Oct 25, 2007
We send out press releases at Wark Communications. Of late, many of them and for various clients. I don’t like press releases very much mainly because they are 1) impersonal and 2) even when the list of those folks you are sending them too is well vetted and well developed over time, it still feels like using a shotgun to blast a whole in the door when a simple knock will do. But to this feeling I have to add…
Oct 24, 2007
In the comments section of an earlier post this week about a new book on philosophy and wine, Richard from A Passionate Foodie made note that there was in fact a second book recently published that also deals with the convergence of wine and philosophy: "Questions of Taste: The Philosophy of Wine", Edited by Barry C. Smith. I obtained that book and like the earlier one I posted about, "Wine & Philosophy: A Meritage of Ideas", it tills deeply into…
Oct 1, 2007
Eric Arnold once sold a joke to Jay Leno for $50. Oh yea, he’s also an editor at The Wine Spectator magazine. He also happens to be the author of a new "wine book" (that’s a loose explanation of what the book really is) that is about as different as it could be from your typical book in the wine genre. "First Big Crush: The Down and Dirty on Making Great Wine…Down Under" is a chronicle of Arnold’s year in…
Sep 17, 2007
I hesitated to provide the quote below. The reason is that it suggests that the article written by Clark Smith at Appellation America is not the best, most thoughtful exploration of "The Big Wine" phenomenon yet written. In fact, that’s what it is. Rather, by providing this quote, it suggests that Clark’s "Some Like It Hot" article is just one more lobbing of a bomb. It’s not. It’s much more. However, this small piece of Clark’s article, which does indicate…
Sep 6, 2007
I sense a change or perhaps "evolution" in the world of wine blogging. It’s not so much a change in the way wine bloggers are blogging, but rather a change in the way observers of wine blogs are observing. In part this sense I have comes from the fact that I am now receiving upwards of around 5 press releases or story pitches sent to me on a daily basis. I have to admit it remains a bit weird for…