I’m not a fan of critics who (perhaps of no fault of their own) become the de facto last word when it comes to passing judgment on all manners of things.
Whether writing about movies, or restaurants, or Blue Ray players, anyone with an opinion can be a reviewer. Some do it better than others, or have a certain style that the public responds to, but at the end of the day those that partake in this exercise – this humble blogger included – should do so knowing that their opinion does not mean a whole lot, that it can’t take the place of personal experience. Many of us – this humble blogger included – probably just like the “sound” of their own words.
The wine industry is a big culprit when it comes to these critics. There are the mighty and powerful, those that have willed their tastes onto the culture at large and have even effected industry beliefs, thus changing the landscape. And then there are others, who through creativity and irreverence have done exactly the same thing.
I’ll always prefer the latter, which is why as usual, the hippest culture shocks seem to come from Japan.
Whether it’s the music of bands like Love Psychedelico, those crazy game shows that are fun even if you don’t speak the language or now in the form of wine critic, Shizuku Kanzaki.
That he’s now become the guiding voice for much of the wine buying in most of Asia is remarkable. His musings on the wine he enjoys has caused a seismic shift in the wine preferences of those from Tokyo to South Korea, which had not allowed any wine imports until the late 80′s. He’s responsible for a new generation of wine fans springing up, using his lingo and buying up, in droves, the wines he rhapsodizes about.
What’s even more remarkable is that Mr. Kanzaki is not even a real person. He’s a comic book hero of oenilogical proportions.
It’s as if the long running comic, Apartment 3-G, took place in the world of wine instead of where it does take place (which is where exactly? – the strip has been running since 1961 and I think they just celebrated the moon landing). Okay, think of Lucy from the Peanuts hanging a sign that says, “The Wine Critic is In” and having her dispense lovely words about a Gevrey Chambertin or Sancerre.
I guess my point is, what does it say about the biggest wine critics here in the States when the most influential one in the most populous part of the planet is a comic book character, created not even by wine experts but by an average brother/sister duo who simply love wine?
It says to me that the enjoyment of wine does not require an expert’s guidance, that the power to take pleasure in drinking it is well within our own means.
So hail to the great Shizuki Kanzaki, for after all, he is just us in comic book form.
