Six Degrees of Separation

Six people. Six stories. And the many ways they all fit together.

You know someone who knows someone else who knows yet another person who, it turns out, knows you. Confused? Don’t be.

Six degrees of separation is the idea that everyone is connected to every other person on the planet through six steps — or fewer. Most of us know the concept from the 1993 movie of the same name, or maybe the party game, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. The gist: Sit around with a group of pop trivia-minded friends and, after a few boozy drinks, try to link everyone you know to the Hollywood actor in six steps or less. (Why Bacon? The actor once said he figured he’d worked with everyone in Hollywood.)

But the idea actually dates back to a Hungarian writer named Frigyes Karinthy who wrote a story — pre-Facebook — about it. Then a fellow named John Guare turned it into a play, which became the movie, which morphed into the game. You get the picture. We at Wine Access started talking about the concept one day because we know that, when it comes to wine, some days it feels like everyone has something in common, far beyond a simple passion for wine.

To prove it, here are six fascinating people with strong ties in the wine industry. How are they connected? Myriad ways, from school to music and, of course, Kevin Bacon.

Photo by NASA Goddard Photo and Video

Written by Amanda Allison, Shelley Boettcher, Anthony Gismondi, Kurtis Kolt and Darren Oleksyn