Jun 20, 2013
Gather 1,000s of people in one place and have them all shout out their reason for being there and what you’ll get is noise that can’t be deciphered. However, get them all to shout out the same words at the same time, and you have a powerful voice that can’t be ignored. This is the principle behind any organization of individuals with a unique ideological and principled view on issues that seeks to advance their interests. And it is the…
Jun 19, 2013
WINE CONSUMERS HAVE LONG DESERVED AND NEEDED A VEHICLE TO VOICE THEIR INTERESTS—AND TODAY THAT VOICE EXISTS. For more than a decade now, I’ve concerned myself with how wine gets into the hands of consumers. This concern has led me to be involved in and to comment on numerous issues that impact not merely the wine trade, but how consumers access the wines they want. In some cases I’ve acted as an advocate for members of the wine trade who…
Jun 14, 2013
Decanter Magazine and Jim’s Loire Blog, among others, has reported on the recommendation of a powerful group French of health advocates that the “Loi Evin” be liberally applied to wine information on the Internet. To translate, this group is suggesting that wine blogs, social media postings and other online outlets be banned from promoting, advertising or otherwise celebrating wine. Why? Because the French must protect their children from the disastrous impact of being exposed to the idea that Domaine de…
Jun 8, 2013
My sixth Wine Bloggers Conference was approached with trepidation. I’ve been questioning the utility of the semantics of “blogger” and “wine blogger” of late. Also, I knew nothing of Penticton, British Columbia. Finally, very few of my closer blogging-friends and colleagues would be in attendance. The format was the same. Bring together “wine bloggers” in a wine region to discover that region, learn about wines from other parts of the world, explore their wine writing avocation amongst their peers and…
Jun 3, 2013
There is a proposal sitting on the desk of the Feds that, if approved, would expand the Santa Barbara County-based American Viticultural Area called the Sta. Rita Hills. The expansion proposal has been submitted by a grape grower whose vineyards now lie just outside the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. The upshot of that unfortunate placement is that the grower does not get as much money for his grapes than if they were inside the boundary of the Sta. Rita Hills…