Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog

"Screw'em": The Revolutionary Success of Wine X Magazine

Time Magazine online published a nice piece about wine educator Karen MacNeil's new PBS series, "Wine Food & Friends". Good for Karen. She deserves the attention and accolades.

Yet buried in the article is evidence that one small, once despised, publication has radically changed the way we who write about wine..write about wine. The article's author, Terry McCarthy, describing Karen's "unconventional" way of talking about wine:

"When she does talk about wine she uses unconventional, even coquettish, language: 'like Sean Connery, masculine and meaty', a Sauvignon Blanc is 'the bad girl of white wine with mismatched earings and stiletto heels.'"

Now, about ten years ago, a good friend of mine, Darryl Roberts, concluded that the American wine industry was completely ignoring younger drinkers. So, he started a little magazine just for youngsters: Wine X. It was trashed by the establishment for being juvenile, improperly derisive of the current form of wine writing, and for it's unconventional way of describing wines. Sound familiar??

It was Wine X Magazine that debuted the idea of comparing wines to movie stars, singers, song lyrics and TV shows, of using unconventionally common language, all the while tossing overboard the 100 point ratiing scale. I can't even describe in this family format the kind of invective that was slung Darryl's way by many in the wine industry who thought his approach to wine writing actually hurt the profession. His retort? "Screw'em".

Today the practice of of leaving aside the usual references to a wine's "startling finish" or its "unctuous notes loganberry and cassis" and instead using the X-Language is pretty commonplace. It's because Darryl said, "Screw'em"

Walking a Fine Line

The assumption any blogger makes is that they have something to say that may be of interest to someone else. This assumption may be overrated. Nevertheless, here at Fermentation it applies. A bit more on the application of this view...

Cynicism is unavoidable. If you read the wine media you see it on display in fairly blatant ways. Some wine writers specialize in cynicism. It is that state of mind that propels some writers to question the real purpose of the winemaker. It is the result of tasting large numbers of wines that are clearly made for the market rather than for the mind. Cynicism is bred after hearing some excitable marketing type tell you once again that "this wine exudes terroir", when they really mean to say, "the idea of terroir's hot, isn't it?".

Well, I'm a member of that group of wine marketers that is probably most responsible for allowing the crushing kind of cynicism that can alienate palate after palate. I'm a public relations consultant that specializes in promoting the bottlings of small to medium sized vintners. And I'm pretty good at it. But, I'm a cynic too.

Read Fermentations on an ongoing basis and you'll understand a cynicism that results from a career in wine public relations. But you'll also come to understand why I know the work I do is important...even subversive, in a "Down-with-the-WTO" kind of way.

We are going to talk about wine, how it's covered in the press, my trials and successes and failures, and the way wine marketing intersects with American culture and society.

I'll be fun...right?

Walking a Fine Line

The assumption any blogger makes is that they have something to say that may be of interest to someone else. This assumption may be overrated. Nevertheless, here at Fermentation it applies. A bit more on the application of this view...

Cynicism is unavoidable. If you read the wine media you see it on display in fairly blatant ways. Some wine writers specialize in cynicism. It is that state of mind that propels some writers to question the real purpose of the winemaker. It is the result of tasting large numbers of wines that are clearly made for the market rather than for the mind. Cynicism is bred after hearing some excitable marketing type tell you once again that "this wine exudes terroir", when they really mean to say, "the idea of terroir's hot, isn't it?".

Well, I'm a member of that group of wine marketers that is probably most responsible for allowing the crushing kind of cynicism that can alienate palate after palate. I'm a public relations consultant that specializes in promoting the bottlings of small to medium sized vintners. And I'm pretty good at it. But, I'm a cynic too.

Read Fermentations on an ongoing basis and you'll understand a cynicism that results from a career in wine public relations. But you'll also come to understand why I know the work I do is important...even subversive, in a "Down-with-the-WTO" kind of way.

We are going to talk about wine, how it's covered in the press, my trials and successes and failures, and the way wine marketing intersects with American culture and society.

I'll be fun...right?