(VinePair) - A trend is ravaging American media. A series of hot takes purporting to take down the wine industry has been steadily carving out a niche on the internet, claiming that wine experts are a hoax and expensive wine is bogus.

It started back in 2010 with a “Freakonomics Radio” episode that had some surprising news about how wine tastes. “Believe it or not, the most dominant flavor may be the dollars,” the producers declared. In fact, they went on, the industry is so riven with falsity that “wine experts should just put a cork in it.” The episode zeroed in on wine enthusiasts in two blind tastings who could not tell the less expensive wine from the more expensive wine. It also referenced a study that found that in blind tastings, average consumers actually enjoyed cheap wines more than expensive ones. In other words, the folks at “Freakonomics” concluded, more expensive wine just isn’t any better than the cheaper stuff.