Why do people post photos of wine bottles/labels?

WINE TALK
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And then there is the ‘artsy’ approach…
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Great picture! Shame on you!

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And then there is the labels that many won’t see…
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[winner.gif] [welldone.gif]

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Besides labels being a really nice visual cue to help remember all the great wines everyone recommends, I love the photos people post for another reason: It’s two seconds worth of peacefulness in my otherwise stressful day. It takes my mind off whatever I’m doing and forces me to think about what might be in that bottle, what it might taste like, and all the emotions that makes learning and drinking wine different than anything else. If I really want to daydream, I start picturing the vineyards and the landscape. Sorry if that’s sappy, but it’s true! I haven’t posted any of my own photos here yet, but chances are in the future I will. Part of that is the kid in me – if I find something and enjoy it, my first inclination is to share / and sometimes tell the world – and since pouring a glass for all of you would be impossible, what better way of sharing than to show a pretty picture. </end sappiness>

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I personally think pictures are great…

I don’t mind seeing just text…but pictures add an extra element. I enjoy them more if they’re bottles I haven’t seen before…but even if I have they’re nice to see…

I’m not sure how they bother anyone to be honest…but I guess they must…but seriously, I’m sure they’d think they’re not in the minority but pretty sure they would be…

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Great post! If you are a visual person, the labels and the bottles often start a string of memories, back to the vineyard or winery you visited, or people you shared that wine with in the past, or even that time you found it for a great price in a store.

I guess that is why I struggled with the basic question in the OP. Images trigger memories, thoughts, and connections in ways that words don’t.

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I too enjoy the pictures and I hope no one is discouraged from posting them. I can understand that others may not understand the intention or motivation for posting the pictures, but don’t understand why it would really bother or annoy anyone.

Really enjoyed Alicia’s post about a small mental escape, I can relate.

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We certainly could use more sappy around here. [cheers.gif]
Welcome aboard!

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Just not in our wine neener

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Man, you are rolling! A little AFWE stuff in your system and now you’re…THEM!

:slight_smile:

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hahaha, all jokes. I can’t/won’t give up on my Purple Drank roots.

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Thanks Ken, Mike and Travis! [cheers.gif] Happy to provide some sap from time to time (and Jeb - I promise, not in the wine! – although I can’t make any promises if I’ve had too much to drink! rolleyes )

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Young People With IPhone Cameras In Hand 25, Curmudgeons 3, in a rout. I, too, am thumbs-up on Noel’s posts, because they have context and personality, and combine family, friends, a bottle or two and, most importantly, more pictures of food than empty wine bottles! In his case, every picture tells a story, don’t it? And Jeb, you are pretty handy with the camera, but I fear that a Turley Zin bottle is a Turley Zin bottle from any angle. The picture did, however, help me to recall why I gave up my spot on the Turley mailing list so many years ago! And Stuart, I suppose that only you and I are left with Proust and his madeleine instead of photos of old Burgundy bottles…

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I’m an Android user, please revisit your scoring.

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Bill…I see now that people equate the pix of empty/full bottles/ labels with the pix in Playboy, though I hope their gratification is different.

After reading this thread, I’m sure glad of one thing: that Anthony Wiener isn’t a wine lover or doesn’t post on this thread. Even .Mollen and Boykin might find hidden meaning in the mix of their bottle pix.

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Nick, I understand your point, and I am sympathetic, but in the wake of the two new IPhone models, I have to leave you out of the count, or worse, count you and the other Android people (and for damn sure all of the BlackBerry folks!) in with the imageless fogies…

Stuart, I am surprised and disappointed in Boykin. I had him pegged for a old fart, but he goes all hip and current on us on this thread. I’ll bet that he is actually in his mid-30s and playing mind games with us. However, if Ken V. tells us that he buys Playboy for the articles, I am going to take that as gospel truth, regardless of how many thousands of photos of empty wine bottles he has…

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I hadn’t known that about Ken. If I didn’t know better, from talking to him a few years ago, I’d fear he was the Citizen Kane of wine: with “Rosebud” stamped on each of the thousands of photos…

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There is not always a clear reason why we do what we do. Maybe we are just story-tellers at heart and pics help tell that story in a concise way. I am a photographer by trade, so pic-taking is nothing new to me. You have not lived until you photograph a wedding from start to finish. Seeing people in an un-natural environment such as a wedding and in a tuxedo for the first time can be eye-opening and really makes you wonder about this thing we call the ‘human’. Wedding photography is a perfect vocation for people watching. Remember, humans are voyeuristic by nature, so what’s the surprise? I can tell you that likening a label pic to Anthony Weiner cheapens the conversation a bit. I want to add that I think it’s a wonderful question once the weiner is removed and glad to see it on a page 4.