Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog

Fun With Wine Numbers

What percent of wines should be rated 90 points or more? What percent should be rated less than 80 points?

Should we expect that a certain percent of wines would be located in the top ranks? Should we assume a certain percent of wines from any given vintage are rated lower in quality? Sure we should expect this, but determining what percent are highly rated and which percent should be rated low is near impossible to determine, particularly since wines are not, and should not, be rated on a curve.

This is a game, I'm playing. So if you are not like me and like games, then you should probably stop reading here.......

.......OK, those of you that like games, what I was wondering is how the premier wine rating magazine answered the questions above. The Wine Spectator has been rating wines for quite some time. I looked only at CA Chardonnay ratings. I looked at the number of wines rated and what percent scored 90 points or better and what percent scored less than 80 points. I looked at vintages 1990 - 2007.

WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED IN 1994 AND 1995 VINTAGES? Did CA Chard all of a sudden get suddenly better? Or did the reviewers at the Wine Spectator have some sort of epiphany in 1996 and 1997 when they review these vintages? There is an exponential jump in quality in CA Chardonnay according to the Wine Spectator wine rating system in these two vintages. I mean, we are talking a HUGE jump in quality. The number fo wines that scored 90 or above increased significantly while the number of wines that scored less than 80 points fell precipitously.

And the interesting thing is that this is not a one time jump. Beginning with these two vintages, the Wine Spectator began consistently scoring CA Chardonnay higher than in the years previously.

The 1990 to 1994 vintages averaged 12% of the wines scoring less than 80 points. The 2004 through 2007 vintages averaged 2% of the wines scoring below 80 Points.

I honestly don't know what to make of this. It looks like point inflation taking place over the course of two years. On the other hand, it just may be that CA Chardonnays got a heck of a lot better over the course of two years. In any case...Numbers are interesting.

CA CHARDS REVIEWED BY THE WINE SPECTATOR

Vintage                Total Reviewed          % 90 Points +         % -80 Points

2007                            271                            37                            .04

2006                            439                            26                            2

2005                            421                            26                            3

2004                            292                            40                            4

2003                            304                            23                            4

2002                            364                            31                            4

2001                            424                            27                            5

2000                            422                            21                            4

1999                            401                            26                            5

1998                            416                            10                            4

1997                            518                            36                            2

1996                            569                            36                            3

1995                            540                            41                            4

1994                            500                            26                            4

1993                            492                            15                            8

1992                            485                            15                            9

1991                            451                            14                            16

1990                            453                            14                            14

Bloggerview #27: Jeremy Parzen

Bloggerview #27
Who: Jeremy Parzen
Blog: Do Bianchi
Where: http://dobianchi.com/

You have to appreciate a guy who will reference Pliny, Walter Benjamin and Richard Pryor in one, single sentence. Jeremy Parzen, the author of Do Bianchi, strikes me as an internationalists, even though his blog tends to focus on the world of Italian wine and food. He and his blog first came to my attention when it was nominated by a number of folks in the American Wine Blog Awards. What I found was a Pro! What you get reading Jeremy's Do Bianchi blog is the opportunity to dive into the mind of a professional writer and experienced thinker as they probe the world of wine, food and custom from an Italian perspective. Do Bianchi is a perfect example of what great blogging looks and feels like.

1. When did you begin blogging and why?
In June, 2006. I began blogging to keep a journal of what I ate and drank and where, when, and with whom.

2 In two sentences describe the focus of your wine blog.
Do Bianchi offers readers a humanist perspective into the world of Italian wine and food. It also covers food and wine from other parts of the world, from Europe to the Southwest U.S., spicing it up with music, literature, and pop culture.
 
3. What sets your wine blog apart from the pack?
My background as a scholar of Italian and Italian literature and my professional and academic interest in Italian gastronomy and viticulture paired with my knowledge of the Italian language, and my deep connection to Italy and Italians. Add music, literature, and my invitation to readers to "reconsider pop culture as an Epicurean movement," as Le Monde put it, and everyone is confused!
 
4. How would you characterize the growth in your readership since beginning your blog?
It began as many blogs do, with me emailing my friends alerting them to new blog posts. But when I switched from a static html-based site to Wordpress.com, people started to find my blog and my readership has been growing pretty steadily since then. That was in June 07.
 
5. Do you accept sample for review?
I certainly would but nobody ever offers! I'm serious!
 
6. What kind of wine rating/review system do you use and why?
I rarely write about wines that I don't like. I think that one of the cardinal rules of food and wine writing (and I used to be an editor at a food magazine and have written for many print journals) is that you should write about what you like and not write negatively about things you don't like. I occasionally will suggest avoiding certain wines and I try to keep the perspective, "even though I don't like it, it doesn't mean someone else doesn't." I am certainly not a fan of scores or ratings: I think that the value of every single bottle of wine and every single glass depends on the context — the time, place, people, pairing, and situation. It's not quantitative, it's qualitative. Even I drink Veuve Clicquot… well, at weddings…
 
7. How do you fit the maintenance of your wine blog into your daily schedule?
I generally get up at the crack of dawn and I make a point of writing something every day (even if I'm not posting that day, I save the post and post when I'm ready). As Pliny and Walter Benjamin used to say, nulla dies sine linea, no day without a line. I think that Richard Pryor used to say that, too.
 
8. Have you utilized any particular techniques to successfully market your blog?
Collegiality. I think the best way to spread awareness of your blog is by reading and commenting on others's blogs and most importantly by linking to others's posts in your own.
 
9. In your view how, if at all, is blogging different than traditional wine writing for print?
Do they still print wine writing? The whole nature of cartaceous food and wine writing has been turned on its head. If only Marshall McLuhan were here today to see how blogging has changed the surface and shape of the world! I think that the most important innovations and divergences are immediacy and access: all you need is a computer and an internet connection and you can become a wine writer and your writing reaches readers/visitors without any mediation. It used to be that when I wrote an article for a magazine, at least two editors would read it, a proof reader would read it, and I would read and re-read it over and over again. Now my only editor is Tracie B!
 
10. Which other wine blogs do you read regularly?
There are more than 100 blogs in my Google Reader, literally, and it's the post titles that really draw me in. My favorite blogs, i.e., the ones I follow closely, are as follows, in alphabetical order: Brooklyn Guy , Consumazione Obbligatoria, Dirty South, Divino Scrivere, In Vino Veritas, McDuff's Food and Wine Trail, Montalcino Report, My Life Italian, On the Wine Trail in Italy, Reflections on Wine, Rockss and Fruit, Saignée, The Pour, The Buzz,  Vino al Vino, Vinsanity, Wine Digger, and, of course, your blog Tom, Fermentation. I also like to stare vacantly at Vinograf, a blog that I cannot read.
 
11. Do you believe wine blogs have made any marked impact on the wine industry or wine culture?
Yes, most definitely. Alder has done amazing things with Vinography, as has Tyler with Dr. Vino. They've made wine so much more accessible to so many more people. In the case of Alder by offering a high-bandwidth educational and informational site and in the case of Tyler, by making wine writing entertaining for a wider range of people and digesting wine news and trends by means of user generated content. Wine blogging has also opened a whole new field of viral marketing for wine. Fermentation is a great example of that. And, of course, blogging, for all its imperfections, has also brought a new transparency to the wine industry. Franco's Vino al Vino, for example, has broken so many important stories in the world of Italian wine — stories that the mainstream press shunned and consequently had to report.
 
12. Vacation: Paris or the Caribbean?
Tracie B and I drink great wine when were in Paris. If we ever went to the Caribbean, I'm sure we'd drink beer (although Lambrusco would be awesome in the Tropics). So, I'm gonna go with Paris, Bob.
 
13. Pet: Dog or Cat?
I've never heard anyone say that a wine smelled like "wet cat" so I'll definitely have to go with dogs on this one, Bob.
 
14. Airplane Reading: New Yorker or People?
The New Yorker is definitely one of my guilty pleasures during plane travel. The Wine Spectator often accompanies me to the bidet.
 
15. Car: Prius or BMW?
As much as my grandfather would choke at the thought of me driving a German-made car, I'm going to have to go with the BMW, Bob. I think the Prius is a lie.
 
16. Chablis or California Chardonnay?
I actually tasted some California Chardonnay that I liked for the first time over the last year. But I can't afford it. So, I'm going to go with Chablis, Bob. Seriously, I love and drink a lot of Chablis.
 
17. Describe what you would have at your last meal?
I get this a lot but the answer never changes: zampone (head cheese stuffed in a pig trotter and boiled), mostarda (spicy picked fruit), stewed lentils, potato purée (made with Parmigiano Reggiano), and Lambrusco.
 
18. What is Heaven Like?
Heaven is like playing a solo on my Carruthers custom Johnny Mercer tele (mint green pickgard, 52 Seymour Duncan re-issues, maple neck with rosewood inlay) through my 1969 pre-CBS Princeton and seeing Tracie B in the audience smiling. Heaven is also like drinking 1991 Coulée de Serrant and watching her eyes light up as she tastes the wine. I am not at liberty to comment any further, Tom.
 
19. If you could invite 4 people dead or alive to your fantasy dinner party, who would they be and who would you have bring the wine?
Federico Fellini, Luigi Veronelli, Paolo Monelli, and Maestro Martino. Veronelli and Monelli would bring the wine, Martino would cook. (Federico Fellini, not because he's my favorite Italian director. He's not, although he is one of the greatest: I cry every time I see La strada. But because he was from Emilia-Romagna.)
 
20. What advice would you give to someone considering starting a wine blog?
Go for it. I think that everyone should have a blog. I could have never imagined the rewards — personal and professional — that blogging has brought and nearly everyday, some new cosmic connection seems to come of it. Dive in, heads first; write as much as you can; and be an active part of the community — good things will come of it.

I'm Also A Wine PR Guy

Today marks the 19th year (to the day) of my time working in the wine industry. "Nineteen" isn't a very interesting anniversary. It's one year before a fairly significant anniversary and 4 years after an only slightly significant anniversary. Still, if you are thinking of getting me a gift in connection with this occasion, the modern traditions tell us that a gift made of bronze is in order for the 19th anniversary.

Following my Masters in History I actually sought out a career in Wine PR. Not finding much call for a young man with a somewhat deep knowledge of the roles and actions of Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt, Seward, Jefferson and the like throughout America's diplomatic history, I figured the skills I had honed in my 7 years in college and previous work experience (including selling Kirby Vacuum Cleaners door-to-door) were appropriate for marketing and public relations. I further realized that there were folks who specialized in various types of PR,be it High Tech, Publishing, Real Estate...or Wine. Thinking of fun rather than money, I pursued Wine PR. It took me three months of looking, but I was eventually offered a position at an outstanding and respected Wine PR Firm in Santa Rosa, California.

I stayed at the firm for 3 years before doing the math: how much was I being paid versus the amount the clients I was serving paid the firm? The differential was enough to encourage me to form "Wark Communications".

But that's trivia.

I tend to be a reflective man. While this gets me in a bit of trouble or stymies me at times, it has allowed me become fairly adept at assessing my personal and emotional whereabouts. As I consider the past 19 years of working in the wine industry, I find my self much more interested in understanding how this career has affected my personal life, rather than what I've learned about the business of wine and wine PR (perhaps the latter would make good material for a short pamphlet or a seminar one day).

So, upon reflection, here's what I've found:

-While I'm grateful for the career I've built in the wine industry and while I'm very happy to still be pursuing it, there's nothing about this career that is more important to me than having a healthy personal life and healthy personal relationships.

-Following on this first point, the most important thing about my career in wine has been the doors it has opened to meeting people who have changed my life, made me look at world differently, and provided me with the opportunity to learn important lessons I don't think I would have gathered under any other circumstances.

-Finally, whatever success I've had in the wine industry has most importantly given me a humble confidence that has served me well in nearly every other aspect of life.

Three pretty simple lessons after 19 years, I admit.

A career can turn into an identity. I don't think this is a good thing. I'm much, much more than a Wine PR guy. I'm certainly much more than a wine blogger. Those who know me best (you know who you are) realize that like most others I'm pretty flawed, often too earnest, perhaps too giving in ways than I should be, but honest enough in my personal dealings to assure my friends and loved ones at least know where they stand.

But, as it turns out, I'm also a PR Guy.

The 100 Point Wine Rating Scale Works

For some time now I've lived in the camp that argues the 100 Point wine rating scale is non-sensical, reductive and counter productive. I think I'm changing teams. And here's why:

Wine Drinkers Like it.

No, it hasn't taken me 20 years to realize this. I've know this all along. So does everybody else. It's just that recently I've come to have a greater appreciation for giving people what they want, rather than trying to give them what I think they need.

There's no doubt that the 100 Point rating scale is non-sensical (there's not difference between a 91 point wine and a 92 point wine that anyone can identify), reductive (it diminishes in monumental ways the nature of the product being reviewed—even if the rating is accompanied by 75 words), and it's counter productive (particularly if the goal is to explain what makes this wine different from that wine). But damn it, they like it.

What I've come to appreciate is that wine, at least the way wine is presented in the market place, is a pretty complex thing. We aren't talking soap here. Consumers can look at the 10 or 15 kinds of soap flavors and understand right off the bat if they want to smear lavender, sandalwood or lemon verbena on their body. But with with wine the are confronted not just with numerous varietals, but also different vintages, appellations, vineyard designations and even special designations. It's complex.

Now add to this complexity that very few people who actually like the taste of wine have really any idea what these different factors that go into defining a wine actually mean.

Add to this the pressure to serve or present a wine that's not crap.

If only these consumers had a quick way of going through the 1000s of wines at their disposal and finding one an expert deems just fine, or really good, or great, and not having to learn a new language or take classes to appreciate what the expert is trying to say.

Voila...The 100 Point Rating Scale.

This form of ranking and rating wines is so convenient and so perfectly matches the needs of most wine consumers that to ignore its utility is to dismiss the needs of the customer.

It's quite possible that the 100-point wine rating scale is among the most important advances in wine marketing in the last 100 years. It's because it works.

The Fuzzy Buzz-A Unique Selling Proposition

Am I nuts, or does one get a unique buzz from drinking pastis? And If I'm right, wouldn't this be a unique selling proposition?

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A FERMENTATION: The Daily Wine Blog Video
Sponsored by: Benton Lane Winery

Native Food and Wine

Sometimes I wish food and wine lovers had far, far fewer choices of content and information to sift through and enjoy just so certain information forums would get more attention. Every now and then something pops onto my radar that I'm positive has the potential to be far better than the rest, but I despair that it wont get the attention it deserves because the noise level and many choices of content for food and wine lovers are powerful deterrents to letting the cream rise to the top.

So, I try to do my part. Today, doing my part means urging my readers to check out:

NATIVE FOOD & WINE.

This new blog/zine reminds me a little of Appellation America insofar as it wants to draw our attention to, as its creators explain, "how local and regional ingredients define a place and how people around the world respond, sustain and enjoy themselves in their respective environments."

It's creators are Kevin Lynch and Amber Shore. Both are well trained and apparently enthusiastic proponents of food and wine as a lifestyle and, from what I can tell, source of happiness. Kevin is a certified sommelier and writer. Amber is a trained chef.

In the short time that they have been publishing Native Food & Wine they've demonstrated great gusto for their subject matter, a genuine fondness for the idea behind their blog and an endearing personality that makes me smile and want more.

Their writing on Native Food & Wine is very polished and professional. The many photos of their subjects are engaging and creative. And when I'm done reading about Gruet in New Mexico, Branched Oak Farm in Nebraska or Cultiva Coffee I realize I want more. I'm left wanting to know more and to experience more from their subjects.

I don't know Kevin or Amber. But now I want to. And I want them to be very popular. I want them to feel compelled to devote as much time and energy to Native Food & Wine as they possibly.

This is one of the best knew finds I've come across in a long time.

Bloggerview #26: Michelle Lentz

Bloggerview #26
Who: Michelle Lentz
Blog: My Wine Education
Where: http://www.wine-girl.net/

Michelle Lentz and husband Kevin are the duo behind "My Wine Education", a wine blog I've watched, read and admired for some time now. One of the beauties of of this wine blog is that it is as advertised: while the two authors are indeed very knowledgeable about wine, reading them you realize you are participating with them in their own personal wine education. The writing is excellent, the content compelling. The style is conversational. In the end, if you are a wine drinker, you come away think you'd really like to have a drink with them and let that drink fade into a meal. I don't know how many folks read My Wine Education, but I do know it's a hell of a lot more than the vast majority of other wine blogs on the market. When you read the interview Michelle below and her blog you'll figure out pretty quickly why that would be. Plus, how can you resist someone who would have Neil Gaiman at their fantasy dinner party. That choice is nothing less than art.

1. When did you begin blogging and why?

I began blogging in 2003 with our wedding web site - it was how I communicated tons of destination wedding information to our wedding party. That led into a personal blog the next year. By 2004, I was blogging about wine on that blog and it sort of took over. I moved the wine posts over to a new blog and My Wine Education was born.

2. In two sentences describe the focus of your wine blog.
It's the journey Kevin & I are taking through the oft-intimidating world of wine. We focus on regional events, restaurants, and happenings, but it always comes back to learning more about wine.

3. What sets your wine blog apart from the pack?
- I don't review wines all the time. Instead, I talk about everything from wine glasses to cocktails, as well as wine reviews.
- I have a local focus. Once a week I post local Cincinnati wine events, I often highlight local wineries, and I support local restaurants and retailers. So while I still cover a lot of big, broad topics, I always have a few posts that bring things back home, as well as a calendar of local events and maps of local wine trails.
- My rating scale also sets me apart, but we'll get to that in another question.

4. How would you characterize the growth in your readership since beginning your blog?
My first year or so with the wine blog were pretty unremarkable. It was when I started posting the weekly Cincinnati wine events that things really took off. I realized we had a huge wine audience here in the Cincinnati/Indiana/Northern Kentucky area that wanted to know more about what was going on with local restaurants, wineries, and so on. The blog started growing at such a fast pace I was shocked. This past June, I inked a deal with the Cincinnati Enquirer/Gannett to be part of their Locals on Living section. My readership went through the roof!


5. Do you accept sample for review?
I do accept samples, and I have a sample policy posted on my blog (http://www.wine-girl.net/copyrights-disclaimers.html). I like them because it's often wine I can't purchase in local stores, so I'm being exposed to new things. However, I'm emphatic about letting people know if I'm reviewing something I got for free, whether a complimentary meal/wine dinner or bottles of wine. When I review technology for another blog, I always have to give the gadget back. I can't do that with wine, but I do my best to blog with integrity.


6. What kind of wine rating/review system do you use and why?
I've personally always had an aversion to numbers, and I believe wine is an emotional experience. My happy face rating scale is all about how I react to wine on an emotional level, numbers be damned. My readers love it because they feel it makes the wine more approachable and it makes more sense to them than a scale of 100 points that's really just 20 points anyway.


7. How do you fit the maintenance of your wine blog into your daily schedule?
Sometimes I don't. I try to post 2-3 times a week and occasionally, I'll manage to pull out 5 posts, but it depends on my "real job" workload. I try to post as soon as I get up in the morning, but sometimes I really am floundering for a post. I've made it easier on myself by running two consistent series: Weekly Event Fridays and Mad Men Mondays (where I talk about what our favorite '60s ad guys had to drink the previous evening). I've discovered that a series like that makes it easier - I don't have to hunt for a topic.  With the exception of special events, I usually don't post on weekends or holidays. When I travel, which is frequently, I try to line up guest posters ahead of time and have their posts scheduled and ready to go.


8. Have you utilized any particular techniques to successfully market your blog?
It's all been a happy accident. At one point, I realized I needed to get business cards and this year, I decided to establish a consistent brand across my Twitter, Blog, Business Cards, and any where else my logo is referenced. Other than that, I've been blessed by the benefit of word-of-mouth (and -link) marketing. A local wine shop occasionally has me in to host tastings, which is a blast, but that's about it.


9. In your view how, if at all, is blogging different than traditional wine writing for print?
With my newspaper deal, I've had to look at this a little more closely. When they pull one of my posts for print, they make certain editorial changes. Bloggers in general don't have to adhere to fact-checking and can just post from the heart. Print journalists don't have that luxury. In my own writing, I try to adhere to more journalistic standards, but I'm still a lot more conversational in my posts than your average print article.

10. Which other wine blogs do you read regularly?
I always read Lenn Devours, and my local friends CheapWineRatings.com and Under the Grape Tree. My Google Reader has over 50 different wine blogs and I skim the headlines daily, including Anything Wine, Vinography, Luscious Lushes, Fermentation, and so many more. It's a combination of blogs I read for knowledge and those I read because the bloggers have become my close friends.

11. Do you believe wine blogs have made any marked impact on the wine industry or wine culture?

Looking at the impact here in Ohio - yes. Particularly because there are several of us across the state who promote the local wine industry, and I believe that has helped bring a much-needed spotlight on our great local wineries.  Overall, well, those big famous wine writers wouldn't be getting all upset about wine bloggers if we weren't making a difference. But the best impact, in my opinion, has been made by Gary Vaynerchuk. Love him or hate him, he has made wine very approachable and fun for a lot of people, and blazed a trail that many of us are happily following.

12. Vacation: Paris or the Caribbean?
The Caribbean, provided there is a pool bar with a roof or a beach chair under the shade of some palm trees, plus a neverending supply of cocktails. (I'm a redhead who loves the sun but fries like a lobster.)

13. Pet: Dog or Cat?
Dog. Ideally I'd have a Burmese Mountain Dog. But instead I have a husband. Kevin is allergic to all things furry and cute, but since I'm allergic to peanuts and nuts, it's sort of a fair trade for us both.

14. Airplane Reading: New Yorker or People?
The New Yorker.

15. Car: Prius or BMW?
Do they make a BMW hybrid? Really, I'd prefer the BMW but my conscience calls out for a Prius.

16. Chablis or California Chardonnay?
Chablis.

17. Describe what you would have at your last meal.
I would probably enjoy a whole lot of comfort food - grilled cheese, mac and cheese, fried chicken, or pasta. There would definitely be an overload of carbohydrates. I'd finish that off with bread pudding souffle from Commander's Palace in New Orleans and some miniature cupcakes from my favorite pastry chef here in Cincinnati. I'd pair all of it with small-grower Champagne. For me, every meal is just a prelude to dessert.

18. What is Heaven Like?
Chocolate, Cupcakes, Marshmallows, Champagne and many clouds and bubbles?

19. If you could invite 4 people dead or alive to your fantasy dinner party, who would they be and who would you have bring the wine?
Neil Patrick Harris
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Neil Gaiman
Jimmy Buffett

Who would bring the wine? Hmm ... I bet Neil Patrick Harris has a good appreciation of wine, so maybe him. Or maybe we'd just go to French Laundry and let the sommelier pick the wine.

20. What advice would you give to someone considering starting a wine blog?
Part of my day job is teaching social media and one class is called The Art of Blogging. My first piece of advice to anyone starting any blog is be prepared for the commitment. There is a reason there are so many abandoned blogs out there - they take a lot more time than anyone realizes.  For a wine blog in particular, I think folks should be willing to admit there is always a lot to learn. You don't have to write like a stuffy old wine writer to make it sound like you have a clue. Just be human, admit that you don't know some things, and dive headfirst into all the learning.

They Must Be MADD—Jumping the Shark

I could be wrong, but it appears to me that the folks at Mothers Against Drunk Driving have finally Jumped The Shark with this plot line twist in their never ending saga to demonize alcohol and alcohol drinkers:

"MADD peddling margaritas—sans alcohol, of course"

The constant crusaders against all things drinks, alcohol, cocktails, wine and beer will begin distributing their own brand that include a virgin Mojito, Margarita and Pina Colada, a virgin Lager & Lime, non-alcohol red and white wine and a virgin sparkling wine.

Isn't this a little like the Tipper Gore producing a porn movie where all the actors wear clothes?

According to Chuck Hurley, CEO of MADD, "What's important to us is that a designated driver should be sober — not just the least drunk. So a virgin cocktail perhaps would be a little more festive than just a club soda and lime and allow the person to participate in the festivities but be the sober driver to get people home."

And why not have the designated driver belly up to the bar and demand, "Give me one of those tasty Mothers Against Drunk Driving Mojitos and two shots of Tequila for my friends over there."

I want to be the guy walking around Joe's Place with a bottle of "Mother's Against Drunk Driving Lager" in my hand...just to see what real ridicule feels like.

MADD's public agenda—reducing drunk driving—is admirable. But its tactics have demonized drinkers and alcohol in general. That's not a particularly rare set of tactics here in America where Puritans sought a community of believers governed by God's law, Prohibition not only was enacted but also lasted for more than a decade and where debates on whether or not alcohol ought to be sold on Sundays really do happen.

But a MADD Margarita?

The Truth About Advice

Ever since I found my way into the wine business, I've tried to fully understand the significance and meaning of advice. Not the meaning of how advise from experts on wine affects the marketplace. This was all too clear. This was and is formulaic. What I've tried to understand is the meaning of either accepting advice or dismissing it or, worse yet, wanting to embrace and follow the advice of an expert but seemingly not being able to.

I always was willing and able to accept the advice of experts, including wine experts. I figured experience is that which separates good advice from average advice. So, where wine is concerned, I've always been more inclined to trust the advice of those who have been at it longer than others.

Experience seems important because, I believe, the world works in very specific ways. There are things that are right. Things that are wrong. Things that are good. Things that are bad. It's that simple, I think. And this applies to wine as well as to work, family and love. The problem is discovering the specific ways things work, what is good, what is bad, what is right, what is wrong. That's the hard part. Experience seems the only sure fire way to obtain this information.

I've been very lucky.

People have given me advice. Experienced people. My problem is that I've not always taken the advice to heart when I should have. I often ignored it for the very same reason most people ignore advice from voices of experience: I was prepared to go it alone and figure it out alone.

Big mistake!!

By the time I entered the wine industry I had at least realized that my knowledge of wine paled before those with experience. All you had to do was listen to them and talk to them to know they were in another league. I was smart enough to know my choices were to listen and take their advice about wine or, in the alternative, look incredibly stupid working it all out on my own or, worse, talking out my ass about things I did not know.

Recently I came across a piece of advice given to me very early in my life. It was wasted on me at the time because I did not then know the value of experience and so ignored this valuable offering.

This advice was meant specifically for me. Among the advisories was this: "Die in love with a woman."

At the time this advice was given to me, at the time I first read this advice, I didn't understand that in that simple suggestion "die" was the operating idea. I thought that simply  be "in love with a woman" was the most important. I didn't understand that the verb "die" was meant to suggest that I find the right woman with whom to live an entire life in love.

Today my entire life is half way over. I wonder how it would have been different had I read this piece of advice correctly early on. So, it occurs to me that while this advice I got was good and sound and worthy of embracing, today it must mean something different. It must mean that more than ever, the chore is to be 100% sure about my choices, lest possibility of rendering the advise meaningless and its truth unobtainable.

Embracing the sound advice of wine experts shouldn't be too difficult. The fact they know more than you should be obvious. So take their advice. And have the good sense to look to the most experienced of them first. They probably know more than others. More importantly, seeking the advice of those more experienced than you where wine, love, life, and family is concerned reveals those hard-to-nail-down truths.

Tools of the Industry

Every now and then it's important to call a tool a tool.

Harry Schumacher, publisher of Beer Business Daily, is a tool. If you want to see what can be produced by a good tool, go here: Beer Business Daily.

Now I have no problem with someone making themselves a tool of an industry. It's a legitimate career choice, though not one I'd want for my children, for whom I would hope for a life of dignity. Still, it's a career choice.

Beer Business Daily exists to support each and every contention, lie, argument and position that beer wholesalers in the United States make or take. There is to be no evaluation or critical thinking applied to these positions of the beer wholesalers who "subscribe" to Harry's little rag. Harry's latest diatribe, one that speaks to the concerns and rights of wine drinkers across the country, isn't much different from others. However, in this case he attempts to heap disrepute on one of the people who has been instrumental in pushing back against unconstitutional and discriminatory laws that keep wine drinkers of legal age from obtaining the wines they want.

Harry Schumacher decided to take on Ken Starr.

Judge Starr is a  gentleman. A well known gentleman. He's one of the most accomplished lawyers and legal minds in America. Judge Starr has been involved in shaping the legal strategy that resulted in the groundbreaking Granholm v. Heald Supreme Court case that shoved beer wholesalers and their minion at Beer Business Daily back on their tush.

In an opinion piece published behind a subscription wall at Beer Business Daily, Schumacher discusses the 1997 approval by the National Conference of State Legislators Task force on the Wine Industry of a "Model Direct Shipping Bill". This model bill that was approved by the NCSLA Task Force has been the basis for nearly every direct shipping law ever passed in the United States. The laws based on this Model Direct Shipping Bill have allowed wine lovers from across the country to access thousands of wines they never could before and to do so without any problem of minors obtaining wine.

Schumacher's piece is really nothing more than a blob of words in support of the National Beer Wholesalers Association's bizarre contention that "Approval" really doesn't mean "approval" where the NCSLA's Wine Task force that resulted in the Model Direct Shipping Bill is concerned. The Beer Wholesaler's arguments are bizarre in the extreme. However, in supporting them, Harry says of Ken Starr:

"To make matters worse, a celebrity lawyer, which is the worst kind if you ask me, Kenneth Starr of Kirkland & Ellis, yes the same Ken Starr of Monica Lewinski fame, has been repeating what we view as the falsity that the NCSL has endorsed the model wine direct shipping bill to anybody who will listen, and yes, it has done some damage to the beer industry three-tier system as a result....Disgraced and hungry attorney Ken Starr is out there touting it as a state-approved model even when it clearly it is not an "adopted policy" of the NCSL."

"Celebrity Lawyer"? "Disgraced"? "Hungry"? Let's take a look.

-Graduate of Duke Law School
-Editor of Duke Law Review
-Clerk for Honorable David W. Dyer of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
-Clerk For U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren E. Burger
-Counselor to U.S. Attorney General William French Smith
-Judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
-Solicitor General of the United States
-Independent Counsel on the Whitewater matter
-Dean of the Pepperdine University School of Law

Starr has argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court nearly 30 times. He was nearly appointed to the Supreme Court by George Bush One. He is the the author of nearly 50 law review articles and the author of "First Among Equals: The Supreme Court in American Life". And this barely touches the surface of Ken Starr's influence in the American legal system and American government.

Say what you will about Ken Starr's politics. But one thing you can't say is that Ken Starr is either a "celebrity lawyer" or "disgraced." Starr remains one of the most brilliant legal minds in the United States.

More importantly for readers of this blog, Ken Starr's contribution to the renaissance of wine in American life is undisputed. His role in making wine more accessible to American consumers is critical.

So, as it turns out, while Harry Schumacher has been the tool of beer wholesalers, Mr. Starr has been working on behalf of real people. While Harry has been making the case for keeping American consumers from legally accessing the wines they want, Ken Starr has been making the case that Americans can be trusted to make their own choices about the wines they want. While Harry has been writing disingenuous, uninformed gobbledygook for a subscriber base of beer wholesalers and beer manufacturers who fear consumer power, Ken Starr has been writing briefs, papers and oral arguments that have helped expand the power of wine consumers to access the myriad of wines available in the American marketplace.

So I have to ask, who is the disgraceful one?