Modesty Takes a Holiday
I don’t usually take time to use this blog to say nice things about myself or the blog itself or to highlight what others have said about me or this blog. Modesty is a virtue, said the PR Guy.
In fact, I’ve always said, if my name shows up in the media it’s because I’m not doing the job I should for my clients because it’s their names and their efforts that are supposed to be of interest to commentators and reporters.
Yet, I used to work at PR agency where myself and 5 or 6 other "associates" busily carried out the work of our winery clients. Every now and then our names would show up in the media a la, "Joe Smith, a spokesperson for XYZ Winery, said…." We used to keep score. Who would have their name show up in the media most between January and December? The person with the most mentions had dinner of their choice paid for by the other associates. I always was buying the dinner.
That said, it sure was nice to see FERMENTATION show up on Typepad’s "Featured Blogs" page today. I’ve never actually seen a review of FERMENTATION before. So, it was interesting to read. Granted, these nice folks are concerned about how some is using their blogging platform as much as focusing on the work of the blogger. Still….
"Tom Wark is a communications specialist in the wine industry, providing
strategy for wineries and wine-related firms. So it’s no surprise that
Tom is passionate about the wine world. But it’s the fact that he’s an
obsessed media junkie that makes him a vintage blogger. Fermentation
is a must-read for anyone in the wine business. This is not the place
to go if you’re looking for someone to tell you what bottle of red you
should serve at your dinner party Friday night, but perusing any of
130+ "Wine Blogs You Need To Read" in the right nav bar might give you
some ideas. Tom makes good use of his categories. Those interested in
the business side of the wine world can go directly to Wine Business
and Public Relations and Wine, while those interested in sipping this blog can get a more digestible range of topics from 10 ThingsWine Education.
Tom has 17 years of experience under his belt and has been blogging on
Fermentation since 2004. Read the whole thing and you could train a
sommelier afterward — or start your own label."
CAVEAT: We don’t recommend anyone use Fermentation as a training manual for sommeliers. No one likes a partially cynical, self-indulgent, media-obsessed person pouring their wines for them.
On your CAVEAT: Let alone someone who has a general disregard for wholesalers; not that you’re entirely off base, but if you happen to be a sommelier, one could not survive in the restaurant business without having an interactive relationship with his wholesaler suppilers.
Larry,
How are you?
There are indeed many other reasons not to make FERMENTATION a manual for a sommelier. And one other Caveat: I don’t believe that a wine industry could exist without wholesalers. Without them we are doomed. I just quibble with the idea of the wholesaler tier being mandated by the state.
Cheers,
Tom…
Congratulations on the nice mention.
As an aside, I find it amusing that writers would quote you as a spokesperson for the winery. No offense, but the only time I’d quote a winery PR person is if I were writing about winery PR. That got drilled into me early in my writing life. As you say, the wine makers and the owners are the story, and they’re where you want the attention.
Derrick:
It usually only happens in the context of a business story when the reporter is only looking for a statement of position on an issue from a winery or company. We don’t get quoted on strict wine stories.
Tom…
Congratulations, Tom! You deserve a holiday from modesty. Your site is one of only a few I check every morning.
Congrats on the highlight, and I would say that there are worse things than tooting your own horn.
–R
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Modesty Takes a Holiday
It is always fun to get a pat on the back