Winebits 136: Chardonnay, wine writing, wine competitions

• Chardonnay wants some respect: It must be tough being the most popular wine grape in the world, what with all those other grapes clamoring for attention. Hence the first Chardonnay Symposium, set for July 31. Or, as the Web site notes, "This event is the first of its kind in the U.S. to highlight this popular varietal throughout a full day of events.  Chardonnay experts will come together to share exclusive insight with you about this golden grape." There are two ways to look at this. It's either a tourism promotion for the Santa Maria Valley, or the chardonnay people are really, really insecure. I'd assume the former, but given the state of the wine business today, I wouldn't be surprised by the latter.

• Don't trust those wine writers: Steve McIntosh, who does the Winethropology blog, is warning us not to trust wine writers and bloggers who take free samples -- which, curiously enough, includes himself. "The bottom line is that anyone reviewing something they did not shell out their hard-earned shekels for is going to be less demanding and more generous," he wrote. It's a post worth reading, and something I have discussed many times (and my pal Tom Johnson at Louisville Juice has an interesting take on McIntosh's post).  Where McIntosh loses focus is in dividing wine writing into professionals and non-professionals, where professionals seems to mean the Winestream Media and non-professionals seems to mean wine lovers who blog, but who also have a day job and aren't taken seriously for that reason. As the Wine Curmudgeon likes to think, he blurred those distinctions a long time ago. And I'm far from the only one who has.

• Do wine competitions matter? Apparently, yes, if you're a smaller winery and do well. That was one of the conclusions at a panel discussion, "The Value of Wine Competitions," held during the fourth annual Conference of the American Association of Wine Economists. (The AAWE, as it refers to itself, is a really cool organization that publishes papers about geeky wine topics that I love, like Eco-Labeling Strategies: The Eco-Premium Puzzle In The Wine Industry.) The panel also discussed whether competitions are valid, given how wildly results fluctuate. There was little conclusion here, other than yes, results vary, and we need to do a better job of judging.

chardonnay, wine writiong, wine competitons

Comments

[Craig]

Could not agree with McIntosh more. I'm glad blogs were required to indicate which wines were received as samples, and I've stopped reading those that review only samples. First, any blogger who rips sample after sample is going to see his/her supply of freebies dry up quickly. Secondly, he's right when he notes that one will nearly always be more forgiving of a free wine than one you purchased yourself. It's human nature.

[Steve McIntosh]

Thanks for the plug, Jeff, though the piece isn't "warning us not to trust wine writers and bloggers who take free samples". Oh, wait a second...I guess the title is "Why You Shouldn't Trust Wine Writers". My bad. Okay, so the title is distracting from the real point, which is exactly what you quoted: "...anyone reviewing something they did not shell out their hard-earned shekels for is going to be less demanding and more generous."

Thinking about it now from a distance, I guess this is revealing of my own struggles as I have trash-talked (why call it something more polite than what it really is?) wines and then share that opinion with the winemaker and the five people who read my blog.

"Hey, Ms Winemaker, how are you? Thanks for sending me your current releases at great expense and which you worked so hard to produce. What did I think? Well, I think you should quit your day job. My neighbor's cat is in renal failure thanks to your attempt at Tempranillo. But, hey, since you're going to ignore me anyway, please be sure to send me next year's releases so my readers have something entertaining - and to keep the animal population under control."

But I'm losing focus (again). Back to your point that I am dividing wine writing into professionals and non-professionals. Once again, my failing if that's what came across. The dividing line isn't the person or profession - it's the transaction of the purchase.

When it's present, the bar is higher.

Now on to see Tom's take - always a rich read...

Cheers,

Steve

[Steve McIntosh]

Thanks, Craig. Apologies to Jeff for posting a redirect here, but based on your comments, you may find this entertaining: http://tinyurl.com/32k92sc

[Jeff Siegel]

Many well-reasoned thoughts, Steve. If more people thought about this issue, as Tom and I have discussed (much too often, I'm afraid), wine writing and blogging would be infinitely better off. You are exactly right -- it is about the transaction with the reader. Not enough people who write about wine respect the reader.

[Steve McIntosh]

Well said. It is always about the reader in the end. Once we lose sight of that, our writing becomes, forgive the crassness, literary masturbation.

[Kady]

Thanks for the mentioning The Chardonnay Symposium! It's actually an event to educate consumers, trade and media about Chardonnay. It's such a versatile varietal that deserves national attention; especially since it's the top selling wine in the country. While we aren't directly promoting the Santa Maria Valley wine country we are definitely excited to show off our beautiful country as the backdrop to this event.

You're right that the "Chardonnay people" are not insecure. I've found that they are some of the most passionate people I've known. They are excited to be discussing such a complex white wine like Chardonnay. It's really inspiring to hear them talk--I'm looking forward to sharing that experience with consumers who attend the event.