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June 19 2009

Vin de Napkin - Hot in the Shade Edition

More social commentary on the back of a napkin ...

I love to look at similar things for the irony in their juxtaposition ...  in the 70’s Italian-car maker Fiat entered the U.S. market and withered with poor quality.  In the ‘00’s Chrysler withered with notorious and exceptionally poor quality (amongst other things).  So what does Fiat do?  They buy Chrysler assets of course ...

Might be a match made in heaven ...

Yet, at the same time, we get news reports that Italians aren’t trading down the quality in their wine ...

Funny people those Italians ...

Elsewhere, even though its perilous times for wine writers, it can’t be that hard ... I can’t count the number of mentally mailed in columns I’ve seen recently with the same topic—value wines. At the least, nobody seems to be working too hard at writing compelling stuff for clips for their portfolio ...

June 18 2009

Oenophile Bibliophilia

The wine publishing category is a robust one, much more so than it deserves considering the ratio of interesting and good wine books that are published every year versus the amount of titles that are destined for the remainder bin.

I feel qualified to make that statement given I’ve purchased just about every wine title that has been published over the last 10 years.

And, no, it’s not an indictment on the authors; it’s more of an indictment on the publishers that publish the same “Introduction to Wine” book 15 times a year with an unfortunately smaller ratio of the “Billionaire’s Vinegar” and “Making Sense of Wine” titles.

Easy for me to say, right?  I should try to write a book …

I was approached a couple of months ago by a very cool book agent who read my blog, liked my “voice” and thought I had a book in me, an interesting book, not a “Wine 101” type.

It’s very flattering.  Prior to starting this blog the notion of writing a book never crossed my mind as a goal, though, now, I have to say it is, some people want to do triathlons, I’d like to write a book, both equal exercises in masochism.

The problem is the timing is horrible.

The economy is in the crapper and I don’t want to take focus away from my job, I’d like to start a family in the very near term and, well, writing a book would mean I would have to stop writing the blog because I wouldn’t have time to do both, at least not well.

In regards to this blog, it seems silly to forsake the very thing that got me the opportunity for the opportunity, even if writing a book comes with a check that cashes.

Pardon the clichés, but I’ve been penny wise and pound foolish before, and wisdom is a patient teacher …

I would like to write a book someday, but who knows when or if that opportunity will come again and what the parameters will be for the type of book somebody is interested in publishing.

In the meantime, a guy can fantasize, and I’ve been thinking about wine books that I would like to read.  So, without further ado, here are the first three of six books that I want to read, and I will definitely not be writing.

Advertisements for Myself by Matt Kramer

Matt Kramer is, in my estimation, the best contemporary wine writer alive today, and he has a body of work, writing for Wine Spectator since 1985. His many books are excellent, his column in The Oregonian is equally good and I humbly pay my subscription to Spectator just to read his columns – always insightful, always on point and always rendered in a way that, it seems, will weather the years while acting as a time capsule for that moment, upon hindsight.

I would like to see him take a page out of Norman Mailer’s book, no pun intended, and put together something akin to Mailer’s “Advertisements for Myself”—a collection of his own writings, interviews and essays, that he subsequently annotates, and footnotes, adding in what the editor’s red pen took out while filling-in the context to what was happening at that time at a macro-level in the wine world, and his personal world.

Kramer, surely has deeply anecdotal and interesting stories to share alongside a curated collection of his writings, it’s that insight into a body of work, a 360 view of a collection of columns, that I would like to read.

Provenance:  The Story of the Bern Steakhouse Wine List by David Laxer

Really, it could be any restaurant wine list that is formidable; Bern happens to have what is generally acknowledged as the largest wine list in the world.

What I would really like to read is a book by founder Bern Laxer’s son, David, highlighting some of the special bottles in their cellar that is rumored to be 600,000 bottles strong.

For years into the 1980’s, Bern’s published a wine list with label reproductions and wine region information, mostly it seems to prevent the nicking that occurred when people made off with their actual phone book sized wine list as a souvenir, but what would be really interesting now is to recount not only the back-story’s on acquisition of some of the finest bottles of wine in the world, but also the stories of the people that drank some of the finest bottles of wine in the world while dining at Bern’s.

With a collection that includes all the first growths including a Rothschild vertical that dates back 46 years and Madeira’s dating back to 1792, there is much ground to cover.

This melding of historical perspective, with situation-based context, and personal narrative would make for compelling reading.

A Cartoon History of Wine

An illustrator named Larry Gonick has built a small cottage industry by creating what are effectively long-form comics that tell accurate history with humor and verve.

Having read “A Cartoon History of the United States,” I can attest to the fun and life that illustrations bring to subject matter that doesn’t always seem relevant.

Having these titles in print since the early 1990’s is also a testament to their staying power.

There are plenty of historical wine books on the market, many of them good – A Short History of Wine by Rod Phillips and American Vintage by Paul Lukacs both come to mind.

But, putting these books into a form that is skimmable, flippable and imminently readable will likely ensure that some of the history of wine isn’t lost on a new generation, as well.

These are the first three of six books that I would like to see published.  I’ll write about the other three sometime soon.

Any other ideas, or am I crazy to even suggest new wine book titles in the age of digital? 

June 16 2009

Ten on Top:  The Dramatic Issues that Incite the Wine World Pt. II #’s 6 - 10

For the non-sports wonks amongst us, there is a show on ESPN called “Pardon the Interruption.”  It’s a bombastic Siskel and Ebert-style opposing viewpoint take on the sports headlines.

“I hate Notre Dame Football and the arrogant pomposity of their fans …”

“I love Notre Dame Football, the richest tradition in major college sports …”

You get the point: the hosts of the show usually take opposing viewpoints on the issues du jour and create dramatic interest and opinion forming thought-leadership in one direction or another.

The wine world doesn’t have as colorful of a patina or the personalities to match other areas like sports and politics, but there are the tried and true issues that, if absent, would make wine a pretty darn boring and pedestrian experience, all small talk and no real conversation.

Yesterday I presented both sides of issues one through five, the issues in the wine world that drive the conversation. Today, Part II and issues six through 10:

100 Point Rating System

The 100 point rating system is a good gauge of quality for consumers.  Wine is an unparalleled consumer category with far too much choice for any reasonable human being to make a purchase decision at the point of sale.  100 point scale ratings act as an arbitration of quality and a valuable consumer service.

And, let’s not forget that a very, very small segment of wine consumers study wine as enthusiasts, the rest of the population needs a quality indicator.

Further proof is the simple fact that other subjective areas of review like music and books are adopting the 100 point scale because of its usefulness in helping consumers wade through too many choices with too few differentiators.

Or

The 100 point rating system is the scourge of the wine world.  By placing a number on a wine, dictated by a singular palate, it prevents consumers from doing what is the simple joy of wine – exploration.  Instead, they make purchase decisions based on number, somebody else’s interpretation of “good.”

There is a difference between an artist and somebody who paints by the numbers, they are two completely different realms, and this painting by the numbers approach objectifies wine and its enjoyment in situ.

And, need I say anymore than the fact that it’s not even a 100 point scale, it’s really a 50 point scale and most wines, perfectly good wines, are persona non grata if they don’t score over an 85.

It’s ruining the wine world. 

Direct Shipping

Giving wineries and retailers the ability to sell directly to the consumer is THE American way.  Can you imagine if other consumer product categories had to go through a limited amount of distributors who would determine what could and could not be sold in a given state or market?

It’s lunacy and it’s anti-competitive for small producers who make up 95% of the wine world.

Factor in the political corruption of politicians who are hijacked by lobbyists under the guise of protecting our youth, and it all smells very rotten.

Give people the freedom to buy what they want from where they want.

Or

The 21st Amendment was put in place for very good reason – to give states the power to protect their interests related to matters of alcohol.

It’s an efficient system that serves everybody very well – wine producers, retailers and consumers and in doing so gives them much greater choice then what would be available in a completely unregulated wild, wild west atmosphere, while keeping alcohol out of the hands of our youth.

The fact is that if checks and balances aren’t in place to protect youth, what is preventing them from buying wine online?  Our politicians are merely doing the work of the people, who have indicated that protecting our future, our kids, is paramount.

New World vs. Old World

New World wines, as proven at the Judgment of Paris, and repeatedly thereafter, show that history isn’t an indicator of quality.

No New World wine drinkers are blinded by the canard of tradition that isn’t backed by quality. 

Domestic wines have ruled the Old World for years and, in fact, other emerging wine countries are now giving the U.S. a run for IT’S money.

Technology, innovation, fresh thinking and competition all create a better product that is attuned to today’s palate, annoying traditionalists and their thin wines not included.

Or

The New World needs to show some respect for Old World producers.  Quality isn’t measured in months or years, it’s measured in centuries.  Where would New World producers be were it not for the Old World?

Even the supposed New World champion, Robert Mondavi, used French quality as his baseline.

In 1855 the French were creating quality classifications for wineries that are still the best in the world to this day. Back then, the U.S. was trying to figure out if wine would even grow there, using French cuttings, I might add.

The U.S. culture is the same as their wine, all “now-now brashness” with no refinement and no sophistication.

Gen. Y and Wine

Generation Y is a saving grace for New World wine producers.  With the aging of Baby-Boomers, the wine industry needed fresh blood.  Even better is the fact, that they have bypassed the traditional adoption curve starting with White Zin—they’re adventurous with a taste for premium wines, domestic and imports.  Not to mention, Gen. Y is also dragging wineries into social media kicking and screaming.

Thank goodness they’re here!

Or

Generation Y.  taking to wine just might be the final swirl in the wine toilet bowl.

If we’re reduced to pandering to a demographic that treats wines with as much reverence as their constant and perpetual practice of being in the moment tethered to text messaging and Facebook, we should immediately start writing the obituary for wine as a beverage of distinction.

Ethics

Having a wine writer, with a body of work, credibility built over years and not months, writing objectively about a winery and their wine, without the influence of “monetization,” is a path that needs to be continued in the wine world.

Parker built his reputation based on a Ralph Nader-style of consumer advocacy WITHOUT the muddying influence of advertising or junkets.

If wine consumers are to continue to believe in the credibility of wine reviews, critical review and commerce shouldn’t co-mingle.

Or

My grandpa told my Dad that the Studebaker was the only car he would ever drive.  My Dad came back from Vietnam refusing to buy any car that wasn’t American.  Um, good call …!?

Times change, perspectives change and the traditional role of the critic coming down from up on high is a model that is breathing its last breath.

Read the trends, or open up your browser, in a connected world its power to the people.

And, really, in a world of transparency, I really have no reason to believe that just because a critic tells me he is objective, it actually means he is.  After all, everybody not named Parker makes their living off of advertising in some form.

I prefer the blogger model with disclosure.  I’ll sniff it out if somebody isn’t being forthright based on advertising dollars and I’ll direct my attention accordingly.

There it is – the top 10 wine issues in wine.  Without these conversational conduits, our wine lives would be reduced to breathlessly talking about tasting notes.  Drama sells, and this is our drama.

Leave a comment with your perspective on any of these issues and/or mention a topic I may have missed – the conversation points that make the wine world interesting!

June 14 2009

Ten on Top: The Dramatic Issues that Incite the Wine World Pt. I

Sports pundits, newspaper columnists, talk radio jocks and the entire ESPN organization LOVE controversy in their realm of coverage – it virtually ensures that there is something interesting to write and/or talk about on a regular basis. 

“Kobe is the greatest player in the game.” 

“No, Lebron is the best, and the more complete player.” 

“Blessedly, Brett Favre should stay retired.”

“Are you crazy, the chance to watch a Hall of Famer like Brett one more time is the blessing.”

The two drama-inducing sides of the sports coin and the ensuing pop analysis fuel more than a few news cycles; in fact they save sports from being the equivalent of the church newsletter, all events and benign fecund fun, drama not included.

Wine is no different. Though we may not have the personalities that define the conversation, we have the issues that re-occur time after time, acting as a lightning rod for as much controversy as wine folks can muster up.

With that in mind, here are the first five of the 10 issues, in no certain order, that, without passionate side-taking, would render the wine world the equivalent of the church picnic, all mustard potato salad, that one weird dish nobody eats, bad volleyball, polite small talk and zero interest.

Go ahead, and pick your side.

Wine Competitions

Wine competition interest by wineries is a product of the inability to get coverage (i.e. points) in the wine magazines. Say what you will, but medals in competition validate quality for consumers.  Having blind reviews by a panel of judges is as good of a measurement tool as any.  They’re good for wineries and good for consumers. 

Or

Wine competitions are ridiculous – have you seen some of the winners?  Besides the inherent flaw of judging with judges who have no standard experience baseline, its big wines that tend to show well, and, besides, it’s judging without food.  These competitions are completely bogus. 

Wine Magazines

Today’s wine magazines and content are a reflection of the interest that consumers and advertisers have in wine: lifestyle, luxury, aspiration and wine reviews.  They serve an audience and do it well.

Or

Today’s wine magazines suck.  They speak to a mythical audience segment that doesn’t exist, and if it does exist it’s a doctor that has a cellar and more money than wine sense.  Give me a magazine that actually is appealing to somebody that has wine chops, but a household income lower than $250K.

Restaurant wine prices

Restaurant wine prices are a reflection of the costs that go into running a dining establishment.  Without the built-in margin your entrée would be $45 instead of $30 and you’d use paper napkins instead of fresh linen. Forget about that fresh daisy on your table …

Or

When are these restaurants going to learn – if wine prices didn’t gouge you more people would be more inclined to buy a bottle regularly therefore increasing overall sales. Nowadays, I refuse to buy a bottle of wine, I’d rather hand over my ATM card to the owner so he can take out $40 bucks and put it in his pocket.  Restaurants would easily make up the margin based on volume of sales with reasonable pricing.

Parker’s Palate

It’s a fact.  I know winemakers that tailor their wines for Parker – and they’re big, rich, extracted, high in alcohol and completely undrinkable with a meal.  Kool-aid for adult kids.

Or

This whole Parker’s palate thing has gotten blown way out of proportion.  Do an analysis of his scores and they have been consistent with normal statistical variance over the years.  It’s mostly wineries that haven’t been reviewed him that are creating wines that THEY THINK he’ll like, and, for the most part, those folks continue to be on the outside looking in, perpetuating a myth.

Corporate vs. Artisanal Wine

Big wine companies are the death knell of the U.S. wine industry.  Before long, we’ll be swimming in oceans of unremarkable, cheap wine similar to the crap the Aussies have been exporting to us over the course of the last 10 years, if we aren’t already.

Not only that, but with many family-owned wineries on the verge of selling off over the next 15 years, we stand a chance of losing all that is remarkable about passionate winemaking where cases are counted by the pallet and not the truckload.

Or

This whole corporate wine thing is a big whine.  The top 30 wine companies in the country already represent over 90 percent of the domestic market by volume.  Am I supposed to worry about that percentage increasing from 90 to 93 percent in the next couple of years?

It doesn’t seem to daunt new wineries from starting – there are over 6000 of them now, and most of them are going after the same 2% of the wine buying public that buys wine over $25.  Corporate wine isn’t to blame here, the market share already exists.  What hasn’t happened yet is business Darwinism because these new wineries are launching without a clear articulation of how they are going to be successful.

Add a comment, based on which side of the issue you fall.  The balance of the Top 10 items that keep wine enthusiasts interested include, “100 point ratings,” “direct shipping” and more.

June 12 2009

Wither Veritas in Vino?

In the realm of the online world where the level of sympathy ranges from disconnectedly concerned to, “Glad it’s not me,” I find myself feeling genuinely sad after reading that wine writer Alice Feiring is on the cusp of discontinuing her blog, Veritas in Vino.

Usually a blog’s death is slow and painful as it slides into a catatonic state of neglect before dying of loneliness, with a commensurate amount of final mourners. 

Rare is the occasion when the plug is pulled, Kevorkian liberation regardless of circumstance.

Yet, Alice intimates just that – imminent blog death by her own hand.

In a blog post on the 10th of June, Alice recounts an exchange she had with another professional writer who bemoans the devaluation of the writing craft.  Alice, herself a lover of the long form, where research and cultivation of the art of telling a story is respected and valued with a monetary return for the author, is beginning to chafe at the chutzpah of Editors offering little more than exposure and nothing that comes close to affording a baguette and a glass of vin de pays, le Americain style.

As she notes on her site (excerpted):

Think of it before you jump all over us. The popularity of the blog has reduced writing to a 500-word postage stamp norm, and usually given away for free. For free. While a digest of words can be a fun exercise in craft, the indulgence the 2000- to 5000 word article was nirvana. Yes, the fee was great, but the process was the thrill and one that we exercised our chops for. And often took a pledge of borderline poverty before, because it was worth it. But now borderline is the real thing. Words and writers are no longer valued. Is it because of the blog? Oh no. For sure. But now the expectation is words are free.

But yes, I will clean up business, I’ll spill you about Austria, and there are a few words about Muscadet and a few more points to hammer before shutting the store. And then? Who knows.

It’s not hard to understand Feiring’s perspective.  A writer who has spent her professional life cultivating a body of work and a point of view is suddenly and swiftly asked to give the milk away for free from Editors who sit on high using the rubric of “traffic” and “exposure.”  This, coupled with thoughtful wine writing assignments, which are becoming as scarce as “value” wine articles are becoming plentiful, makes it hard to justify why a writer would continue to do their craft without separating from the morass of hobbyists.

Surely, a coroner who dispenses free counsel nights and weekends would excise that task if his practice suffered as a result, particularly under the weight of CSI TV show enthusiasts.

These are easy dots to connect, a writer largely does give it away for free in the digital media, particularly when blogging, so the translation is, “if you do it there, why not do it here.”

However, Feiring isn’t just another no name writer seeking a check for lifeless words that are fed into the daily maw of information consumption.

No, she is a singular voice that represents a singular point of view in American wine.

And, as she well knows, every cause needs a champion.  She might be just the champion to herald in a paying complement to the larger pay-to-play wine outlets, Advocate, Spectator and Robinson.

The answers are available, too.  Her web site could use a refresh with something akin to a navigational structure, and she could, indeed, charge for her content, adding the things that readers want to see – categories, topics and the longer pieces that fit into the paid work and the blogging that is akin to giving the milk away for free. 

Simply, I’m not ready to bid adieu to this writer online, relegated to searching for the random byline in Saveur or The New York Times magazine. 

No, this is a writer I’d be willing to pay for.

So, I humbly ask of Alice to reconsider and implore her to make an investment in her online writing.  Redesign the web site, double down your efforts and tackle the challenges that face wine writers and, yes, charge for it.

I’ll be your first subscriber.

In doing so, not only might she save the world from Parkerization, but she might save wine writers, too.

*Update*
Comments are not currently working for the site.  I’m working on the fix. 

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