September 15 2007
Good posts from other wine blogs, news items and notions from around the world of wine and the wine blogosphere
First Big Crush/Fearless Critic Brown Bag Wine Review
Two new wine related books are coming out soon, signaling a mini wine-related riptide of publishing from Gen. Y authors. The first book, First Big Crush by Eric Arnold, now an Editor at Wine Spectator, then an unemployed writer with an affinity for Hogue Fume Blanc, he pitched a book concept to go to New Zealand to do something of an unpaid internship at a winery, Allan Scott. Grist for the mill as it was. Having received a preview copy of this book, I’m going to have an author interview with Arnold sometime in the next week instead of a book review, but to understand his voice—natural, and unpretentious, and that this isn’t your Dad’s wine book all you have to read is the second paragraph of the introduction:
I declared myself a wine expert, wrongly and assholishly, during my senior year of college, for a simple reason: because I was in college. College students think they’re experts in everything, and my circle of friends was no exceptions. We didn’t just think the world would be different if we were in charge—we knew it would be. Because we were drunk.
First Big Crush is available on Monday, 9/17. Author interview sometime this week when I get him pinned down, through the publishers marketing department.
Another book, “Fearless Critic Brown Bag Wine Review” is out in January. 30 year old author Robin Goldstein takes the notion of state fair judging to the people with a book tasted by some 400 consumers in an effort to evaluate the most commonly purchased and widely available wines available under $15. An article from the Springfield, MA The Republican newspaper:
It is one of many of such sessions that will be held in which the tasters, which he calls judges, try wines wrapped and taped into a brown bag and fill out individual evaluations as well as come to a group consensus about their quality. A statistician will help analyze the results of the tastings and other information.
“There is a real need for down-to-earth wine reviewing. Now 90 percent of the wine writing is about the 10 percent of the most expensive bottles and 10 percent of the writing is about the wine most Americans drink,” said Goldstein, 30, who also published “The Menu,” a guide to restaurants in Northampton, Amherst and the surrounding area in 2004.
“I thought it was time to review wine people really drink, the most commonly available bottles,” Goldstein said.
I wish Goldstein the best, and this sounds like a good idea on paper—especially when you pitch it to an Editor, “Hey there are no wine books on the most widely available wines, it’s all about expensive wines.” The editor, she of little wine experience herself immediately thinks this must be some untapped niche she has stumbled upon. Oh, if it were only that easy. Well, as Mr. Goldstein will soon find out, the reason no publishing occurs in the general consumer wine category outside of “how-to” is because nobody buys books to learn more about Hogue Fume Blanc, or wines they can find in their grocery store.
Fearless Critic Brown Bag Wine Review is out in January ’08.
Sacre Bleu Intro./We Get Letters
Speaking of Gen. Y., I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that fast-growing wine brand, Sacre Bleu, aimed at import-lovin’ Gen. Y has started a blog. Building off of the momentum from their Myspace.com page, they’re starting to poke at the conventions of wine via regular updates at: http://sacrebleuwine.blogspot.com/
Hot comedian du jour, Dane Cook, who likewise built an audience on Myspace is famous for being an incredibly funny comedian who, well, doesn’t really tell any jokes. He’s the guy that isn’t really that funny, but everything out of his mouth seems funny. Somebody asks you, “What’s so funny about that guy?” You say, “I dunno, but the guy’s funny.” If you asked Cook for his best joke he’d probably launch into a weaving story that would end 17 minutes later and your side would be aching, but you couldn’t explain what the joke was.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Cook is very influential with Gen. Y, where, in our ironic, self-aware world, every interaction becomes fodder for a life parable, with comedic results. Exhibit A is an email sent to Sacre Bleu with a narrative from young Jeremy and his introduction to the brand.
No simple excerpt would do it justice. Read the whole thing here.
“Good Grape Confessional” Follow-up
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post called “Good Grape Confessional” and the crux of the post was about feeling a little overwhelmed about all of my information consumption and wanting to chuck it for a while in order to read some good fiction books.
On the comments section of the site I received some pretty good recommendations for books, several of which I will read.
But, more than that, in our perpetual question to understand and to categorize, I feel better already—because I realize that my malady is actually a positive and I am a “Techno//Marketer,” according to this blog.
Phew, I feel better already.
Good Wine Under $20/Winehiker –Adopt a Grape
Winehiker Witiculture and then Dr. Debs have already highlighted “Adopt a Grape” a fun little voyeuristic excursion into grape growing and winemaking, chronicled on the web at this site; it’s cool enough that it merits another mention.
“Adopt a Grape” … why didn’t somebody think of this before? What a fun idea, and best of all, it’s free. Hard to say if there will be the opportunity to buy the wine once it has made it through its natural lifecycle, but I’m guessing so … there is genius in simplicity and potency in entertainment as a selling tool and this is a great example of that. In between Crushpad and things thing this, I’m going to have to start budgeting for online wine expenditures. I adopted grapes in Block 7 of their Cab. Vineyard, adopt your own grapes here.
Benito’s Wine Reviews/California Wine Month
I think anybody who blogs and keeps at it is regarded as media on some level because we all get come-on’s and press releases. I, unfortunately, missed out on one public relation gambit that I wish I would have received. Ben at Benito’s Wine Reviews received a box of chardonnay and cabernet grapes from the California Association of Wine Growers. They’re running a “One Nation Under Vine” program that we’ve talked about in the past. They’re definitely getting good pr help on these clutter-breaking campaigns!
Check out Benito’s site, if you haven’t before.
Coming up in Pt. II of Around the Wine Blogosphere: more news and noteworthy items including a review of “Spoofulation,” a term I became aware of on The Wine Broad’s Board and a term whose history has been bandied about on Joe Dressner’s site—kind of interesting in a wine nerd kind of way, which is a sub-segment I’m a card-carrying member of.
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I’m a publiicty expert and I want to thank you for tipping me off to two items that I’m going to share with readers of my ezine, “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week.”
—The “Adopt a Grape” promotion. My readers hear me harping all the time about the importance of capturing people’s email addresses so you can market to them later. This campaign is a perfect example of how to do that.
—The blogger who received a big box of grapes from the California Wine Association. I encourage people to pitch bloggers and to even send them product samples. I noticed that the blogger to whom you referred did an entire post on the grapes, complete with photos.
Thanks for calling this to my attention