Wine and television have never made for easy allies. Over the past twenty years, heralded by the 'foodie' revolution, there has been an explosion in all varieties food shows populating television schedules. Throughout this time, wine – food's natural companion has remained largely on the sidelines, the undesired debutant, occasionally afforded a brief foray onto the ballroom floor and then promptly returned to the sidelines.

Wine fails to fit the hegemonic ideology mantras of contemporary British food television – freshness, positivity and aspirational approachability. The pretty, young food truck operator eagerly sprinkling vibrant coriander leaves on the tacos they prepare with great energy and 'passion' is to producers of television a far more attractive proposition than the haggard French vigneron guardedly explaining the arcane witchcraft that it takes to produce his wine.

When wine is the subject of modern television's gaze, it is always with a degree of awkwardness. The most common type of cameo is in the form of zany man in a loud shirt, selecting something from a supermarket wine aisle in an ancillary segment to the main cookery feature. When wine is allowed a more prominent role, it is granted little freedom. ITV's – The Wine Show provides good example, hosted by non-wine professionals who play up a sort jovial blokeishness, whilst playing down any hint of superior knowledge to the viewer. Everything sipped is in some way superlative no matter how humble a wine.

It was not always like this. Back in the days before New Labour's ascent to power things were different. A fantastic window into this era is a BBC series from 1995 by Jancis Robinson, functionally titled Jancis Robinson's Wine Course. The first episode opens with the hallowed quadrangles of Oxford University. Jancis explains, whilst a student there, a bottle of Chambolle-Musigny ignited her love of wine. It then cuts to sweeping shot of a candle light, white tie dinner at Chateau Margaux. For those that do not know of Chambolle-Musigny or Chateau Margaux – too bad, no explanation is offered. Throughout ten episodes, the supremely confident and knowledgeable Jancis talks about wine with rye detachment, unlike today, everything is not amazing. There is a blunt honesty in the presentation of how wine is made, with little fawning, even over the best she tries.

The episode on Sauvignon Blanc starts with Jancis roundly dismissing the varietal as largely uninteresting, Jancis then introduces us to legendary Loire Valley wine maker Didier Dagueneau, as a loner who's marriage has failed and who prone to drunken bar fights. Yes his wines are good she admits, be the man who makes them is far from an aspirational figure. In most episodes New World wine makers, as well as the successful French ones, are presented as hard nosed capitalists, inoculated against the romantic. The infinite complexity of wine and its history, its subservience to nature, its all too common tales of tragedy and its capability for obscene exclusivity – Jancis Robinson's Wine Course captures more honestly than anything contemporary television capable of.

Jancis Robinson's Wine Course is available to watch on YouTube.