Wine itself is worthy of deep intellectual discussion, relating to a huge breadth of specialized knowledge: chemistry, biology, social sciences, logistics, engineering, agriculture and so on.
And sure, discussing wine can be posturing. It can also serve as a simple topic to establish social connection for people who are otherwise not entirely comfortable.
From there you can ask questions about what people care about, what they are afraid of, what they love, what they would do in a world without wine, experienced they have had or how they would act in a difficult hypothetical situation.
Ideas, experiences and people don’t have to be entirely discrete things.
And sure, discussing wine can be posturing. It can also serve as a simple topic to establish social connection for people who are otherwise not entirely comfortable.
From there you can ask questions about what people care about, what they are afraid of, what they love, what they would do in a world without wine, experienced they have had or how they would act in a difficult hypothetical situation.
Ideas, experiences and people don’t have to be entirely discrete things.