Oenophilia and Linguaphilia

The two words in the heading of this post express the passion a person has for wine and words. The Greek word philia, often translated as love is not actually correct. It has more to do with mutual friendship or brotherhood rather an intimate relationship that lovers have. Philia is not to be confused with eros which is used for lust or sexual relationship. There is also the ultimate expression of love called agape often used by Christians to define God’s unconditional, undeserved or divine love where it is expressed in terms of Christ’s death on the cross for mankind who despised and rejected him.

No matter what, wine cannot exist without a relationship with words. The expression “Hmmmm” after drinking a glass of wine could be taken as cacophony to denote bad taste but more likely to be accepted as a commendation or approval as “Hmmm” in the Western culture is positive affirmation.

In the domain of oenophiles there seems to be little consistency in the relationship between wine and words. I guess this is because emotion and other physical and sensory factors are involved. You may describe your wine because you like it as opposed to love it or you worship it as god. Alternatively you can be purely clinical, academic or simply lost for words and use expletives instead. You may of course equally express disdain, hate or distaste using negative words and swear at it.

As a linguistic scholar, I looked for an authority on language who has a passion for wine and one who has conducted research on wine and words in a formal and empirical manner. Yes there is such a person called Professor Adrienne Lehrer I have bought the latest and revised second edition of her book called “Wine and Conversation”. It is a fascinating book which gives a great background to wine; the types of wine drinkers, the wine descriptors used by the various groups of oenophiles and most importantly her research findings on whether there is a relationship between wine and words. You will be amazed with her theories and conclusions. You can order it directly from this blog.

It is worth asking yourself whether the words you use to describe wine are from a philial, erotic or a divine perspective. You may consider yourself an ordinary wine drinker, an oenophile, a connoisseur, a Master of Wine (MW) or a knowledgeable wine critic or writer. But I strongly recommend you buy yourself a copy of Lehrer’s “Wine and Conversation”, as it could change your vocabulary and attitudes and perhaps your preconceived ideas a hell of a lot.

Like Lehrer my passion is for wine and sociolinguistics, that is wine, language, society and culture. These are more than intertwined as the vines in the terroir of any country. If wine and words are inextricable then where does culture, let alone the artificial strata created by the wine culture fit into all this?