wine
Explanation
The Joke
A couple is at a restaurant. The man mentions that a particular wine pairs well with fish or chicken, but the woman corrects him, saying "No it doesn't." She explains that she has read the science showing that the idea that you can tell good wine from bad is merely a social convention. The man, seemingly agreeing, says "So you're here because..." and the woman finishes: "Watch wine work best with the quiet satisfaction of knowing that even experts can't tell fine wine from cheap."
The waiter then recommends "a Chardonnay and cherry Kool-Aid blend," which the woman finds "Magnifique!"
The Humor
The comic satirizes the well-known wine snobbery debate. There is genuine scientific research showing that in blind taste tests, even trained wine experts often cannot reliably distinguish expensive wines from cheap ones, and that much of wine appreciation is driven by expectations, labels, and social context rather than objective taste differences.
The woman positions herself as intellectually superior for knowing this science, but the punchline reveals that she is still at a fancy restaurant ordering wine -- she has simply replaced one form of snobbery (wine connoisseurship) with another (intellectual smugness about debunking wine connoisseurship). She enjoys wine not for its taste but for the "quiet satisfaction" of feeling smarter than other wine drinkers.
The final panel takes this to its absurd conclusion: if wine quality truly does not matter, then a blend of Chardonnay and cherry Kool-Aid should be perfectly acceptable -- and she enthusiastically agrees, demonstrating her commitment to the bit even when it reaches an obviously ridiculous extreme.