Life's Pleasures Quote by Mario Lemieux

Lemieux’s shrug at wine-pairing etiquette lands like a quiet deke around an old gatekeeper. “I just drink what I like” isn’t foodie philistinism; it’s a statement about permission. For decades, wine culture sold itself as a mix of expertise and anxiety: the right bottle, the right glass, the right pairing, the right pronunciation. Lemieux strips that down to a consumer truth that’s been building for years: taste is personal, and the performance of taste is optional.

The second line - “a lot of people are going towards that now” - is doing more work than it seems. He’s not only describing a trend; he’s marking a cultural handoff. The old model treated wine as a credential, something you “learn” so you can’t be caught out. The new model treats it like music streaming: explore, follow your palate, ignore the supposed rules. That shift tracks with broader lifestyle culture where the authority of experts has been dented by influencers, direct-to-consumer brands, and a general skepticism toward rituals that feel designed to exclude.

Coming from an athlete, the stance is especially pointed. Sports stardom carries its own codes of masculinity and authenticity, and Lemieux’s casualness reads as anti-pretension rather than anti-craft. He’s not rejecting good wine; he’s rejecting the social tax attached to it. In a world where people curate everything, his line makes pleasure sound refreshingly uncurated.