There seems to be nothing easily searchable that would be responsible for starting such a trend. I think it was just coincidence and probably more due to the warm weather of summer- everyone likes white wines more in the summer.
I was going to stay out too, even though this is good funny, but you’ve made me respond. True story: Wait, before the true story, there’s some necessary background information. Necessary background information: I’m black. Okay, onto the true story. I was drinking with two co-workers, one of whom is a friend, and the other is just some chick. So I was drinking a bourbon neat, and some chick said, “Is that Hennessey?” Ha! I [del]asked[/del] axed why she would think that and she kinda reddened and was all, “I just kind of assumed because…” then trailed off. It was hilarious. Oh man, white people sho is crazy.
I’m deliberately ignoring the rest of your post, because it gets a little silly after the part I quoted, but I generally agree with what is stated above. Where the jokes are coming from, if the posters here are anything like me in this regard, is drinking white wine is something so ordinary and in place with the behaviors of everyone, that it standing out in your head because they were black strikes as odd. I would find it funny if I saw three white ladies in business suits drinking 40s from a paper bag, yes, but then again, I’d find it funny if anyone in a business suit were doing that. What I would I would not think enough of to notice is black men drinking white wine, or white girls drinking tea, or an Asian person eating a candy bar, an old person eating a salad, etc. These are just normal things that people, regardless of gender or race, do. It’s funny that black men drinking wine seemed noteworthy to you.
This is seriously just as funny to me as saying "Saw my Chinese neighbor was drinking mead out of a flagon the other day.
You should experience a wider variety of bars. I wouldn’t expect to see a lot of wine drinkers at the pub, no, but most of the bars in my neighborhood are more the wine/spirit type of venue and serve close to an equal amount of beer and wine/cocktails. I’d say, while guys drink beer more often, a very good portion of my peers are imbibing wine or spirits.
I’m a guy who likes a good beer, but unless I’m out at the pub with my teammates, I’m much more likely to order wine because beer makes me fart too much. Most of the people I socialize with regularly drink wine if we’re in the city, and beer at the campground or after sport/physical labor stuff.
I dunno…If you are in a bar enough, you start to notice trends. If any of the following were ordered from my bar by a server (where I would have no idea the race/sex/etc.) I would be willing to wager large sums of money that:
PBR=Hipster
Heineken=Black male
Yuengling= White male
Michelob Ultra= White chick/Flamboyant male
Jagermeister- Frat boys/White slut
Hennesey=Black male
Dewars=late 20’s white guy
Chivas- over 40 white guy
Mudslide=Early 20’s or late 30’s white chick
This does not mean that those beverages are exclusive to any one group- I myself have had all of those on more than one occasion- but there are definite social/cultural trends when it comes to food/drink.
For something like white wine, OTH, it is difficult to tell. However, I would have noticed white wine going to three black males just the same as I would have noticed 3 Scotch & rocks going to a table of three white females. Hell- We trained to notice these types of behaviours- If someone who looks to be close to 21 orders a Chivas & soda, you had better believe I will be checking that ID under a microscope because that is not a standard drink for that age. Again, does that mean a 21yo can’t have a refined palate for that particular drink? Nope. Similar to seeing a 16yo behind the wheel of a Porche, I suppose.
Since I worked in restaurants, I have wanted to do a proper study of this very subject. For instance, in all of the thousands of people I served, There were only 2 times (that’s how rare this event was, that I can remember it) that a black person ordered a steak below medium. Was I sitting around counting the number of steaks and their associated temperatures as they related to race? No. But after you take a few thousand orders of “Well done”, you notice when that changes.
Truth be told, if I’d seen several groups of white men drinking white wine exclusively, I’d think something was up, too. You’re right that I probably wouldn’t take notice if women (of any race or ethnicity) did the same, though.
I’ll give you another example: in college, I read James Baldwin’s story “Sonny’s Blues”, which features the title character drinking Scotch and milk. That was my drink for a while after that, and you bet your ass I got comments on it. Can’t say I didn’t expect them, either.
So…has there been some pop culture thing going on that’s below the radar of most dopers?
Yes, I’ve noticed drinking trends, and yes we all refer to PBR and Old Style as hipster drinks, Jager and Red Bull Vodkas are douchebag drinks, etc. But white wine? I wouldn’t bat a single lash at anyone drinking wine, and I would not bat a lash at anyone drinking Scotch and rocks. These are just standard drinks. Yes, men tend to order Scotch at bars more frequently than women, but not so much that it would be anything I’d remember if a woman were to order. I’d be more surprised by a young person ordering Scotch than a woman.
True story: I was talking to a bar pal, and when my age came up, he was surprised by how young I was. I was taken aback. “Do I look old?” I asked. “No,” he said, “it’s that you order your whisky neat.” Now that may have just been a nice save on his part, but I choose to buy it because I never see young people drinking neat whisky, and I don’t want to think I look old.