These Wine Bloggers Are…
I’ve been staying out of wine blogging politics of late, and of wine blogging for that matter. Soon the store will be done and I’ll get back to writing again. I hope! In the meantime, another small battle has erupted, and Jeff’s post at Good Grape gives a good run-down of the latest power struggle between the wine writing establishment, and the (not so) new wave of bloggers like Tyler Coleman, aka Dr. Vino. I’d say it’s worth reading.
I happened to get my copy of The Tasting Panel a few days before Jeff’s post, and had noticed the same editorial from Anthony Dias Blue (firmly in the establishment camp) that Jeff references in his piece. Without taking issue or articulating my thoughts on the nuanced level that Jeff is able to, I feel like it’s worth pointing out — on the eve of the Wine Bloggers’ Conference 2009 — the most egregious statement ADB makes in his piece, titled “…And Who Regulates the Bloggers?”
Anthony Dias Blue writes,
And who are these bloggers anyway and, more important, what is their motivation? It would be comforting to find that they are altruistic wine lovers who see their purpose as bringing insight and valuable information to like-minded consumers. But the image that presents itself is of bitter, carping gadflies who, as they stare into their computer screens and contemplate their dreary day jobs, let their resentment and sense of personal failure take shape as vicious attacks on the established critical media.
While many bloggers have been (understandably) upset by this statement, I think maybe the most useful response is to actually answer Dias Blue’s question. Just who are these wine bloggers anyway? Off the top of my head, and with a little help from Twitter, where I just posted a tweet asking wine bloggers about their day jobs, here’s a (non-comprehensive, non-alphabetical) list:
Lenn Thompson is a software marketer by day (correct me if I’m wrong, Lenn?) and wine blogger by day and night. He focuses on New York wineries which are oft-ignored by the mainstream wine press.
Amy Atwood is a champion of natural and organic wine on her blog, My Daily Wine, and has recently joined VinTank, a digital wine think tank. She has spent years working in various parts of the wine industry.
Tom Wark is of course a blogger and an industry insider, not a bitter wannabe on the outside looking in, and we’re all aware of his provocative site, Fermentation.
Deb Harkness is a professor of history at USC, and she publishes the award-winning blog “Good Wine Under $20,” as well as a weekly column on Serious Eats. From what I gather, she’s very good at her day job (she has been awarded a Guggenheim, among other honors).
Jason, of Jason’s Wine Blog, is based in San Francisco and tells me on Twitter that he’s in “interactive marketing by day, wino and family man by night…”
Sonadora (Wannabewino) is a tax attorney, with zero stated interest in transitioning to a wine industry career. She has posted on her blog for more than 200 consecutive days, and does not accept advertising.
Tyler Coleman blogs at Dr. Vino, and is a wine writer and teacher in the field. Jeff suggests that he’s really the unstated target of the ADB editorial. But while Coleman may have opened up a can of worms when he exposed some inconsistencies in the code of ethics at the Wine Advocate, he has a most jovial, unbitter tone about his blog (and a high degree of credibility in his more traditionally published work).
Alice Feiring blogs at In Vino Veritas, and has worked for years as a wine writer and journalist. She, also, may be the subject of ADB’s rantings, and embraces her role as a pot-stirrer (can somebody link to last year’s WBC keynote, please?!).
Catie, the Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman, has been blogging for ages about her local wine region, and has been selling wine for over a year at her internet-based retail shop. I have a personal fondness for Catie given that we have lots in common 
Lyle Fass blogs at Rockss & Fruit, and has spent years working in wine retail. While he has left his position at Chambers Street Wines, I have no doubt he’ll land somewhere in the business again.
Ryan and Gabriella Opaz blog at Catavino and have been building a wine marketing firm as American expats living in Spain.
Craig Camp blogs at Wine Camp. He’s been in the business for years, and has worked for some fantastic wineries, including his current post heading up marketing for Cornerstone Cellars.
Terry Hughes used to blog at Mondosapore, and now blogs at Muddy Boots on behalf of his new Italian wine import company, Domenico Selections. Wow, Terry, you have a shitload of websites!
Trevor of Uncork29 lives in Napa but works in PR, unrelated to wineries.
Thea Dwelle of Luscious Lushes works in high tech as a business analyst, and hopes to someday be working in the wine world. However, she can hardly be described as bitter. Quite the contrary.
Jeff Lefevere at Good Grape works in technology/marketing, and after a brief stint in the wine business actually decided to exit the field so that he could get back to blogging about wine for the fun of it, not for the commerce.
Joe Roberts of 1WineDude — you know, I realize now that I have no idea what Joe does for a living. I know he’s a musician, an entertainer, and very devoted to his blog. I know he has a high degree of wine knowledge and is a CWE among other accomplishments. I suppose he’d like to make a living as a wine writer. Joe, what do you do? And how bitter are you? (Clarification: I just received a tweet from Joe, who calls himself a “student of life.”)
Joel Vincent, who started the Open Wine Consortium, describes himself as “a tech product marketing/management guy. Wine Industry is a “vertical market” I apply some of my tech knowledge to.” He also blogs at Wine Life Today.
Richard Auffrey of A Passionate Foodie works in the insurance field, and has toyed with the idea of opening a wine shop in the Boston area. From what I can tell, he posts several times a day on his site, is very generous to the wines, restaurants and shops he writes about, and does this all for no pay (with the exception of a newspaper feature he occasionally writes).
Of course, Hardy Wallace of Dirty South Wine was possibly the most well-known wannabe just a few days ago, but will be transformed into an industry insider starting on August 15th, when he takes a six month post with Murphy-Goode as their lifestyle correspondent. I’m guessing, and this is just a hunch, that MG didn’t pick Hardy based on their perception of him as a “bitter, carping [gadfly].”
My point? Dias Blue is off-base by characterizing wine bloggers as bitter wannabes. Many of the above bloggers have no intention of ever entering the wine industry, and are indeed the “altruistic wine lovers who see their purpose as bringing insight and valuable information to like-minded consumers.” Others are already in the wine business, blogging either as part of their day jobs, or on the side because they want to; they could hardly be considered “bitter, carping gadflies” with “dreary day jobs.”
Please feel free to add yourself to the list of wine bloggers in the comments, and include your day job, aspirations, and level of bitterness and personal failure where relevant.
Thanks, and have a great Wine Blogger’s Conference. I’ll miss you all!
26 Responses to “These Wine Bloggers Are…”
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2008 “Bebame” Red, El Dorado County, California
Cabernet Franc (65%) and Gamay (35%) from - gasp - California! And only 13% ABV, pretty modest by California standards. If I tasted this blind I would probably have said it’s from the Loire Valley. It has pretty much nothing in common with the full bodied iterations of Cab Franc coming out of Napa. Juicy, light, delicious quaffing wine.$18 a bottle
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wine jargon
Frizzante
From Wikipedia: Frizzante is an Italian wine term term for semi-sparkling wine (as opposed to Spumante, which is generally used for fully sparkling wines). Frizzante wines generally owe their bubbles to a partial secondary fermentation in tank. You might notice a light fizz or tingly sensation on the tongue with a Frizzante wine, compared to the more carbonated sensation that more fully sparkling wines yield.
Scorekage
Okay, so we made up this word yesterday after a great restaurant experience. We brought a bottle of wine with us, expecting to pay a corkage fee. But the restaurant either forgot to charge us the $15, or decided to be nice to us. We scored! Hence, “scorekage” has entered our lexicon. This can also refer to BYO friendly restaurants that don’t charge for corkage under any circumstances.
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domaine547 In the Blogosphere! Imbibe Magazine Unfiltered
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:25 am
I’m a digital marketing professional by day and love my job working for some of the biggest marketers in the world… in fact, I do work for THE biggest marketer. I’m also a big fan of wine and a fan of finding a great deal. I use my blog to help others discover affordable gems in the wine world. I also use it as an online playground to experiment with things that are applicable to my day job.
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:26 am
Hi Jill!
Awesome post, we miss seeing your writing.
Here’s a link to the show that includes the admittedly TERRIBLE audio from Alice’s keynote at last year’s WBC. What makes it tragic is that I had put a lavalier mic on her and it STILL sounded bad in the booming tank room at Sebastiani.
Her keynote, as it was, starts at 21:08 into the podcast.
http://winebizradio.com/articles/winebizradio-20081226/
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:31 am
By the way, I characterize myself as a bitter, carping gadfly. I’m always sniping at the incumbents in the industry. In fact, I can hardly wait until wine bloggers are the incumbent force in wine writing, so I can start sniping at THEM.
So if Anthony wants to be a hater, let him hate me. There, I took one for the team!
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:37 am
Whoops, how could I forget Josh, PinotBlogger - winery owner?! And Carol from PourMore - former retail shop owner and now writer?
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:53 am
I really like seeing what everyone does for a living! My husband & I owned a wine shop for a couple of years, but now I do a little freelance writing when I’m not attending to mommy duties (my 7 week old baby keeps me pretty busy, too). I don’t really think I’m bitter. I’ve just always enjoyed a good drink or two and hey - why not write about it?
July 22nd, 2009 at 9:59 am
I work as a reporting analyst during the day for an executive search firm. I spend my free days mostly working for a local winery or volunteering for local organizations. I learn more about wine every day. I blog about wine and the industry in general because it’s something I love. While I’d jump at the chance to make it my full time gig I love both my jobs and everything I do. No bitterness here thx!
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:13 am
I am a full-time front end website developer (XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc.) with a portfolio at http://www.DaleJCruse.com. In more than 14 years, I’ve launched more than 75 websites for high-profile clients ranging from the U.S. Army to Bloomingdale’s.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:28 am
Great post Jill. I’m currently in QA and have been working in tech companies for 12 years. Taster A is an engineer specializing in vacuum calibration. Besides the wine blog (which has been a little neglected lately) we also enjoy playing tourist around the local Boston North Shore area. Taster A is also an amateur photographer (although he recently sold a photo of the faneuil hall grasshopper). I went back to school last fall and am working on a degree in Business Administration. I’m not bitter about not being full-time paid in the wine industry. I am certainly a hanger-on though.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:40 am
My own blog started off as a way for me to inform co-workers of innovative marketing campaigns and things to do around Sonoma County. SoCo= Wine, thus Shana, the “wine blogger” was born. I may be a wine blogger in the eyes of my colleagues, but what I enjoy doing is talking about the experiences that I have with wine.
I am in the industry, teaching wineries how to use social media marketing to promote themselves and I have worked with many wine bloggers - if anyone meets any of us in person, no one could ever call us “bitter” - We write about wine simply because we love it.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:45 am
great post, JB!
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:53 am
Jill: Great job taking this angle on responding to ADB.
Yes, I’m in software marketing by day (you remembered!) and while my job isn’t always the most exciting thing in the world, I don’t take my work-related angst out on mainstream wine writers — or more importantly — my readers.
I’m just a wine lover who happens to enjoy exploring a state making wines that are far better than many think. Is that so wrong?
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:33 am
Great post Jill in response to the comment, as Lenn said it was a cool way to handle it.
I got into blogging as an outlet for my passion of wine and winemaking while I was a Research Scientist for an unrelated field. After I was laid off at the first of the year I am now happily a store manager for a wine shop here in town and still blog about wine for the fun and passion of it. Nothing bitter about that!
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:52 am
It certainly is fascinating to see what bloggers do in their day jobs - and that is certainly a mis-informed comment by ADB. As for me, I’m a lawyer-in-waiting just about to start as a Law Clerk for the BC Court of Appeal here in Vancouver, and after that will be working for a large downtown firm in civil litigation (planning on specializing in public law and complex litigation) - a career that I don’t plan to leave and that I’ve worked damn hard to create. Writing about wine is a hobby and passion for me - adn the best part of it is sharing with like-minded fellows.
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:49 pm
I’ll add my thanks to Lenn for taking this proactive position and tone on the issue. What I see from the above is this: wine bloggers are people who are interested in knowing more and honing their skills–whether they get paid for it in their day job or not. Here’s to the internet for giving us the space to do it, and our readers for chipping in and supporting those efforts. As an educator, I know that you always learn 200 times more when you get feedback, support, and criticism as opposed to doing it in a closed environment.
July 22nd, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Great post. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Now I realize even more things I have in common with my fellow bloggers. I’m an ‘SC alum where Dr. Debs teaches. My day job, which I am not so bitter about, crosses paths with Tim, Dale and Thea among others…
July 23rd, 2009 at 8:59 am
[…] characterized as “barbarians” or “militants”? In fact, over at the blog for Domain 547, there’s a post up entitled “These Wine Bloggers Are…” where one could learn […]
July 23rd, 2009 at 1:42 pm
I started blogging as it allows me to be creative, not to be controversial and I chose to give it a wine theme so that the blog would have a structure and purpose.
I am also fascinated by wine and wine-blogging has encouraged me to learn more about this wonderful subject. I can also use the blog as cover for my excessive wine consumption.
I am also very clear about my ‘position’ in the hierarchy of wine blogs and would never pretend that my opinions and views carry enough weight to shape the opinion of others. I would be lying if I said that I do not harbour ambitions to work in the wine trade; in the last five years I have lost any passion for the industry I have been a part of for nearly twenty years. This blog is not, however, a CV or job application. This is my wine blog.
For the day job, by the way, a am a director of a construction and property project management company in the UK.
http://www.wine-gums.blogspot.com
July 23rd, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Jill, Jillele, I do seem to have a shitload of web sites. “Stop the insanity!”
Well, ahem. Thanks to blogging I did escape my terminal bitterness & various shitty careers to become a happy wine importer.
And one day soooon I want to sell YOU some terrific Italian wines!
July 24th, 2009 at 2:39 am
Hi
I run winepsych.com as a labour of love, lose money doing it and am a bit self-righteous about my independence. I am a chartered psychologist and work in local government in the UK. I see clients every week but spend 3 days a week working for the University of East London helping to run a Doctorate training program for psychologists. The website is drawing me more into the world of wine but I have no great aspirations to stop doing the job I love. I am interested in wine and like to taste wine but the idea of tasting 100s each week is anathema to me. You don’t enjoy something by keeping your mouth always full of it….
I am slightly flattered by the notion that I am a barbarian and feel in good company! ‘professional’ wine critics often have necessarily close relationships with producers but maybe protest too much when they are asked for transparency regarding their interests. Perhaps this is because they are aware of (embarassed by) the way in which their independence is sometimes compromised by not wanting to bite the hand that feeds them and (unlike psychologists and many other groups) they do not have any professional code of ethics - that I am aware of. In fact I wrote a blog about this last week and alluded to some of the issues in a recent interview with Decanter.
Some blogs are ‘better’ than others or at least of more interest to me. Blogs offer the possibility of democratization and freedom comes with responsibility. In the main the blogs I see are generally serious and sensible. Bloggers challenge the status quo and are therefore collectively seen as a threat. This keeps things interesting and hopefully keeps professionals on their toes.
Dr Miles Thomas
July 24th, 2009 at 7:47 am
[…] characterized as “barbarians” or “militants”? In fact, over at the blog for Domain 547, there’s a post up entitled “These Wine Bloggers Are…” with biographical […]
July 24th, 2009 at 4:43 pm
I read the post on Dr. Vino’s blog and was outraged by the comments made by Dias Blue. I was very surprised, as I had always had a lot of respect for him as a wine writer. I do not blog and I am not in the business, but I enjoy drinking and learning about wine. The wine bloggers open up a whole world of experience and opportunities for people like me to read a lot about wine from various bloggers’ perspectives. The internet opened up a whole world and I have no worries that any of the bloggers I read (which are all the ones you cite in your post and more) have any hidden agendas. I thank all the bloggers for giving the non-professional person interested in wine lots of things to read and from which to learn.
July 30th, 2009 at 11:31 am
I just came across this really cool site called “Giving through Growing!” Basically, Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi is partnering with the American Community Gardening Association (ACGA) in an effort to increase awareness of the community gardening movement. When you visit http://www.woodbridgewines.com/garden, you can send friends and family “e-seeds” to help raise money for the cause, without spending your own cash, and grow virtual gardens. I think they’ll get a real kick out of them, try it out!
July 30th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
GREAT post Jill!
You hit the nail on the head. I think it’s idiotic that the old establishment is so terrified of bloggers that they resort to name calling and pyschological warfare to make us feel badly about ourselves (as if).
Clearly the folks that are making these comments are not reading our blogs, or they are choosing to read the 1% of blogs that really are “bad” (and defining bad is difficult given it’s an Op/Ed format).
It frustrates me, but no. I’m not bitter - because in the end, I write for me and those that enjoy reading it, not for the trad media that wants to dis me.
July 31st, 2009 at 12:06 pm
One of my biggest frustrations in this argument is how wine bloggers are painted with one brush. There are lots of different wine bloggers out there with different target audiences. We do wine reviews on our site but we are more likely to tell the story behind the winemaker or brewmaster than to give a point score on their libations. We stress we are not expert reviewers and the opinions expressed are based on personal palate and experience. It seems a mistake to force the same expectations on the wine adventure blogger as the Australian wine specialist reviewer or the winemaker blogger who blogs about the wine making experience.
I write because I like to review my notes and I like to share my passion about wine and beer and even better wine and beer paired with food!
August 5th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Father of two. I sell books and work in a small winery. (Crush is coming!) Perfectly happy. My Anthony Dais Bitterness Quotient? Zero.
September 1st, 2009 at 10:41 am
I am late to this party, but catching up prompted me to check in with one of my favorite wine/food writers, Keith Levenberg, who writes The Picky Eater blog. Sure enough, he added his piece to the row, and did so in typically erudite and entertaining fashion:
http://tinyurl.com/lj94gm
Yeah, he throws a few political barbs, as he’s generally wont to do (he’s an unabashed conservative), and to the extent he’s bitter (and you could make a good case that he is) he doesn’t bother trying to hide it, but when there’s wine (or controversy) on the table and the writing is good (as his almost always is), I’m willing to allow him his commentary.
And, germane to this post and ensuing discussion, he’s a corporate (I believe) lawyer at a large, top-tier NY law firm. How he finds the time to write the blog is beyond me. I discovered him after reading some of his tasting notes on Cellar Tracker and then following the trail back to his blog.