8.15.2011

Swirls: Caught in the act – a wine marketer pushes the limits of integrity

How would you like to buy your way onto this blog? If not for outright cash, perhaps for a nice little gift of your choice, or even store credit? I’m kidding, of course, but there are those out there in the wine business who think not only that this is possible, but that it is standard practice for bloggers, who, as I have said before, are considered soft targets – the low-hanging fruit of wine journalism – by many in wine marketing and PR.

What got me thinking about this again was an email I received a week or so ago. “Hello Edward!” it began. “My name is Laina, and I’m currently doing the online marketing for Vintage Cellars, the email2 custom wine cellar and wine storage specialists with a large online presence.” This was followed by some terms of endearment: “First of all, I want to compliment you on your blog! Your content is incredibly knowledgeable and interesting, especially when it comes to everything wine.” Thanks, I thought to myself, although wine-related content, as anyone who reads my site knows, is really the only thing on it.

Laina continued: “We at Vintage Cellars would love if you would be willing to help spread the word about how useful and wonderful Vintage Cellars is.” Subtle, I thought, though at this point I was basically still okay with what I was reading. But then  Laina got specific: “You could do this by allowing me to write a guest blog on your site (so you wouldn’t even have to write it, unless you would prefer it that way).” Hmm. Let’s see. The last time I checked, every item that has ever appeared on this blog was written, uh, by me! Yeah, I kind of do like to write my own content.

Laina even proposed some specific topics that she (or I) could write about: “It could be a review of VintageCellars.com as a whole, or about a specific product available at Vintage Cellars with a link to it.” (Mustn’t forget that all-important link.) “Vintage Cellars is especially proud of their custom cellars section and wine cabinets.”

And what would be in it for me? Laina had the answer to that question, too. “As a thank you,” she said, “we will give you your choice of Riedel wine glasses, Riedel decanter, Mulholland All Leather Sommelier Corkscrew and Leather Case, Mulholland Flourish Fairway Clutch Bag, or Mulholland All Leather Golf Ball and Tee Holder. If you prefer Vintage Cellars store credit, that is also a possibility.”

And there it was, Laina’s pitch on behalf of her company, the latest example of questionable marketing practices I have received or noticed in recent months. In this new era of blogging, Tweeting and other forms of democratic journalism, many more people have been given a public voice, with standards and levels of objectivity left entirely up to them. This has provided an enormous new opening and even, as Laina’s email so clearly demonstrates, a sense of entitlement, to some of those trying to promote their products, causes or agendas, in wine and  elsewhere. Among other things, I wondered if Laina sent the same pitch to the wine columnists of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal or the San Francisco Chronicle, or whether she would have sent it to me when I was writing my column for  MSNBC.com, all news organizations with clearly defined policies on these matters. I think not.

When I showed a copy of this email to a friend who is a PR veteran and who ran her own highly successful agency, she shook her head and said that this was the kind of thing that gave the business a bad name. It also made me wonder whether they even bother with issues like this  in marketing classes these days? To be fair, most wine marketing and PR professionals understand the problem with this approach and wouldn’t dream of it. I would like to think that most bloggers understand it as well,  but I’m not sure. Would Laina have made this pitch to me (and, presumably, others) if there weren’t some precedent for it? Probably not.

It is largely up to journalists and others who project an authoritative voice when writing about wine to police themselves to maintain basic standards of objectivity, including issues of disclosure and conflict -- standards that are fundamental to all of journalism. As a seemingly routine email from an online marketing manager shows, it may be time to redouble our efforts in this regard.

8.08.2011

Sips: Enjoying two superb white wine values from the Finger Lakes

As I continue to focus on New York wines this summer, two whites from the Finger Lakes region stand out for warm-weather driHeron hill rieslingnking, both of them from one of the region’s leading wineries. And as I post this after a dramatic day on Wall Street, with the  Dow dropping more than 600 points, it’s also worth pointing out that they are both under $15.  

It’s well known in the wine world that the cool-climate Finger Lakes produce some superb rieslings, and Heron Hill’s 2009 New York Dry Riesling not only supports that fact but demonstrates superb value at the modest price of $14. This light, lovely wine shows a good deal of complexity, with guava and other tropical fruit notes, tangerine, lime and a wet-stone minerality that distinguishes it from rieslings with lesser pedigrees. Its ample acidity not only makes it a thirst-quenching aperitif in these dog days of summer but an excellent match for a variety of lighter foods, including sushi, sautéed or broiled fluke fillets or other freshly caught fish, salads and grilled chicken. Alcohol is 12 percent.

I was also impressed by Heron Hill’s 2009 Ingle Vineyard  Unoaked Chardonnay, a single-vineyard wine that also sells for $14. The Heron Hill chard problem with many chardonnays made without exposure to oak is that they lack interest and depth beyond the fruit. In this one, however, the fruit notes, mainly green apple and lime, are balanced – enhanced might be a better word – by a delightful mineral component that gives the wine a lively complexity and reminded me of Chablis, the chardonnay from Burgundy also made, in its basic examples, without oak. This one, with alcohol also at 12 percent, will go especially well with grilled tuna and striped bass, as well as chicken and pork. What makes these wines so appealing to me is their finesse, achieved in part by their modest alcohol levels and cool-weather acidity.  Click here to go to Heron Hill’s Web site. Wines received as press samples.

8.01.2011

Sips: A sampling of top Long Island wines for summer drinking

When the editors of a new website, Metrofocus.org based here in New York, asked me to contribute a piece on New York wines,  I decided to focus this first article on the wines of Long Island’s mccall East End, particularly the North Fork, where most of the region’s 60-plus wineries and vineyards are located.  The wines, which I have been following closely for many years, are worth seeking out for their elegance and relatively low levels of alcohol. Among others, you’ll find lots of crisp, fresh whites that are perfect for summer drinking. Click here to read my article, which includes a list of five top Long Island wines I found in my tastings. Wines received as press samples.