Mar 4, 2021
There is proper etiquette and there are good rules for those seeking to engage in #WineTwitter or any other form of social media when the wine person or people you are conversing with are not in front of your face. They are simple rules and simple etiquette and if you adhere to them you will stay safe and happy. 1. It’s just wine. 2. Never assume the worst first about a person. 3. Know to whom you are talking or…
Feb 24, 2021
Diversity and inclusion in the wine industry have been top of mind for some while now within the trade. And it seems appropriate that this topic has been frequently addressed by the industry’s communicators: media, writers, and reporters. Let’s state for clarity the obvious: There is no downside to a diverse contingent within the communications side of the wine industry. If you need proof of this, think back to the time when blogs emerged on the scene and there was…
Jan 24, 2021
Do wine companies gain or lose by being vocal on social and political issues? I’ve had an opportunity to advise a number of clients on this question over the years. In almost every case when a divisive social or political issue has arisen it has been my advice that the company does not take a public stand. But I have either had to revisit my initial question above in the wake of 2020 when so often the question of race,…
Jan 19, 2021
If you were to ask how the recent catastrophe at the U.S. Capitol implicated the alcohol industry, you’d be hard-pressed to find that connection. Ideologically, alcohol is a pretty non-partisan affair. So, it was very interesting to see one of America’s most prominent alcohol trade associations, the National Beer Wholesalers of America (NBWA), connected to the fallout from the storming of the Capitol. Media reports on the political fallout of the storming of the Capitol have in part focused on…
Jan 7, 2021
Wine has most often in history been used as a tool for mood alteration. The alcohol in wine provides a path to calming nerves, to lighten the mood, to come down from a heightened state of intensity. Today, it’s fair to say, Americans find themselves in a heightened state of intensity and insecurity, and for good reason. It’s not every year you find your world dissolved by an invisible killer, your world-view challenged by growing hordes of ideologically strident partisans,…