Got an email from my pal Dave McIntyre at the Washington Post after the short item on Tuesday's blog about Slate's Mike Steinberger and wine writer certification. "Check out the comments," wrote Dave. "The certification police are out in full force."
I'll give those who favor certification this: They're persistent. A comment from Brandon Tebbes: "Your article seems to be nothing more than you justifying your own lack of knowledge and lack of ambition to pursue such knowledge." Someone calling himself Abe D. Grapeman compared wine writing to surgery. And, assuming I read it correctly, a comment from Juanma Holgado said Steinberger was an amateur best fit for family reunions.
Wow. If they rip Steinberger like this, and he may be the best wine writer working in the U.S. today, what would they think of the Wine Curmudgeon? Is it time to go back to sports writing?
It would be an interesting experiment to see just what wine writers would be certified in. Wine knowledge, for example, already has a wide variety of certifications. So it would have to be more than that. Ethics? Don't make me laugh. Writing? How does one "certify" good writing?
I know: how about we create a "certification" based entirely on people writing exactly what we would write under the circumstances?
Posted by: Tom Johnson | June 15, 2011 at 10:04 AM
You're right, Tom. Regardless of whether it is a noble ambition, I don't see how certification is possible. But at least it gives us something to discuss here.
Posted by: Jeff Siegel | June 15, 2011 at 10:08 AM
Oh, Lordie Lordie...
Posted by: AC | June 15, 2011 at 10:41 AM
Perhaps a certification can be considered if one is getting paid to write, but many wine-bloggers are not getting paid. For most, it is their hobby.
What next, a certification requirement for stamp collecting?
Posted by: WineEveryday | July 09, 2011 at 06:23 PM