Sherry comes in three styles: Sunak, Truss, and Johnson
A new poll looks at drinks preferences by voting intention. It explains why Sherry is not "the next big thing"
It’s two weeks since I last read a “Sherry is ready for its revival” article. Which means another is surely due any minute. Of course they’re all wrong. A poll in the UK general election coverage shows why.
I’ll let you analyse the wider results yourself as a “Beverage Alcohol Psephologist”. But just draw your attention to the stark - and lonesome - finding in the bottom left.
Sherry stands alone in having a strong preference among Conservative voters. Its 28 point lead is likely to be greater than any Conservative constituency win next Thursday. But it also leaves Sherry like a Tory MP next Friday (most probably); in a minority, on the wrong side of the House, and with an image problem.
Grant McCracken’s influential 1986 book “Culture and Consumption” outlines his “meaning transfer model”. It describes how cultural meanings flow from the world of culture (like politics), into consumer goods (like Sherry), and then into individuals (like us). It also busts the irritatingly persistent myth that “the only thing that matters is the liquid in the bottle”. For most people, most of the time, the liquid in the bottle is the very last thing “that matters”.
Sherry tastes delicious, is excellent value, and pairs wonderfully with lots of food. But when people think about whether to buy it they’re subconsciously rifling through McCracken’s “meaning transfer model”. The food they’re most likely to connect with Sherry is a long-lived lettuce with eyes.
This isn’t to make a party political point. I’m just connecting the dots. People who like Sherry tend strongly to the Conservative. And Conservatism is culturally perceived like this in opinion polls…
Divided, out-of-date, extreme, and favouring the rich at the expense of the poor. It’s also elderly. Conservatism is increasingly concentrated about the over 75’s. Wine writers might see Sherry and think of a fashionable London bar they went to last week with a PR executive that features a range of innovative Amontillado cocktails. But the rest of the world is playing the word-association game Family Fortunes…
For George McCracken, consumer goods like Sherry are beyond functional items. They carry symbolic meanings. They’re markers of identity, status, and social affiliation. By implication, if you choose Sherry you’re expressing identity and aligning yourself with cultural values and social groups.
Cultural categories like age, gender, and class are embedded in Sherry. As well as shoes, shampoo, and IKEA shelves. So are principles, like cleanliness and beauty. This “embedded cultural information” helps us navigate our social world and make sense of our what we choose to buy. We buy by tribe. Right now “Conservative supporters” is a tribe on the slide.
For most people most of the time, NOT wanting to look like someone who supports a party perceived as extreme, divided, elderly, and out of date will always trump a tasting note that says “refreshing, versatile, and lovely with tapas.”
Unfortunately this poll is the worst thing to happen to Sherry since the 16th Century Anglo-Spanish War. It’ll take more than The Treaty of London to fix it.
It was also the most popular among Lib Dem supporters though… not as amusing as the fact that shandy was the most popular drink for both Reform & SNP supporters…
I used to love sherry but it’s been “being rediscovered by a new generation” for at least 20 years now, never with appreciable commercial or cultural impact. I remember Michael (Denzil Xavier) Portillo extolling its virtues at one point. But it just doesn’t move the needle. Which is a shame.