Dec 8, 2005
The second Symposium for Professional Wine Writers is scheduled for March 6-9, 2006. One the one hand it’s hard to believe this is only the second year such a gathering has been organized. On the other hand, it’s very good thing. Wine writing as a literature sub category has a very long history. It’s the English who defined the genre, the Americans who popularized it and the Internet that is changing it. So, what is the Symposium? "The Symposium for…
Nov 29, 2005
I was on the phone earlier today with a wine writer. They needed a sample of a client’s wine for an article they were working on (I obliged, of course, understand the basic truth "if they can’t taste it, they can’t write about it). In the course of our discussion that ranged from Terroir to Writing, we found ourselves bumped up against two "absurdities" that exist in the wine world. The recognition of both these absurdities rendered us both speechless…
Nov 29, 2005
The international row between Robert Parker, Australia’s James Halliday and others from the land down under is interesting insofar as it touches on the issue of wine styles, heady wines vs more delicate wines, and the ability of an individual to detect the best of a country’s output. But what’s more interesting is the fact that the "discussion" between these two immensely influential wine writers exists at all. In Robert Parker’s October-issued rundown of Australian wines he gushes over…
Nov 21, 2005
Fredric Koeppel is one of the best wine writers and wine reviewers in the business. He spent 20 years as the wine writer for the Memphis Commercial Appeal and now he’s now maintaining KoeppelOnWine.com. It is a treasure trove of great wine reviewing. He charges $48 per year to subscribe, which gets you access to all past reviews and stories. But here’s the kicker. You also get this with a subscription: Contact Me Personally for Consultation Get Advice about Buying,…
Nov 21, 2005
BOOK REVIEW"Thirsty Work" by Matt Skinner (Running Press) There is a market out there, and a fairly large one, for books that seek to educate the masses on wine. In fact, if you look across the spectrum of wine books you’ll find that the majority tend to be "for dummies" "for the average Joe", an "introduction to", the "Basics of" and other such titles that assume no more than a rudimentary understanding of wine by those who will buy the…