Gateway Wines - Myth or reality?

While doing research on wines and finding inspiration for new blogs I ran multiple times into the idea of Gateway wines - wines for people who have little experience with wine. The idea is that these wines will help develop a taste for the category and eventually push drinkers to trade up to higher quality products. This seems to be an established thought - yet I wonder how successful and accurate this actually is. How many wine drinkers in the US approach their wine drinking as an educational process, one where they look for ways to expand their palate and explore new tastes? My guess would be that not so many.

For every first-time wine drinker that comes to the category with hopes of learning more about the grapes, the region, the terroir and different taste profiles of wine, I would argue there are at least ten that buy wine with the sole intent of crossing out a line item in their grocery list. For them, wine is nothing more than an item of consumption, and they have found the type, brand, and flavor that they like. They are not interested in becoming wine connoisseurs, they just want to enjoy the familiar taste they have accustomed to pairing with their everyday Sunday dinner. 

Most of us in this class, if not all, fall within the first category. We took the class because we are ready to either begin or continue our education in Wine. But I would argue that most Americans don´t see wine the same way.  It is food for thought to think about what we are truly saying about these wines when we call them "gateway" wines. We are saying they are not really good enough - only satisfactory for an uneducated palate. But I think this adds to the mystique and fear a lot of us have when approaching wine. It tells the story that there is a right way to drink and taste wine and a wrong way to do so.

A quote from Eric Asimov on the subject really struck a chord with me "It all reminded me that we are not simply talking about wine — an ancient beverage that people enjoy — but something deeper and closer to the core of people’s ideas about themselves and their character."

While this way of thinking about wine and its value is definitely beneficial to premium wineries and a certain type of wine drinkers, I wonder whether the implications for the Industry as a whole are a lot less positive. It might help instill the insecurity some of us feel when talking about or tasting wine, and might be pushing a lot of potential clients from the wine aisle into the spirits or beer aisles. And the wine Industry is probably worse off because of it.