Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog

The Wine Blog Award Judges & Some Commentary

In looking for a panel of judges who would contribute 30% of the weight to determining the winners of the American Wine Blog Awards, I was seekng a specific set of qualities. I wanted folks that knew wine, wine consumers and the wine industry. I wanted folks who both were writers and read a lot. I wanted folks who had immersed themselves in the world of Wine Blogs. And I wanted folks who were professionals at communicating. Finally, I wanted folks I knew, knew to be fair and deliberative and who I could trust to be fair.

Those judges were:

Jack Everitt, Fork & Bottle
Jack is one of the two people behind the Fork & Bottle website, a very good writer, a good editor and a gentleman that is well versed in the genre of wine blogging. He has been watching and participating in the food and wine blogging world for quite some time.

Dan Fredman, Dan Fredman Public Relations
Dan is a 25 year veteran of wine retailing and wine marketing and certified wine geek as well as a brilliant communicator and consultant. This means that he's spent quite sometime looking at wine from the consumer perspective, the sellers perspective and knows what good communications looks like.

Steve Heimoff, Wine Enthusiast Magazine West Coast Editor
Steve is among the most passionate professional wine writers I know. He is the author of two books and writes in every issue of Wine Enthusiasts as well as reviews wines regularly for that publication. He is an outstanding writer, knows wine, and is a keen observer of the world of wine and wine consumer.

Derrick Schneider, Obsession With Food
Derrick is a professional writer and puzzle creator who  maintains one of the best food and wine blogs I know: Obsession With Food. Most importantly, he is very well versed in the wine blogosphere and he world of blogs in general, as well as being somewhat obsessive about good writing and communications.

Wolfgang Webber, Wine & Spirits Magazine Senior Editor
Wolfgang is an editor at Wine & Spirits Magazine where he writes on all manner of topics as well as tastes and reviews wines on a regular basis. He recently began his own wine blog, Spume.  This is a person ensconced in the world of wine and what it takes to create a publication as well as create compelling copy for a wine publication.

Tori Wilder, Wilder PR
The former Director of Communications for Napa Valley Vintners and Princess Cruises, Tori now maintains her own PR firm in Napa Valley. I know few people with a better eye for what works in terms of communicating effectively with the general public. She has a remarkable BS Meter. She is unique among wine PR folks in that she tends to first and foremost view the world of wine from the consumer perspective rather than the marketer's perspective.

As I've mentioned before, this years American Wine Blog Awards did something different from the first year: the format for choosing the winners from among the finalists combined the vote of the public and the vote of the judges. The public vote accounted for 70% of the input, while the vote of the judges accounted for 30% of the input.

Before the winners are even chosen, however, our panel of judges are responsible for looking over each of the nominated blogs and assessing them based on the the same general criteria that was created for the nomination process. The judges rank the the nominated blogs and from this ranking process the finalists are determined. I give them a general, rather than quantitative, guideline for assessing the nominated blogs simply because I don't believe there is any possible way to quantify blogging quality. Instead, offering a portrayal or a model of good blogging in each category seems to me the best way to influence the assessment process.

There has been some suggestions here and there that a large panel of judges from across the globe be the responsible party for determining winners of the Wine Blog Awards rather than the public/panel split. Or, that a panel of wine wine bloggers determine the winners giving the Awards something of a Peer-review character. I can't bring myself to do that.

Determining the winners by the vote of a panel of wine bloggers alone simply does not provide accountability by those for whom blogs, or any publication, are predominantly written: the reader. Instead it provides an evaluation by those who possess a perspective of an insider who must be focused more on the process rather than the output. This is an absolutely valid way of evaluating not only wine blogs but any output of any kind. But it's not what I'm looking to do with the American Wine Blog Awards.

Determining the winners by a vote of a judging panel alone, while it might bring a keener and more sculpted perspective to the judging process, it is in the end a panel that offers the perspective of the person who creates the panel. While I'm confident I could create a broad panel of judges that together deliver an eye trained on wine blogging quality, the result would be skewed toward me since I created the panel. While I believe my view of the world to be the most important view in the world, I'm not trying to impose my view of the world on these awards. For these awards I think the panel approach works well for the vetting of the nominees and for determining the finalists. But for determining the winners it is more problematic.

A vote that skews the results to the "reading public" can only be achieved by opening the voting up to all that want to vote and then trying to get the word out about the Awards as widely as possible. Obviously, voters will primarily consist of folks sufficiently wine geeky to spend time in the world of wine blogs and reading about wine in general as well as among those who actually produce wine blogs and who read their peers, though the latter will certainly be the minority in this group. This is exactly as I want it. The inclusion of a panel of judges that contribute 30% of the input toward the ultimate winners help offset any highly successful lobbying on the part of finalists. This year, two categories turned out differently than they would have had only the vote of the public been taken. The public vote overruled the view of the judges in 4 categories. And the judges and public came together in the case of two categories.

Sometime time in 2005, and I can't identify the exact moment, I realized that wine blogs will change the way wine is discovered, the way we learn about wine, the way wine is thought about and the way people seek out advise about their wine choices. For a wine publicist such as myself this was a revelation of the type that changes my daily life, changes the way I do business and changes the way I view my profession. It confirmed that my own blog was not only a good way for me to accommodate my desire to express myself and do business, but it also confirmed that this unique channel of communications should be promoted if the world of wine communication was to be democratized and made far more interesting than it currently was.

The American Wine Blog Awards are a very small attempt at bringing attention to just how good, how useful and how meaningful this category of wine communication can be.

Will there be a 3rd Annual American Wine Blog Awards???

What a good question.

2008 American Wine Blog Award Winners

Anyone who has been paying attention to the development of the world of wine blogs will likely recognize the winners of the 2008 American Wine Blog Awards. They represent a variety of things in this world: The Standard, The Expert, The Innovators, The Dedicated.

The winners are, each of them, proof of what I've been saying for a few years now: wine journalism and wine writing will be be altered and broadened as the best wine bloggers demonstrate quality and professionalism.

The American Wine Blog Awards are not perfect. There are ways the Awards can be improved. But it can't be said that they don't identify truly hardworking, high quality wine blogs and wine bloggers.

This year, the winners were determined by a vote of over 2000 members of the public who were given 70% of the voting power and a panel of 6 judges who were given 30% of the voting power.

Finally, my thanks to all those who participated from the nomination process, to the judges, to those who voted for the finalists I think them very much.

The 2008 American Wine Blog Award Winners:

BEST WINE BLOG WRITING
Vinography
http://www.vinography.com
Last year Alder Yarrow's Vinography took the prize for Best Wine Review Blog. I consider this award offering even broader recognition to what has become the standard bearer of the wine blogging effort. Alder has not built a substantial readership based on marketing and promotion. He's earned it through his thoughtful, insightful writing and analysis.

BEST SINGLE SUBJECT BLOG
Good Wine Under $20
http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com
Deb Harkness, aka Dr. Debs, the LA college professor and wine blogger has probably been the most newly noticed wine blog of the last 12 months or so. This is all due, as far as I can tell, to her enormous passion for both wine and her readers' passions for wine. Her subject matter has of late broadened beyond recollections of her search for good wines under $20. This is very good news because she is quick witted and has an excellent eye for the curious and newsworthy. Yet her focus on value remains true and will likely be what delivers even more readers to her outstanding blog.

BEST WINE BLOG GRAPHICS
Chateau Petrogasm
http://chateaupetrogasm.com
Benjamin Saltzman and Andrew Stuart have done something remarkable. They created something new and very, very good in the world of wine reviewing. When I first came across Chateau Petrogasm I was knocked by in my chair by their graphic approach to reviewing wines. How simple. A single picture to convey their impressions of a wine. The approach is both highly cerebral as well as arresting due to its implications for how sophisticated  and  precise the simplest form of communication can be. There is no doubt a coffee table book in the Chateau Petrogasm's future.

BEST PODCAST OR VIDEOBLOG
Grape Radio
http://www.graperadio.com/
The crew that produces Grape Radio deliver one of the finest wine radio shows in America. And they have for quite some time. In my mind, what sets them apart from other wine related radio broadcast, be they originating on the Internet or via broadcast, is their willingness to treat their listeners with the respect they deserve, not talking down to them and not assuming they all need remedial education. The American Wine Blog Awards is hardly their first piece of recognition. The Grape Radio crew is now twice honored as a James Beard Award Nominee.

BEST WINERY BLOG
Tablas Creek
http://tablascreek.typepad.com
Tablas Creek has one of the longest running winery blogs. Any really good winery blog must impart the experience of working at a winery and running a winery. The Tablas Creek blog not only does this but is able to do so by also imparting the excitement they possess for being in the business, the seriousness with which they take their efforts and with the occasional self deprecating approach. It is a joy to read that takes one inside the head of someone who thinks clearly and communicates clearly about the business and fun of growing grapes and making wine.

BEST WINE REVIEW BLOG
Good Wine Under $20
http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com
This was for me by far the most interesting group of nominees in this year's awards. All four nominees do give their readers an educated and passionate glimpse into their view of the world of wines. Deb Harkness of Good Wine Under $20 did not necessarily win this category running away, but she did win it convincingly, with both the public and the judges. Why? I think it's because voters and judges see in her reviews exactly what we all want when we encounter a wine we've not tasted: an excitement stemming from true discovery. Dr. Debs is clearly becoming an important person in the world of wine blogging and wine reviewing.

BEST BUSINESS BLOG
The Wine Collector
http://www.vinfolio.com/thewinecollector
The raise to win Best Business Wine Blog was easily the closets of them all. In the end, Steve Bachmann's The Wine Collector took the prize, actually garnering the most votes from both the public and the judges. The Wine Collector was the winner of last year's prize for Best Single Subject Wine Blog. This year it was honored for what it does best: deliver exceedingly high level analysis of the wine market and wine selling from the perspective of someone who knows markets and knows about selling wine. Steve's blog posts, however, are not so far in the air above people's heads that they won't appeal to a broad market. What accounts for this is the straightforward nature of his writing. The Wine Collector is a deserving winner.

BEST WINE BLOG
Vinography
http://www.vinography.com
It was not even close. Alder Yarrow's comprehensive take on the world of wine and wine drinking has impressed a host of people for many years now. I don't know a blogger more serious about what he does than Alder. This comes through not only in his comprehensive tastings and unique perspective on the wine news of the day, but also in the seriousness with which he delivers his opinions on a variety of matters relating to wine. There is an importance to recognition and attention that Alder Yarrow's Vinography has gotten across the wine world. With a blog of this caliber being read and watch by so many, it delivers the message that wine blogging is to be taken seriously and has the potential to spawn important voices.

Two Days Left To Vote in Wine Blog Awards

Only two days remain (today and all of tomorrow) during which time you can vote for the winners in the 2008 American Wine Blog Awards. If you have not done so already, I urge you to train your eyes on the various finalists in each category and make your choice.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Note, if you have voted already in some categories, but did not vote in all of them, the survey system allows you to return and complete the voting process. I urge you to do this also. As mentioned in an earlier post, in only a couple categories have any finalists begun to take a comfortable lead.

Thanks for taking part in the American Wine Blog Awards!

Is Knowing More Important Than The Nose?

In a recent story in the San Jose Mercury News, Laurie Daniel explored a topic that remains very important to winemakers and wine geeks: The degree to which Pinot Noir currently does or is capable of exhibiting regionality in its character. Interestingly, the extent to which this issue is important to non-geeks seems to me to extend only as far as the occasional comments by casual wine drinkers that they "like California Pinot more than French" or believe "Oregon Pinot Noir is better than California Pinot."

Of course these kinds of general comments about the source of Pinot aren't exactly what the proponents of terroir and dedication to regionality are looking for.

They are looking more for the kind of schooled judgment that Daniels reported about in her story that looked at a seminar at the last World Of Pinot Noir Event where six Pinots from different parts of California all made from the 115 clone of Pinot were examined. The point of the seminar was to determine if regional difference could be determined between the wines.

Daniels writes:

"The wines had similar color intensity but otherwise did display big differences, but it was nearly impossible to tell whether those differences were due to vineyard location or to factors such as picking decisions, oak treatment or myriad other variables related to the hand of the winemaker."

Mmmm... this is of course the perennial problem: Are we tasting the hand of the winemaker or the hand of God.

I thought about this article as I had dinner on Monday with a group of fine folks in Nashville. In the course of the dinner we tasted a lovely red blend made by Kip Summers from Arrington Vineyards located just outside Nashville. Had I not known the wine was made from Tennessee-grown grapes I could not have guessed under any circumstances that it came from this state. And, I suspect that no one else, not even the most schooled and educated palate on earth, could either.

Houston...we have a problem!

Just how much tasting of wine must be done by an individual, how much competence must they possess in the field of wine before regionality in a wine even matters?

Of course the most interesting question of all is what makes the regionality of a wine matter at all...outside of course for folks like me who work to market wine on the basis of regionality: "This wine is brilliant expression of the unique terroir of X Valley".

I wonder if it's enough, even for the most geeky of wine geeks, to simply know the wine was made from grapes grown in Oakville or "Joe's Vineyard" or Greece or Champagne, etc? I wonder if the importance of the regionality or terroir that a wine expresses is really less important than the simple knowledge that one is drinking something from a particular area?

In the case of the Tennessee wine I was thrilled to know I was drinking a wine from this state that I truly enjoyed. I liked that I was partaking of a particular region's unique fare. It make me feel cosmopolitan and gave me the confidence to state that Tennessee is making some very fine wines.

Is that enough?

Wine Blog Award Snippets

TIGHT RACES
At the moment, all but one of the Wine Blog Award categories are experiencing very tight races. This is a turn of events I did not expect. However, I am somewhat happy things are turning out this way to this point. In one of the categories all four finalists have had the lead by a 15% margin...twice. I must say it is fun to watch. By the end of today we will have upwards of 1000 votes.

THE ALTERNATIVE BAD EMERGES
In a fit of wonderful tongue-in-cheek bravado, combined with not a little earnestness, Jill at Domain 547 has created the antithesis of the "American Wine Blog Award FINALIST" badges you see on most finalists' blogs.  Jill has put Domaine 547's mascot, Budo Kun, to work endorsing an "Official Reject" Badge for use by all those that were not finalists in the Wine Blog Awards. As the perfectly androgynous Budo Kun says on the badge, "You Stink, and I approve!".

Any wine blogger not chosen as a finalist is welcome to download the bad and proudly apply it to their own blogs. You can get the badge HERE.

WOMEN WINE BLOGGERS AND AWARDS.
A vigorous discussion erupted over at Open Wine Consortium about women and wine blogging. The question at hand was, where are the women wine bloggers, are they taken as seriously as men and do the American Wine Blog Awards representative of the Female Wine Blogger Community. Not having done any survey of the representation of women in the wine blogging community, I can't say really respond to any of these questions. However, it is true that 5 of the 21 blogs that are finalists in the Wine Blog Awards are administered by women. I'm not sure what that means.

REMINDERS
The public voting in the American Wine Blog Awards will end at 12:01 on Saturday, March 29. Determination of the winners will be 70% from the public vote and 30% from a vote of a panel of judges.

American Wine Blog Awards Finalists Announced

 

I'm very happy to announce the finalists in the 2008 American Wine Blog Awards and to announce that voting in the Awards is now open.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE IN THE 2008 AMERICAN WINE BLOG AWARDS

The finalists in each category are:

Best Wine Blog Writing

ON THE WINE TRAIL IN ITALY

THE POUR

VINOGRAPHY

750 ML

Best Single Subject Wine Blog

BLAME IT ON RIOJA

CATAVINO

GOOD WINE UNDER $20

THE WINE COLLECTOR

Best Winery Blog

CIMA COLLINA

EL BLOGGO TORCIDO

LA GRAMIERE

TABLAS CREEK

Best Wine Blog Graphics

CHATEAU PETROGASM

DRINKS ARE ON ME

THE GOOD GRAPE

ON THE WINE TRAIL IN ITALY

5. Best Wine Review Blog

BROOKLYNGUY'S WINE & FOOD BLOG

BIGGER THAN YOUR HEAD

GOOD WINE UNDER $20

750 ML

6. Best Wine Podcast of VideoBlog

GRAPE RADIO

NAPA VALLEY WINE RADIO

WINE LIBRARY TV

WINE RENDEZVOUS

Best Wine Business Blog

THE GOOD GRAPE

RETHINK WINE BLOG

SHIP COMPLIANT BLOG

THE WINE COLLECTOR

Best Overall Wine Blog

GOOD WINE UNDER $20

LES GARAGISTES

THE POUR

VINOGRAPHY

The collection of finalists above is a stellar example of all the things that are outstanding about the wine blogosphere. What I hope happens is that you not only take time to vote, but to spend time with these blogs to find in them the quality, professionalism and commitment what those who nominated them and the judges that chose them discovered.

And of course, my hope is that this process of determining the winners of the 2008 Wine Blog Awards will bring more attention to the world of wine blogging.

The judges who chose the finalists worked extremely hard, looking through each of the nominations. They should be congratulated. Their identity will be revealed at the end of the voting process.

So, there they are...the 2008 American Wine Blog Award Finalists..

NOW GO VOTE

Wine Clubs and the Economy

The success of the wine industry is dependent on the state of disposable income. In other words, wine is not a staple in American life, but rather a luxury. Granted, their are a variety of ways one can luxuriate with wine be it through a bottle of "Two Buck Chuck", a nifty 15 Australian Chardonnay or with a $60 Napa Cabernet. But no matter what, it would be a mistake to disregard the fact that wine purchases are not like cereal or energy purchases.

I've often looked for ways to evaluate and measure the state of the American economy and the health of the wine industry. One very simple way of doing this is to look at sales trends? Are wine sales in general selling more? Are higher priced wines flying off the shelf?  Are consumers trading down to lesser priced wines? These figures can tell you quite a bit.

However, yesterday it hit me that there is another type of measurement that can tell us not only the state of the wine industry but of consumer confidence: Wine Club Cancellations.

Anyone who runs a wine club follows cancellations in club memberships very closely. At the very least the level of monthly, quarterly or bi-annual cancellations in a club's memberships tells one the satisfaction level of its members.

Tracking membership cancellations is tricky and dependent on how the club works. For example, every club sees more cancellations right before or directly after a shipment of wines is made. This is for the obvious reason that the person's membership is not top of mind between shipments. It only arrives there when the shipment is imminent or has just arrived. It's only then that the financial consequences or satisfaction level of membership is evaluated.

Still, a certain number of cancellations will occur between shipments also. The good club manager keeps a close eye on cancellation trends and knows what to expect at any given time.

So how about this: My informal survey of a few wineries shows that cancellations of wine club memberships has increased over the past two or three months to a rate not ever seen by some and to a point for others that correlates to times in the past that were clearly recessionary.

This informal survey makes sense. We appear to be moving through an economic moment that is somewhat perilous and consumers confidence in the future of our economy is not great. I'm not an economist, just an observer. But neither am I blind.

The Consumer Confidence Index hasn't been as low as it is now since March of 2003. This measurement of consumers' confidence levels in the American economy has fallen for six out of the last seven months, an ominous movement that correlates to the late 2002/early 2003 period when the run up to and launching of the war in Iraq hit folks like a brick. If you negate the 2003 plunge in the CCI a related to confidence effected by a war rather than an economy then the last time the CCI was at this level was 15 years ago.

Wouldn't it be interesting for someone to work up a Wine Club Cancellation Index. I have no doubt that were it being done for the past 15 years we'd see that at this moment that Index will be in a severe downward trend.

Of course when economic times such as this are with us we learn where the creativity, business acumen and solidity really exists in the wine industry. This is the moment when agile companies and business people put their ingenuity to work. Perhaps those that rely on wine clubs will institute a new type of club that allows the wine lover to still indulge in their periodic box of vinious surprises without breaking their bank. Perhaps some retailers will will find cost effective ways to reach out to previously unappreciated consumer sectors.

Whatever must be done, I think we can say that we are moving through an economic moment that will challenge many in the wine industry.

This Wine is Gay!

I've been thinking about what it means to be Gay.

It's not that the wives of my male friends have to start worrying about my charms. No, instead I've been thinking about the notion of marketing wine to the gay niche. It came about when the folks at the "Food & Wine For the Gay Palate" blog asked if they could post an old entry of mine about the subject of a gay-facing wine website. At this blog there is a truly fascinating post about a wine called "Pansy" that is produced for and marketed to the Gay community.

Now, marketing wine to the Gay community isn't brain surgery. You do it in the same way you'd market wine specifically to the Hispanic community or the Baseball loving community or the community of middle aged snake charmers: you simply speak to them directly in a voice, with an attitude and with language that they'll recognize. In large part it's about paying attention to them and their specific world view.

But what I'm really interested in and what I found fascinating about "Pansy" is the idea of producing a wine that is made for the "gay palate". According to Erica Crawford, Pansy's Co-founder:

"We didn't want to make a winemaker's wine. The first one we made was 4 grams RS (residual sugar); I'd like it bone-dry but it's important to make wine for your consumers, not for yourself."

I get the idea that a wine aimed specifically at the Gay community might naturally be a rose or pink wine. After all, trading on stereotypes that are adopted and even not adopted by groups is a standard method of speaking to a group in voice they will recognize as their own. The association of the color pink with the Gay community is an old and recognizable one. But here, according to Ms. Crawford, the direct implication is that the proper way to make a wine that will appeal to the gay community is to make the wine pretty damn sweet.

I can't figure this out. But I'm trying. A 4% Residual Sugar Rose borders on being slightly alcoholic soda pop. You really need to chill that thing down to make it drinkable. Personally, I'd be pouring it over ice and sipping it while floating on a lounger in the pool on a warm day. It's the kind of wine you give to someone who doesn't drink wine because, "wine's just too sour!". Consider that the vast majority of "White Zinfandel" on the market comes in at about 1% to 3% residual sugar. This one is 4%. A half of percent residual sugar is very noticeable.

Does one's palate become particularly attuned to sweetness once it is determined they are gay?

Or is this just another case of "speaking" to the Gay community in a liquid language that they would recognize?

If this is a case of speaking a liquid language recognizable by Gays then we are witnessing a really intricate form of marketing. It would be a case of recognizing that the sensation of sweetness on the palate is not just a physiological experience whereby sweetness is detected by "G protein" receptors found on tastebuds. It would also be a recognition that "sweetness" experienced on the palate can act as a language that gays can "read" and comprehend as specifically applying to them.

This raises a number of questions. Do gays acquire a taste for sweetness far beyond that of straights by virtue of consuming larger amounts of sweet foods? I don't think so.

Is there a genetic connection between the "gay gene" and a gene for appreciating sweetness on the palate. Who knows? At the least we know this hasn't been demonstrated and I'd be inclined to doubt it.

Instead I think it's a matter of again falling back on stereotypes that work as a form of communication that can be used in marketing. The stereotype of gay men being feminine, "light in the loafers", and drastically unmasculine seems to mesh well with the concept and associations that come with "sweetness". And this begs the question, could a wine made for the gay community be successful were it a big, brawny, tanic, dry Petite Sirah?

I don't know the answer to this question, but I suspect that one could just as easily make and successfully market such a wine to the gay community just by falling back on standard marketing techniques that have the marketer paying real attention to the community it is selling to and speaking in a language that is theirs and that they would recognize.

Still, I'm lead to wonder if their are styles (sweet, dry, big, alcoholic, fruity, earthy) of wines that one would produce specifically for another demographic or community. What kind of wine, for example, would one produce for Golfers or Fans of "Oprah" or Liberals or Rockhounds or Trekkies?

The analysis of the social and intellectual meaning of Sweet, Bitter, Tannic, Dry, Alcoholic, Fruity, Earthy and other wine styles is one that probably deserves some significant investigation. Yet I'm convinced that using any meanings associated with these characteristics of wine to sell more wine to a particular niche group will not work without a explicit pitch to the group through other, more direct means—such as speaking directly to that group and saying, "this wine is for you" just as the folks at Kim Crawford Wines have done with "Pansy".

And what of the name of this wine—"Pansy". Clearly it is a case of the now common practice of groups re-appropriating and embracing a disparaging term in order to diminish its usefulness as a slur—a tool I'm very much in favor of using in a world where language is too often used slap folks around with. Any marketer would have to be extraordinarily careful in using such a tool. Yet in this case it appears to not have caused any problems.

So, this has all set me on a mission: if a style of wine can be used to market that wine to the gay community, I want to try to figure out what style of wine needs to be produced to market specifically to the bland, vanilla, over-bite-while-dancing, wine-country-living, over worked, straight male niche.

A Cache of Wine Info Worthy of Access

I was reminded recently of an amazing resource of which we all ought to be aware.

Josh Hermsmeyer, dedicated winemaker and blogger, sent me a note letting me know that on March 28 the Sonoma County Wine Library will be hosting a talk by Steve Heimoff, author of New Classic Winemakers of California. Steve will be discussing winemaking with five of his New Classic Winemakers including Randy Ullom, Eric Cinnamon, Merry Edwards, Greg La Follette and Michael Terrien. The even will no doubt offer fantastic insight into the current state of winemaking in California.

But what I was reminded of was the Sonoma County Wine Library.

It has been a while since I thought about this wonderful resource, let alone visited the place (it is located in the Count Library in the town of Healdsburg).

These days we scour the Internet seeking the info we need on wines, winemaking, wine history, etc. But here at the Sonoma County Wine Library lies a treasure trove of fascinating historical and technical data on the wine industry.

I recently wallowed in Wine Library's on-line resources, snooping around to remind myself of the various nuggets it held. The nuggets are many.

To-date the Wine Library has not placed its contents on-line. Rather, it delivers abstracts of its contents based on searches. This is a shame. As much as I adore libraries with their rows and stacks and old paper smells, most of us look to the Internet for our research needs. What a boon to the the world it would be if rather than being able to retrieve abstracts of the Library's contents we could retrieve the actual contents and read them on-line. This of course would take a tremendous effort and gobs of time and money to accomplish. It would take an industry willing to step up with enormous amounts of funds to see the scanning begin and finish. Yet I'm convinced that such a project would be of enormous value.

Josh is the current president of the Sonoma County Wine Library. I wonder if this topic has come up in the various board meetings. Surely funding of the library is tight. But what a legacy Josh might leave if he and others led an effort to take the contents of the library and put them all on-line.

The contents of the library are somewhat eclectic. Without too much self indulgence I have to relate one find that made me laugh. In searching the Library's content on-line using as a search term the name of the first PR firm I ever worked for (Gracelyn Associates), up popped a press release I wrote in 1992 on behalf of the firm. It was a release meant to draw attention to the firm, rather than our clients. A bit of self promotion, if you will. A part of the press release showed up as a result of the search:

New study shows outcome of '92 election may rest on grapes - August 1, 1992

Preliminary results of a new study show that the quality of an election year vintage in California's vineyards may influence which party wins the White House more than economics or foreign policy. The exhaustive study, conducted by Gracelyn & Burns over a two-hour period, shows that in years when California experiences a good to outstanding harvest, Republicans tend to take the White House. In average to poor election-year vintages, Democrats are more likely to head the executive branch. "This revelation is startling," said Gracelyn Guyol, founding partner of Gracelyn & Burns, a food and wine public relations agency based in Northern California's premium wine country. "This changes the entire dynamic and meaning of politics in America. Politicians should be watching the grapes instead of the polls as the election draws near."

I hadn't thought about this press release in years. It got tremendous pick up in the media, including the Wall Street Journal. I remember suggesting we do this tongue in cheek press release to Gracelyn, the owner of the firm and thinking she'd say no on the spot. She laughed and said, "Let's Do It!" There is much much more than just old press releases in the Sonoma County Wine Library's contents. Here is a wonderful story on what one might find there. The content deserves to be made accessible. Perhaps one day.

Wilma Hits The World of Blogs

I just now became aware of a TERRIFIC new wine blog from a long time wine industry insider that has all the markings of being a great regular read.

Many of you will know Kim Stare Wallace. Kim is VP of one of Sonoma County's most loved and most venerable wineries: Dry Creek Vineyards. In her newish blog, Wilma's Wine World, she legitimately and properly refers to herself as an "insider". As Kim writes in her "About" section:

"I literally grew up in the wine industry and have spent the last 23 years of my professional life working for our family winery, Dry Creek Vineyard I’ve held just about every job imaginable--from the office to the cellar, but figured out long ago that I was a lot better at the marketing side of the business than the winemaking. (Thank goodness for our wines too!) Currently I serve as Vice President working side by side with my husband running the daily operations of our 35 year old business."

What's really interesting is the insight Kim offers on just this issue (being an insider) in one of her blog posts where she takes note of the fact that more and more she does not know all the players in even her local industry. This speaks not only to the new blood that has entered the Sonoma Wine Industry of late but also of its vibrancy...not Kim's lack of insider status.

What you are going to get at Wilma's Wine World is some really fun reading the comes with glimpses into the life of a person at the dead center middle of running a very respected and very visible winery. The most current post is a perfect example wherein Kim explains the dynamics of the regular "family meetings" that occur and that are not all smiles and simplicity. It's great stuff.

The challenge for any winery owner that takes up blogging is keeping up with the necessary task of regularly writing. It's not like Kim has nothing else do do and can sit around in skivies and write blog posts all day. She's got to get that Fume Blanc into the market, make sure the right corks have arrived and make sure her distributors are doing their duty.

Here's to hoping that Kim can give us enough of her time.

2008 American Wine Blog Awards Update

As I type, a set of judges are culling through the various nominations for American Wine Blog Awards that came in eight different categories.

They are assessing each nominated blog based on the criteria set out. They will each identify their top blogs in that category and from those selections we will find our four finalists in each category.

Once we have each of the finalists, the voting will be thrown open to the public. You will be able to vote for one finalist in each category. The vote of the public will count toward 70% of the final determination of the winners. The determination of the Judges, who will also each be voting on the finalists, will count toward 30% of the final determination of the ultimate winners.

When will the finalists be chosen and when will voting begin? My hope is that this will occur toward the end of next week.

That's where we are. At this very moment a panel of judges are keenly looking over each and ever nomination.

The Persuasive Writing Skills of Children

My daughter recently had to take a writing test mandated by the state. The format of this particular test was to have the kids write a "persuasive letter". The topic, which the kids could take either side of, was "Should schools add an additional two weeks to the annual school schedule?"

I thought it outstanding that persuasive writing skills of the 7th graders were tested simply because good persuasive writing might be the most important type of writing a child should learn to do well. It is a skill that will be used their entire life.

Paul Chartrand, a former Maine State Legislator and now wine importer, has certainly put the talent of persuasive writing to good use in a letter to the Kennebec Journal Morning  Sentinel that argues against the pending Direct Wine Sales legislation in that state. What Mr. Chartrand's letter demonstrates is that good persuasive writing combined with a disregard for the truth can often make a poor argument appear much better than it is.

From Mr. Chartrand's letter:

"For a small state, Maine already has an incredible choice of wines and beers available to customers through our wholesale and retail distribution....Can a Maine retail customer buy every single wine available in the United States?

No. Why?

Wineries not selling in Maine have chosen to bypass the state in their nationwide distribution plans in order to avoid the time and cost involved, while focusing their resources on larger markets. They could pay Maine license fees, register their products and develop distribution, but they refuse to undertake that task."

There's nothing about this part of the letter that is untrue. In fact, Mr. Chartrand's description of why many wineries choose not to distribute wine in Maine is dead on. But what's brilliant about this short description of the circumstance that result in many wines remaining unavailable to Maine consumers is the subtle insinuation that the wineries that choose not to distribute their wine in Maine are just lazy. They just don't want to go through the process. But here's where Mr. Chartrand's writing skills are on display. He wisely fails to note that it's not simply a matter of "registering" one's wines and a simple task to "develop distribution." Rather, a wholesaler in Maine must agree to distribute your a wine before the winery can enter the state. As in most other states, the only wines that are distributed in Maine are the one's that are chosen by distributors, making Maine, like most others, a state whose selection of wines are determined by a very tiny group of folks who have no contact with consumers and usually have no interest in distributing a wines that are made in very small supply.

Then Mr. Chartrand goes on to use a writing technique I like to call, "Inserting and twisting".

"Instead they [wineries, presumably] whine, pressuring Maine customers and government for an easy way into the state, avoiding the work and fees the rest of us pay to sell here. Rather than admitting Maine customers are not so important to them, these wineries cleverly blame big government."

Wow! That's good writing!! Wineries are whiners who don't care about Maine wine lovers. Why? Because they want the right to obtain a permit to sell wine directly to Maine residents without going through a distributor. I know, the underlying reasoning is loopy in the extreme, but you have to appreciate the deftness with which the knife was inserted and twisted. The fact of the matter is, Mr. Chartrand is on his way to arguing that the conditions under which Maine residents obtain wine ought to remain as complicated as possible and as expensive as possible for wineries. Why? Well, because, of course. Note there is no reason offered here why Maine residents ought to be prohibited from obtaining wines distributors don't offer other than the implication that making wine difficult to get into the hands of Maine residents is the way it is and the way it should be.

But now watch this flawless turn in the argument:

"My company spends thousands of dollars and hours every year for the privilege of legally selling our wines in 25 states, including Maine. No question about it, alcohol sales requirements are expensive and burdensome. The United States and Maine have antiquated systems. But it won't be fair unless it changes for everyone. All I, and other Maine wine dealers, ask is a level playing field."

Wow!!! In five short sentences Mr. Chartrand has admitted that Maine's laws are burdensome and antiquated and inefficient, while implying that there ought to be some sort of national standard set to level the playing field for wine sales and distribution...all after he just got finished defending a patently unfair system of wine distribution. And in addition, he makes the brilliant move of ginning up sympathy for his own plight. And again, Mr. Chartrand makes the strategically proper decision not to mention that under the legislation now being considered, Maine's laws would offer a level playing field for those that want to go through a distributor or those that want to sell direct to consumers. IMPORTANT RULE OF PERSUASIVE WRITING: AVOID THE TRUTH AND EVEN SUGGEST THE OPPOSITE IF DOING OTHERWISE WILL HURT YOUR ARGUMENT.

Chartrand finishes with flourish:

"If the newspaper wishes Maine government to subsidize distant wineries while Maine business suffers, so be it. It does not surprise me that your last letter on this came from Kennewick, Wash., home to many such "whine-eries.

In a year of budget deficits, I vote for continuing to collect all fees that Maine can collect from alcohol sales."

Once again, Chartrand does not mention that all sales of wines direct to Maine customers from out-of-state shippers would be taxed [see rule above] or that the wines that would be shipped are most likely those that are not distributed in the state, can't be found in the state and would not lead to any cannibalization of sales at Maine retail stores. Another good move in this persuasive letter.

But then comes the flourish: "Whine-eries". Wow!!! Not bad. Chartrand has turned those Maine wineries, who under this legislation would be allowed to finally ship direct to Maine residents, into nothing but whiners.

The cynical would simply call this projection on the part of Chartrand, who I suspect simply can't abide the notion of fair competition. But you have to admit, it's a bold rhetorical move.

I'm going to show this letter to my daughter as an example of what can be created when really, really good persuasive writing is combined with a disregard for truth .

Everything Served To Arouse

Winebid.com remains one of the surviving early dotcom wine ventures. It survived for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it presents a business model that is so perfectly suited to the Internet.

Their most recent achievement is pretty cool. They just finished having Apex Wine Cellar install a 100,000 bottle Malaysian Mahogany racking system in their temperature controlled warehouse in Napa. 100,000 bottles.

As you can see from the photos, that's a pretty cool thing.

What's interesting about Winebid.com is that it operates differently than the traditional wine auction house insofar as it sells a tremendous number of individual bottles rather than many lots of multiple bottles or full cases of a single wine. This is what necessitates it having so many single bottle openings in its new racking system.

The warehouse they work out of in Napa looks a great deal different than when I was with the company. For a long time the wines sat in cases along the floor with tags around their necks. Then we got large shelves in the warehouse that came with a pretty simple categorization system. And even though I was inside the offices in the marketing department, I loved heading out to the warehouse...just to stroll among the bottles.

It was a little like walking through a sex shop. Everything in it served to arouse...if you were a wine lover. Over there was the mag of 1961 Margaux, in that corner was the 20 year vertical of Mondavi Reserve, the 3 liter of d'Yquem was over on that side of the warehouse, in the middle there was the vertical of Stony Hill Chard. It got me off.

I'm still pretty proud to say I worked with Winebid.com at the time of its first auction and helped open it's first CA warehouse. It's great to see them do well. According to their CEO Jerry Zech, "This custom wine racking system was the final step in completing an inventory and shipping system to handle the thousands of bottles of wine we auction every week.  Our new bar coding system and wine inventory database are all integrated into the final process of shipping and fulfillment."

That's good news too. Winebid now has upwards of 50,000 registered bidders. I fully recall the excitement when the number of bidders hit 5,000. back in the late 90s. It's nice to be able to point to a pure Internet wine play and not say, "what were they thinking!!".

Who To Trust?

Can you trust a wine retailer's recommendation? They are, after all, in the business of selling wine and one presumes that a wine they have on their shelves can't be ignored, let alone dissed by them.

This is the question at the heart of a very interesting story in the LA Times by Jerry Hirsch that focuses on Wilfred Wong, Beverage & More's Online Cellarmaster and the person who reviews wines exclusively for BevMo and who's reviews and ratings show up on shelf talkers at BevMo.

I've worked with Mr. Wong. I know him. I've judged with him at competitions. Let me say up front that this man has a killer palate. It's perceptive, educated, experienced and nuanced.

Nevertheless, the question remains, can a retailer review of a wine it is carrying be trusted? And this is the underlying issue inside the LA Times article. It should be noted that this is not the first time Wilfred and his job as BevMo's wine rater in chief has been covered in the media. Last year the SF Chronicle did a story focusing on Wilfred that touched on the issue

The answer to the question is Yes, a retailer's rating can be trusted.

If one is going to discount the objectivity of Wilfred's notes and ratings, then one is obliged to discount any and all ratings and reviews any retailer, anywhere in the world provides for a wine they carry in their store. If this is the perspective one is going to take, then the skeptic would at least ask the the retailer's rating be written and determined by someone who is not focused on wine buying at the store.

That's exactly the situation with Wilfred Wong. He does not report to BevMo's buyers.

This had to be a touchy PR situation for the folks at BevMo and I think they acquitted themselves well. Calling into question the objectivity of a rating system, be it a retailers or publishers, is just about the worst thing that can happen. Every publisher of wine scores knows this. This is also why I've always viewed those who claim the Wine Spectator skews its scores toward advertisers as simply not looking at the big picture. Do the mental exercise. Imagine the Wine Spectator or Wine & Spirits being caught red handed manipulating scores to give bigger numbers to advertisers. How would you react?...OK....Now, how would others react...OK....Now, what happens when a wine publication's reviews no longer have any credibility? Is there anything a publisher could do that would be dumber than skew scores for advertisers?

If one chose not to trust BevMo's Wilfred Wong-rated wines, I'd want to know specifically why? I want to know upon what basis they believed them compromised. Without such a detailed explanation then I'd prefer to stick with what I know: BevMo made a very smart moving hiring one of the best palates in California.