Live in Los Angeles for a while, and you’ll overhear plenty of conversations about the film industry. These can come at any moment, no matter if you’re standing in line at Intelligentsia, waiting for a steampunk perfect cup of coffee, or overhearing a wactor (waiter actor) complaining about “the business” at a nearby table. And a fairly popular topic in all of these is the fear of being typecast.
For example: If a guy has dark hair, brown eyes, wears an undue amount of gold, and greets people with a “ow yous doin’,” people assume he is Italian. None of these traits individually would lead to such a deduction, but this is what the masses, partially thanks to “The Sopranos,” often associate with Italian Americans. Italy is not alone in being stereotyped, but it seems to be one of the more popular countries targeted. This narrowing of understanding unfortunately translates to Italian wines as well.
Quick! Name an Italian red wine and an Italian white. Scan the country for answers and you will hear two things immediately, Chianti and Pinot Grigio. While this is technically true, it is also reductionist to an epic degree.
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