I think wine is such a big universe that it’s kind of like food - it’s intimidating to a lot of people, myself included.

Lakshmi frames wine as a vast, complex “universe,” paralleling it with food—another domain where knowledge can feel endless and expertise is often socially policed. By admitting intimidation “myself included,” she punctures the aura of connoisseurship and suggests that uncertainty is normal even for accomplished food-world professionals. The quote implicitly critiques gatekeeping: if wine culture feels forbidding, it may be because it is presented through jargon, status signals, and rigid rules rather than pleasure and curiosity. Her comparison encourages a more approachable attitude—treat wine like food: something to explore through taste, context, and personal preference rather than fear of getting it wrong.