In the very end, public relations professionals tell stories. That’s what we do. On the pages of a press release, inside brochures, while giving speeches, when on the phone with journalists…it’s all about telling the client’s story. Of course, the best and most important method of imparting the client’s story is when you sit them down, face to face, with a journalist. I facilitate such meetings alot. There are times when these meetings don’t go well. The client and journalist…

For many years now popular culture has been a driving force behind the emergence of marketing and consumer trends. Whether its clothing worn by pop stars, areas of the country that seem hip because the stars have moved there, or creation of hot autos due to their appearance in a hit movie, products and trends can take on new life if pop culture just embraces them. Wine, however, has been bypassed in pop culture’s trendsetting potentialities. Will the movie “Sideways”…

I spoke with a fine gentleman yesterday about a new website they are developing that will review wines from the perspective of a real consumer. That is to say, reviews with less wine speak and an emphasis on value. Do we really need another website to review wines? Sure, why not. Yet, the prospect of one more review panel brings up an important consideration for the small and medium sized winery: Is the potential marketing value of a good review…

Time Magazine online published a nice piece about wine educator Karen MacNeil’s new PBS series, “Wine Food & Friends”. Good for Karen. She deserves the attention and accolades. Yet buried in the article is evidence that one small, once despised, publication has radically changed the way we who write about wine..write about wine. The article’s author, Terry McCarthy, describing Karen’s “unconventional” way of talking about wine: “When she does talk about wine she uses unconventional, even coquettish, language: ‘like Sean…

The assumption any blogger makes is that they have something to say that may be of interest to someone else. This assumption may be overrated. Nevertheless, here at Fermentation it applies. A bit more on the application of this view… Cynicism is unavoidable. If you read the wine media you see it on display in fairly blatant ways. Some wine writers specialize in cynicism. It is that state of mind that propels some writers to question the real purpose of…