The Tabloids come to the Wine Business

Let’s agree on a couple of things:  Wine industry reporters aren’t known for reporting hard news and industry currency is based on both reputation and word-of-mouth goodwill.

If a deal goes sour or there is a rift between two businesses it is an exceedingly rare circumstance that a story makes proper news reports. However, you can be certain that ‘over-the-fence-post’ word will spread about the offending parties, and probably from both sides of the situation. 

No sir, fair and balanced news reporting doesn’t often happen in the wine business.  It doesn’t have to. 

The real reporting occurs over the barrel, at dinner, or on the veranda amongst industry folks; and, most of this “news” will never see sanitizing or fair and balanced sunlight from a journalist (or an editor’s red pen).  If you understand and agree with this premise than what is happening with the Inertia Beverage Group (IBG) / New Vine Logistics (NVL) imbroglio should surprise you because the over the barrel conversation is starting to bleed into a quasi-news function that is neither opinion nor fact and frankly kind of frightening.

I won’t recount the New Vine / Inertia Beverage narrative in all its glory.  A quick Google search of, “New Vine Logistics” and about an hour’s time will get you caught up to speed.  Suffice to say, it’s the most salacious story I’ve seen in 10 years as a wine industry observer.

And, that salaciousness shows, given the very nature of the reporting that we’re getting.  Woodward and Bernstein never had it so good, what with all of the off-the-record deep throat comments that are being bandied about in “news” stories on the subject.  Frankly, as mentioned, it’s a surprise.  It’s as if the same anonymous insider that plagued Britney Spears in the tabloids has decided to move north from L.A. and set-up camp around two companies in the wine industry ecosystem.

By way of background, last month I wrote an op-ed piece where I offered an opinion on what could be an eventuality of the IBG / NVL deal.  I suggested that what Inertia really wanted in the deal was the compliance software that would lead into a relationship with Amazon.com.  It was speculation, I presented it as such, and I still believe that to be the case.  It’s my opinion.  End of story.  However, I need to draw distinct correlation in between an opinion piece on a blog, which speculated based on reasonable assumptions, and news reporting.

Op-ed is where I source anecdotal or other circumstantial information to support my opinion, but it’s still my opinion with a relative merit commensurate to anybody else’s opinion .  However, news is balanced reporting that presents both sides of a story and has direct quotes that support the story.  Off the record quotes are used for background and to find a source who will subsequently allow quote attribution.

Unfortunately, in regards to NVL/IBG, we’re not seeing a whole lot of reporting.  Instead we’re getting a weird kind of hybrid off-the-record background presented as news.  It’s Spanglish for the online era, but the rub is nobody wants their news reports bastardized like a tofu taco.

If wine industry insiders think Julia Flynn Siler’s Wall Street Journal background, and 26 pages of sources was cause to clam up and be wary based on her airing of laundry in The House of Mondavi, the way this New Vine Logistics deal is being handled from a news perspective should turn everybody into a turtle.

Today, I regrettably tweeted to Megan, author of Wine & Spirits Daily, that she did in my words, “great reporting” on her piece about developments in this New Vine deal.  And, then, I re-read her post, article, whatever the hell it is.

Then, I read Lew Perdue’s news report from Wine Industry Insight.

Neither of these two reports, presented as a news article, not opinion, offered a single person who would go on record and be attributed to a quote about New Vine Logistics or Inertia Beverage Group. 

I can give Perdue something of a pass because his contacts seem well-placed and he snared some financial documents on Inertia fundraising—a coup that lends some insider credibility.  However, Megan Haverkorn’s piece, upon reflection and re-reading, might as well be in an issue of Us magazine talking about an “insider” close to Jon and Kate and the eight rug rats.

Something rubs me as tabloid-ish when alleged news reports are digging into business laundry WITHOUT ANYBODY GOING ON THE RECORD FOR A QUOTE.

Secondarily, something rubs me the wrong way when none of the principals of the businesses in question are quoted outside of press releases.  Even a “we can’t comment at this time” would help round out the stories to be something more than speculation masquerading as news.

Tom Wark, a guy that lifts his sheets up at night to make sure there isn’t a horse’s head in his bed based on his work on wine shipping issues, is the PR guy for Inertia Beverage Group and no stranger to controversy.  I wonder what he has to say – even if it’s party line, it’s not anonymous.  I’d be willing to bet nobody has contacted him.  How do I know this?  Because he’s pretty good at his job and he would likely follow-up a voice mail asking for comment with an email that would essentially say, “I can’t comment at this time. The next statement from Inertia will occur after the auction” which would get published in the “news” report. 

Look, I’m not a pious guy coming down from up on high.  I’m a blogger that offers up opinions.  Some are right and some are wrong, but I’m never in doubt.  But, what I don’t do is report news, balanced, fair news.  It’s hard work and I know I don’t have the time to do it capably.  However, as a consumer of information, what I do require is that my news sources go beyond bullshit and background to offer up somebody, anybody that will go on record with a quote and their name attached—otherwise, it’s not a story, it’s op-ed and, well, hell, any blogger can do that.

*Note*
If you’re interested in some fun, read this primer on how Tabloids operate.