[ Editor’s note: the following screed is nearly 1500 words long. The Cliff Notes version, for those who are in a hurry: be very careful about where you take your advice regarding wine and social media, lest you miss out on worthwhile authoritative voices/resources (as a consumer) or miss opportunities to build brand awareness and…
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On The Death Of Sommelier Journal (Or “The Nigh Impossibility Of Building Wealth As A Wine Writer”)
By now many of you will have heard that Sommelier Journal is ceasing publication. The news came to me via SJ editor David Vogels, who several days ago issued an email to those writers who had contracted work with the magazine. I happen to be one of those writers, having only weeks ago completed a…
California Winemakers May Routinely Use Formulas To Achieve Certain Scores
During one of my many recent Left Coast jaunts, I had a rather disturbing conversation with a California winemaker over dinner. It’s a conversation that haunted me for weeks afterward, until I could catch up with that particular winemaker (who needs to remain anonymous for reasons that should become obvious very quickly) and get more…
Does The Wisdom Of The Crowd Provide Better Wine Reviews Than The Experts?
[ WARNING: following is one of my lengthy diatribes. If you’re the lazy and impatient busy type, skip to the summary! ] Do you believe that fine wines are multi-faceted? What I mean is, do fine wines change over time, present different shades and complexities of aromas and flavors? Well… duh… If you agree that…