The Amazing Wine Drinking Ass

My email box tends to be full most of the time. Not as full as others, but full enough. The cool thing about FERMENTATION is that most people who want to write an email about something I’ve written tend to just post a comment.

But sometimes they send an emal and don’t comment. Sometimes they don’t leave a name either. Sometimes there vocabulary is, well, descriptive. For example:

"You and your F*cking wine blog awards can kiss my wine-drinking ass. You are nothing but a self promotional whore who’s opinion is worth about as much as the ones and zeros they are delivered by. Nothing!!!

"How coincidental that that two of "wark communications" clients won awards. What a scam. The least I can say about you is at least you didn’t give one to yourself. How did that happen Mr. Fermentation?

At least folks like the Wine Spectator and the other wine rags are up front about being bought out. Their ratings are their payback. But your little awards are deceptive, there to promote your clients, and just another way to get your name on the Internet.

I have an idea on how to change them: Junk them."

Is it just me, or is anyone else curious top see this e-mailer’s "wine drinking ass" in action? Maybe that’s not exactly what he meant.

I’m not sure what to make of this e-mail other than someone is angry. I understand that. I get angry too. But it might also be an indication that there are others who have questions. So for the record, no Wark Communication clients won any of the Amerian Wine Blog Awards. As for the "self-promotional" part of the charge, There’s no question that visits to Fermentation jumped as folks were making nominations and voting. However, it should be noted that in the press releases that announced the finalists and the winners that was sent over the wires and to about 600 wine and food writers, I could have made Fermentation the only link in the release, rather than placing links to all the finalists and the winners. That sure would have driven traffic to Fermentation.

I’d also note, for the record, that there is no evidence and has been no evidence that the Wine Spectator sells ratings. Imagine the one thing that could put that magazinie out of business: Selling ratings. Doesn’t happen and won’t happen. And if you think it does that only means you recently got a rating for your wine from them that you didn’t think was deserved or you have no idea what you are talking about.

So yes, my e-mail box is often full. But today there is one less e-mail sitting there.


18 Responses

  1. TJ - March 1, 2007

    Interesting, you know I wasn’t that interested in the Awards and the 50 million posts about them; other than the winners. You know what I did? I read other blogs! AMAZING isn’t it?! One could CHOOSE to read or ignore an entry! STUNNING!!!

  2. tom - March 1, 2007

    What a concept, TJ! Well said.

  3. Jeff Lefevere - March 1, 2007

    Well, he reads your site frequently and sounds like he keeps up with what is being said at the most influential wine blog in the wine industry.
    Dudes that hide behind anonymous emails are of the same caliber of people that infer rumor on message boards. It’s a lot more artful to say the same thing in a diplomatic way and be upfront about your identity.
    Don’t let the bastards wear you down.
    Jeff

  4. tom - March 1, 2007

    Jeff:
    All too true!
    However, I can’t get past the image of a “wine drinking ass”. Do you think he meant the animal or the….Oh, never mind. Let’s not go there.

  5. eljefe - March 1, 2007

    Yeah, it gives “a nice long finish” a whole new meaning…

  6. Mary B. - March 2, 2007

    What a trip! I hope he has the guts to follow up here in the comments section. Or at least email me. I never get cool mail like this. I for one am grateful and honored to be a finalist, and I would like to thank Tom again for his hard work. Whether a blogger is a retired consumer, a homemaker, or a wine professional, it should be the quality and content of the writing that matters.

  7. Justin Smith - March 2, 2007

    I guess my question is, who seriously spends the time to write that email? Seriously…?

  8. ken - March 2, 2007

    Maybe the guy has trained a donkey to produce his tasting notes. “…wine-drinking ass” indeed.

  9. Paul Gregutt - March 2, 2007

    Writers, whatever their medium, better have mighty thick skins. Consider this unusually offensive e-mail a skin-toughener. Then move on and forget about it. You do a fine job and you are entitled to a little self-promotion.
    PaulG

  10. Gregg Johnson - March 2, 2007

    Wow
    That was certainly uncalled for. The voting was public and you had nothing to do with the winners. You have to have thick skin to be in this business.

  11. Golly - March 4, 2007

    OK, so it may have been a typo, but I love the way you describe the correspondence as e-mal. Bad-e!

  12. Joe - March 4, 2007

    All Awards events will inevitably spark controversy. Thanks for the disclosures. Bizarre how many people think a magazine could actually consistently publish good ratings on bad wine and maintain a fan base.

  13. Randy - March 6, 2007

    I find it a bit amusing that you bothered to write a post about this. It gives that person’s email more of an audience than it deserved.
    Besides, you never can tell what that person was up to before sending that email, the drive home he or she had from work that day, the argument he or she had with his or her significant other, maybe getting fired from their job…
    Ah, poop. Just shrug and move on.
    –R

  14. Jo Diaz - March 8, 2007

    I’ve had a client who’s an advertiser get a 68 score… So, that disproves that point. — j

  15. paul - March 8, 2007

    I do believe that Wine Spectator favors its advertisers, not necessarily with high scores but with coverage. It seems to me that most magazines tend to do this regardless of industry. I’ll suggest that a magazine which relies on advertising dollars must by necessity cover more heavily those producers which can afford to advertise. The smaller producers get token coverage, out of proportion to their numbers.

  16. The Wine Commonsewer - March 13, 2007

    The delete key looms large.
    Interesting what people will say to you in an email or on a website compared to what they would say to you in person. Doubt that WD Ass would have the courage to say it to your face.

  17. http://travelhappier.org/2012/10/22/holidays-engagements/ - July 4, 2013

    256 smashed cars

  18. http://jsbywy.com/home.php?mod=space&uid=33861 - July 4, 2013

    Liu production, we do not go above plus room to play?


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