Dennis & I bottled a kit's worth of red wine last weekend, a blend of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Unlike (most) whites, reds typically need a little time to settle into their new digs. Our future dinner-companion was no exception. "The fruit and the tannins really haven't melded yet," I pronounced after a sampling sip, "Does saying that make me a wine snob?"
"Yes," pronounced Dennis. And I laughed, because I knew he was rattling my cage. (He has standing orders to shoot me if I ever become a wine-snob, and I know darned well that he'd be too sneaky to let me know what was coming.)
I will cop to being a wine nerd...or at least a wanna-be wine nerd--no question. But it wasn't until a bit later in the afternoon that the difference between wine snob and wine nerd really occurred to me. What's more, I think that my nerd-snob distinction pretty much applies to anything about which one can be a nerd or snob.
Simply, this: A nerd tries not to let their judgment interfere with learning; a snob tries not to let learning interfere with their judgment.
That's not to say that a snob won't keep up with the material; it's just that their grading-system is pretty well set for life. And it's also not to say that a nerd doesn't have standards. "Two-buck Chuck" is still plonk. And over ice? [insert uncontrollable twitching]
