Wine Journalism seems to be on the rise. Two new wine magazines will be finding their way to market in the next couple of months. Both are focusing on niche markets, rather than taking on the whole universe of wine. This is the way of the publishing world today and it has been this way for some time now: narrow the focus of your coverage and zero in on a specific group that will be more loyal…all the time building…

It appears that "Vin De Merde" is approved for consumption in France. That’s not fair is it. Let me rephrase. It appears that "Vin de Merde" is approved for discussion in France. This is the final outcome of a somewhat bizarre case that put on display not only French regional sensibilities about local wines but also the rather restrictive interpretation of Freedom of Speech that the land of Liberty employs. In 2002 French courts fined "Lyon Mag" the equivalent of…

What’s a good newspaper wine column look like? It’s a question that has had a lot of different types of answers over the years. The best newspaper wine columnists are few and far between. Once they arrive on the scene and are recognized for their talent, they tend to fair pretty well, jumping often into magazines, then perhaps organizing wine competitions, and always being asked to judge at them. Sometimes their reputation of knowledgeable and readable prose get them book…

Going against the stodgy grain of traditional wine marketing and wine writing is commonplace today. You see a number of funky, left of center, youth oriented labels everywhere. And, a number of writers and publications these days devote themselves to demystifying wine in a way that puts the beverage in the context of popular culture. So, It might be hard to imagine how revolutionary Wine X Magazine was in 1997 when Darryl Roberts founded it and promised a little "Wine,…

I read a LOT about wine…it’s almost embarrassing. And I’m pretty good at being able to skim over even the longest of stories and pull out the nuggets, the "take away" message. But sometimes, I’m stopped in my tracks as I move though a story. I was stopped in my tracks this morning when I came across this paragraph in a story about a Burgundian producers in China Daily: "As part of their reasoned prevention scheme, sexual-confusion capsules are used…