Archive for the ‘Wine Media’ Category
The sticks by which we measure success and utility vary widely, don't you think? Consider wine. A wine might be considered successful or useful on a scale of 1-100 or with five stars or with a fortunately combination of adjective. You can measure a wine's success by looking at its sales or its regularly increasing price or by the number of stores or restaurants in which it is found. With nearly everything produced and nearly everyone who tries, some stick…
Maybe it shouldn't be the case, but I find it far more enjoyable to look writers in the face and hear their words than to read their words remotely. This was confirmed last night when I sat in a room with a bevy of wine writers at the Wine Bloggers Conference in Charlottesville, Virginia and dined and drank and talk. The blogger face-to-face was meant, simply, to bring together a lot of interesting people and talk blogging, wine and life….
In the course of commenting on a recent post, a Fermentation reader, Amy, made the following cogent comment: "Any writer who swallows a press release whole without investigation is not doing their job." It got me thinking about press releases related to the wine industry and the level of news they tend to contain. Here's the thing: Some press releases issued from wine-related sources have some degree of news. If it does, that nugget of news tends to be wrapped…
I often wonder why the issue of "wine writer ethics" seems to raise its head on such a regular basis. Most recently a highly respected and accomplished English writer, Fiona Beckett, broached the subject. Fiona reiterated the obvious: Critics shouldn't take gifts from the folks who's products they are critiquing. On the other hand, she notes, traveling on the dime of trade associations to wine regions and accepting wine samples from producers doesn't cross the line. The great writer Jamie…
A damned interesting event occurred recently that has nearly slipped under the radar. "Damned interesting" may seem hyperbole to most of you but to those who gravitate toward the historical, political and regulatorial (that's not really a word), this event is pretty interesting. Not long ago, the good people at the Center for Alcohol Policy (a National Beer Wholesaler of America creation) took it upon themselves to see to the re-printing and re-release of what might be the most influential…
