Aug 4, 2009
I wish I knew more about civil lawsuits. If I did I might be able to understand just exactly how the restaurant chain Denny's could possibly be held responsible and even punished for disclosing that there is lots of salt in their food. This is exactly what they are facing. I understand, kind of how MacDonald's could be be sued for giving scalding coffee to drivers who, if they spilled it, could seriously hurt themselves. We are talking about an…
Jul 31, 2009
If there are universal truths that pertain to most people's view of wine (or most other industries') marketing tools, the following comment likely sums up one of them: "I personally do not like reading a rewritten press release just as much as I dislike reading them as is." The disdain most people express for the press release is only slightly less than the expression of disdain many people offer for the "PR Flack" or "hired gun" or, as I like…
Jul 28, 2009
Yesterday, Inertia Beverage Group (a Wark Communications client) acquired the assets of New Vine, the Napa-based logistics firm specializing in delivering wine through a variety of methods. The current accumulation of press coverage of this event is listed below. BusinessWire: Inertia Beverage Group Statement on New Vine Acquisition San Francisco Business Times: IBG Nabs New Vine Logistics for $4.5 Million in Foreclosure Auction, By Chris Rauber Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Inertia Wines Auction for New Vine Assets, By Kevin McCallum…
Jul 27, 2009
As quickly as it turned to a subscription model, Appellation America has pulled the plug on it’s operations. There are some significant lessons here. The publishers of this groundbreaking on-line wine site will be announcing this soon. Not more than a couple weeks into beginning to sell subscriptions to the on-line editorial and information website Appellation America, the owners decided to stop taking subscriptions, dismiss its impressive editorial staff, discontinue the publishing of any new content and let the site…
Jul 24, 2009
Today, in response to the perceived and real "Wine Blogger Bashing" that has been occurring occasionally here and there, someone will proclaim: "Prove Them Wrong With Every Post."This is sage advice and comes from someone who knows of what they speak. However, let me say to those bloggers who HAVE in the past suggested that the mainstream wine media is out of touch, or are the past, or are too threatened by bloggers and to the mainstream wine media folks…