Expert Wine Tasting as a Social Practice: An Enactive Ethnography

Abstract

The present contribution uses the theoretical framework of theories of practice to examine expert wine tasting. This paper highlights a number of sociologically interesting issues that have been previously conceptualised in the literature, trying to enlighten aspects not clearly showed by other theoretical approaches. After providing a summary and analysing the main themes touched upon by sociology when dealing with the issue of tasting, the central focus of the article will be on a practice-oriented analysis based on data collected during empirical research, in progress since 2013, concerning the production, distribution and commercial aspects of the wine field in Italy. The approach followed is considered an enactive ethnography. In addition, the practice theories approach will be integrated with the dispositional approach, along with the theory of social fields, in order to clarify some points that would be less clear through practice theories alone.