yep, me too. I find no shame in my nerdom.
Josh – Thanks, I’m glad you like it. I’ll probably try to find something else for my Good this week, but I’m flattered that you think so highly of this post.
Haha you know, I could write this exact blog over again, except replace Velvet Underground with Rites of Spring (though now I would say Suis La Lune… much more wine-friendly punk rock). And I’ve become obsessed with wine as quickly as I did with music. One feature I’ve been considering for my blog is pairing wines with music… we’ll see how that goes next week, I reckon!
Who knew a wine nerd could be such a badass?
I used to be a hipster with a penchant for parliament lights and skinny jeans, but unlike you, not sure how I could contrast this with my current professional wine-loving self haha.
Joshua – Yeah, I’d be hard pressed to find a wine that paired with “Rise Above”, but I’d love to try it if you come up with a recommendation.
Megan – Not sure how badass I was. I sported a bod that was far more Iggy Pop than Henry Rollins. I was never afraid to jump in a mosh pit though.
What a clever post – love the creativity!
LOVE this Ben. Were like peas in a pod you and me.
Nice! I always knew you rawked Seattle Wine Gal.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Wow, straight edge, Rites of Spring, Black Flag… things I never thought I’d see while checking out a wine blog post. Great stuff, and glad to see fellow punk rockers out there in wineland.
I know, right? To paraphrase the immortal Hardy Wallace, “Wine was meant to be punk!”
Nice post Ben! You know I would love this, bro. As a teenager I was yelling in a punk band. I’ve noticed a lot of us wine geeks had a hard edge a ‘lil’ while ago. You would think swirling and sniffing wine geeks would have had Toto, Asia, and Europe in the tape deck when we wanted something with a little edge back in the day. But it’s all about the Pistols, Dead Boys, Dolls, The Shirts, Heartbreakers, Clash, Bad Brains, Sham 69, Exploited, Misfits, Television, etc …and oh yeah, that’s my favorite Ramones song. Good thing Joey held grudges. Speaking of Ramones, remember when Dee Dee tried to be a rapper? Chk that on YouTube. Freaking hilarious!
Cheers
Dezel
I know, it is crazy how many of us winos are former punks, hardcore, or goth kids. Pretty funny.
Man, you mention so many great bands there. You don’t hear people mention bands like the Dolls, Television, and the Heartbreakers too much. How about Richard Hell and the Voidoids? The Stooges anyone?