The Rockaway Blogging Controversy: Whatsit All About?

The Great Whatsit, Wine blogs, Wine Spectator, WLTV

We can’t even begin to untangle the mess that has resulted from the experimental program to release a wine (Rodney Strong’s Rockaway Cab) to select bloggers in advance of the traditional media. Can’t, and won’t. That’s right! If you think d547 is a place to contemplate your wine blogging navel, look elsewhere.

We’re convinced that there is fun to be had in the wine blogosphere, and hope that anybody confused or upset by the various incidents (see here, here and here for a few - and now here too!) can look to us to help restore their faith in the online wine world.

On second thought, this whole Rockaway thing gets our wheels turning. As business-minded folk, we can see that it’s not necessarily bad to be at the center of a shitstorm. So we’ve decided to follow Rodney Strong’s lead by offering a special opportunity for bloggers to discuss our new wine, The Great Whatsit. If interested, email us. Of course there are no strings attached.

Except the following:

1. You must review the wine using a Mad Libs-style sheet that allows you to fill in the blanks with descriptors (choices include terms such as “hedonistic,” “voluptuous,” “supple and velvety tannins” as well as “dark berry,” “fruit forward,” and “Rhone-like”).

2. You will have flexibility in scoring the wine, so long as you use our patented ten point scale (90 to 100).

3. You will not have to review the wine in a particular time-frame, and can in fact pick the week that works best for you; the schedule will be one blogger per week, from now until December, first come first served. That will ensure that we have the wine mentioned in prominent wine blogs from now until the holidays thankyouverymuch (after all, six blog posts — nearly simultaneously — hardly makes for a proper media blitz).

4. In fact, if you prefer not to review the wine at all, you can opt to write about how amazing Jill is, or how fantastic the label art is, or how domaine547 is breaking new barriers with this whole “private label” concept.

5. It goes without saying, you must link to our store’s page for the wine, though don’t worry! You are not going to profit at all (we’re protecting your integrity) as we will not be offering any sort of affiliate-like percentage for outclicks from your blog that result in sales of The Great Whatsit.

6. Should controversy not erupt over this program, we hope that you will consider posting something about it on the Wine Spectator boards where things seem to get interesting. Similarly, you might also post over on the Wine Library boards (but don’t go asking for any spare nickels to go on the Thunder Cruise or you’ll get what’s coming to you).

That’s it. Pretty simple we think. Oh, and the revolutionary part of this is that you need to do items one through six without even having tasted the wine. That’s right - we’re not going to give out any free bottles of The Great Whatsit, since accepting a sample might compromise your integrity…as for us, don’t worry — we checked our integrity at the door a long time ago.

what's all this, then?

Domaine 547 is a community meant for people who want to come along with us on our journey, as we learn about the world of wine.

It’s a point of view, that says wine need not be put on a pedestal or saved for special occasions, but should instead be a part of everyday life—because life is just that much better with a glass of wine in your hand (unless, of course, you are an alcoholic or under the age of 21).

Domaine 547 is a virtual tour guide, a way for all of us to travel the globe, even when our wallets and schedules might not permit physically doing so.

Mostly, it’s a place without pretensions, where we can drink, learn, communicate, and probably drink some more. And of course, there is no snobbery or attitude allowed.

Learn more about us…

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