Swirls: An appeal for some restraint and self-editing in wine social media

It is a fact of life in the online wine world: just about everyone who makes or markets or writes about wine these days promotes their efforts via social media, especially Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin. I use all three at times to make readers aware of stories on this website, especially Twitter, whose robust wine community I enjoy being part of, at least for the most part.

I qualify my enthusiasm because the so-called Twitterverse is also a repository for over-the-top self-promotion that is repetitious, annoying and downright boring. I am hardly the first  to suggest that one should strive for an approach that balances self-promotion and the sharing of wine information and observations (as well as non-wine musings) that both wine followers and a broader audience might find interesting and useful. I readily admit that I am still looking for the right balance in my own Tweeting, although I think I’m moving toward it.

Some examples of balance: while Howard G. Goldberg (@howardggoldberg) flags us on his Sunday wine pieces in The New York Times, he also wonders, as he did on Twitter yesterday, “how many man-in-the-street consumers, finding ‘tightly wound’ in a wine review in a newspaper, understand what it means.” It’s an interesting point that invites discussion and self-reflection. Likewise, Tom Wark (@tomcwark), author of the widely read Fermentation wine blog, balances plugs for his own posts with simple questions, without links, such as: “Are any of the Republican candidates for President better for the wine industry?” or “If all wines tasted exactly as they do now—but contained no alcohol—would you drink as much as you do?”

By contrast, for another writer I follow on Twitter, hardly a day goes by when there isn’t another Tweet with another link about another review of this writer’s latest book. How many times must followers be subjected to this? Twenty, 50, 100? We get the point. Not to mention link after link to the writer’s articles and radio appearances and speaking engagements. Isn’t there  anything worth saying that’s not about this writer’s clearly booming business? (In case you’re wondering, I’m not going to mention this person by name because snarkiness is something else for which I have low tolerance.)

Beyond out-of-control self-promotion, there is the wide and largely useless practice of thanking one’s followers for following them or for re-tweeting their tweets. While this may make those being thanked feel good, think of the hundreds, or thousands or tens of thousands of followers for whom these Tweets have absolutely no relevance. I feel a little like the late Any Rooney in saying all this, but does anyone really disagree?

Back when newspapers, magazines and TV and radio broadcasts were the only media for news and information, there was something known as “limited space.” Reporters and  writers, as I learned, had to decide how to fit what they needed to say into the space or time allotted. Cyberspace has changed all that.

Another saying among journalists is that everyone needs an editor. In this era of unlimited digital space and endless self-promotion, a little self-editing is really what’s in order.

del.icio.us Tags: Twitter wine,Twitter,Facebook wine,Facebook,Linkedin,Edward Deitch,Tom C. Wark,Fermentations,Howard G. Goldberg,New York Times wine,Social media,Wine marketing,Wine news,Wine PR,Wine promotion

Swirls: A modest proposal on writing about clients, samples and other wine-industry connections

As you may have noticed in this space in recent months, I am all about disclosure, disclosure and more disclosure when it comes to any connections I have with the wine industry (samples, press trips, speaking engagements) and believe it is incumbent on anyone claiming to be a credible wine reporter or reviewer to do so. As I’ve learned over several decades in journalism, mostly with national news organizations, integrity is just about everything, and I’ve tried to follow that principle in almost a decade of writing about wine.  If you’ve just tasted a “killer sauvignon blanc” and the winery is your client, I want to know that fact. Loved a rosé that you received as a press sample? Let me know that you acquired the wine that way. While most of us in the wine world know how the business works – it is driven largely by public relations and marketing – I’m not sure that the average wine lover who comes across this blog or that Twitter account knows enough to read between the lines and, as a result, may be caught off guard and influenced by conflicted information. By disclosing these relationships, you are telegraphing to your readers that you care about these principles, that you respect their right to know about your connections, and that you have a  sophisticated and  professional view of these things (I believe that those in the wine industry will have greater respect for you as well).

I was reminded about this issue the the other day by an item I came across on Twitter. John Gillespie, who runs an online research company called Wine Opinions and represents wine clients in their marketing efforts, posted the following Tweet:

@WineOpinions John Gillespie

I never work for people whose wines I don't love, but I'm going to attach "#client" to every tasting note I offer on a client wine.

Gillespie is not the first to disclose a client connection on Twitter, but he is the first I have seen to do so in such a clear and direct way. With a single word, he is removing any ambiguity about his relationship with a wine. Ultimately, his followers will have to decide whether they “love” the wines he promotes as much as he does, but at least now they’ll have little doubt about where he’s coming from when he mentions them. This idea is so simple, taking just seven of 140 characters in a Tweet, that it should become standard practice for those who Tweet about their clients. Similarly, another seven-character tag -- #sample – should be used by wine journalists and critics when they write about wines sent to them as samples (this blog discloses that fact at the end of every post about wines received for review). So, from now on, when you see “#sample” at the end of a Tweet on @VinDeitch, you’ll know that this is how I obtained the wine. There is, after all, no downside to disclosure. What are your thoughts on this issue? Comments welcomed.

Technorati Tags: Wine and social media,Wine and Twitter,Wine marketing,Wine news,Wine and disclosure,Edward Deitch,John Gillespie Wine Opinions,Edward Deitch Twitter,Vint-ed.com,Wine samples

Latest top wine Tweets, from the serious to the hilarious

I feel just a tad like that New York TV sportscaster whose “Spanning the World” segments used to show the highlights (and low lights) of the sports world. But as I devote more time and attention to Twitter, with its vibrant wine community, some Tweets clearly stand out, whether for their substance or refreshing lack of it. Herewith, offered raw and without comment in what I hope will become a regular feature in this space, a few that struck me as I scrolled back through today’s Tweets: 

 

@islewine Ray Isle

Congrats to @belinda_nyc & everyone at The Modern for winning James Beard Award for best wine service!! #jbfa

 

@ablegrape Doug Cook

Interesting. Twitter suggested I follow Pampers. Do they know something I don't?

 

@SlateWine SlateWine

Bernard Madoff’s wine collection to be auctioned. Wonder if he had anything from Ponzi Vineyards. http://bit.ly/izWxKE

 

@WineTravel Wink Lorch

The nonsense Grand Cru Languedoc proposal as elucidated by @JancisRobinson http://t.co/Adf4mcn - great estates matter so much more than GCs.

 

@JamesSuckling James Suckling

Mouth is still raw from a number of overextracted, overalcoholic 2008 CA Cabs...ouch.

 

@DebraMeiburgMW Debra Meiburg MW

Judging in So. Africa: Spider in glass #12; Snake in tasting rm #A; fab silver & gold medals in SB flight #1 #omtws

Technorati Tags: Twitter wine,@VinDeitch,Wine and social media,Edward Deitch,@SlateWine,Debra Meiburg,@ablegrape,Doug Cook wine,James Suckling,@JamesSuckling,Ray Isle,@islewine @WineTravel,Wink Lorch,Jancis Robinson,Languedoc wines,Languedoc grand cru wines

Wine war of words on Twitter: Dressner v. Dexheimer on full disclosure

Anyone who Tweets about wine knows that there is a great deal of interesting content and comment to be mined on Twitter. The site is also a repository for self-serving, promotional and, yes, conflicted material being put out there in 140 characters or less. I use it to point out my stories on this blog, as do many other wine writers vis-à-vis their Web sites, blogs and other outlets. (Then  there’s the whole commercial side of the business that’s also vying for attention.) Transparency, of course, is key to one’s credibility in wine or any other kind of journalism. And Twitter is at least a quasi-journalistic vehicle, a place where writers, including professional journalists and many others, are disseminating information for public consumption.

But Twitter, like other social media forums, is not governed by editors, as traditional news and information outlets are. This lack of oversight is liberating on one hand but problematic on the other in that it is harder for the audience -- “followers” on Twitter – to known exactly where the writer is coming from. Yes, one can (and should) look at a “bio” on Twitter to understand the perspective and background of the Tweeter. But the bios only go so far, and the more I read about wine on Twitter, the more I feel that greater disclosure is needed, even in 140 words or less or, perhaps more to the point, precisely because a Tweet is 140 words or less.

What got me thinking about all of this was a fascinating exchange of Tweets in recent days between Joe Dressner, the well-known New York importer, and Fred Dexheimer, a master sommelier who is also a spokesman for wine trade groups, including Wines of Chile and the wines of South West France. (Full disclosure: I know both of them, having written about many Dressner wines over the years in my MSNBC.com column, and having moderated, for a fee, a panel discussion on the wines of South West France that included Fred Dexheimer.)

What appears to have started the exchange was this Tweet from Dexheimer:

@FredDexMS FredDexMS (Juiceman)

RT @astorcenter: Get recommendations on new and noteworthy warm weather wines from a Master Sommelier (@FredDexMS) http://bit.ly/fJJGH0

It quickly drew these Tweets from Dressner:

@joedressner joedressner

@FredDexMS Maybe it would be useful to note that you're being paid to write how awesome all these wines are?

@joedressner joedressner

@FredDexMS @astorcenter A Master Sommelier who is being paid by the producers to give the recommendations.

To which Dexheimer responded:

@FredDexMS FredDexMS (Juiceman)

@joedressner @mmWine Always transparent. Chile, SW France, Toro & many others r clients I work with. I even tweet about nonclients... ;-)

It continued:

@joedressner joedressner

@FredDexMS All I see from you is how awesome the wines are from producers that are clearly your clients, without you noting so. Shame.

@joedressner joedressner

@FredDexMS Where on the web does it say you are being paid for your commentary. Imagine, you bragging that you even recommend non-clients

@FredDexMS FredDexMS (Juiceman)

@joedressner I am the speaker for Wines of Chile (90 wineries) have been for 2 years now. I educate & promote 4 whole country! #lovemyjob

@joedressner joedressner

@FredDexMS Wow! Global domination! What other countries! All 90 wineries have good wine? Hard to imagine.

@FredDexMS FredDexMS (Juiceman)

@joedressner @joedressner I am the speaker 4 Wines of Southwest France (10 AOP's) have been for 2+ years now. I educate & promote #lovemyjob

@joedressner joedressner

@mmWine @FredDexMS Just be up front that you are being paid to give endorsements. That's all you need to do to keep your credibility.

It was one of the more healthy exchanges I have seen on Twitter, a useful reminder that when it comes to wine, as in many other things, it’s important to know where the Tweeter is coming from.

Technorati Tags: Twitter wine,Twitter,Fred Dexheimer,Joe Dressner,Edward Deitch,Social media,Wine and social media

SWIRLS: Vino 2011 -- “totally insane” Italian appellations, retro wine, Robert Parker

Here in New York, this week’s Vino 2011 Italian Wine Week opened today with some perspectives on Italian wine and other aspects of the wine business from a panel of industry leaders. Here are some of the more interesting observations and comments.

From Leonardo Lo Cascio, Chairman and Founder, Winebow, Inc.

-- “In the sweet retail spot of $25 and under there is not another country that comes close to Italy” for American wine drinkers.

-- On Italian sparkling wines: “I don’t think we have an Italian sparkling wine story, we have a Prosecco story.” Beyond the great success of Prosecco, Italian sparklers “don’t do very well because they are priced like Champagne” and on a special occasion “people want to go safe” with Champagne.

-- On Italy’s wine laws: “Most Italian wine laws are totally irrelevant to the American consumer. People can’t make their way around DOCs or DOCGs. The  whole thing needs to be simplified and made easier. We have some appellations that are totally insane.” Example he cited: Colli Morenici e Mantovani del Garda. “There are 280 of those appellations.”

From Cristina Mariani May, Co-CEO, Banfi Vintners:

-- There is increasing interest among consumers in regional wines from Italy,  and there is a fallback to “retro wines” such as dry Lambruscos, Soaves, Amarones and Frascatis. “What is old is really new again but new in a better style, a purer style.”

-- More and more Italian producers are using natural  growing methods, even if they are not going through the cumbersome process of becoming certified organic.

From Tyler Colman, editor of Dr. Vino.com:

-- On wine journalism and criticism: The traditional model of “handing down points from Manna in Heaven is running out of gas.” Young people, thirsty for wine knowledge, are largely getting it from their friends and passionate retailers. As for wine information on the Web: “It’s a bull market for free content. If you’re giving it away for free on the Internet, people will come and read your content.” He noted that there are four million “core wine consumers” on Twitter alone.

-- Robert Parker won’t be replaced and there will be “a lot more voices” in terms of influential wine writers.

-- On barriers to increasing Italian wine sales even further:  1)more education will be needed because of the great diversity of Italian wines;  2) “The retail channel, I think it’s fair to say, is blocked” because of this country’s still-restrictive wine shipping laws.

Technorati Tags: Vino 2011,Tyler Colman,Dr. Vino,Winebow,Leonardo Lo Cascio,Cristina Mariani May,Banfi Vintners,Castello Banfi,Edward Deitch,Italian wines,Prosecco,Robert Parker

Swirls: use of Facebook, Twitter explode in the wine industry as recession hits the business, wine consumers hard

As in many other fields, the use of social media is exploding in the wine business, and a new survey documents just how important it has become.

The survey was conducted among 109 California wine professionals by the Wine Industry Financial Symposium Group and the University of California-Davis Graduate School of Management. More than half the participants were wine producers, the rest wine grape growers, distributors, retailers and others.

In 2009, for example, 46 percent of them were using Facebook in their businesses. This year the number had grown to almost 83 percent. Twitter? While just 21 percent were “Tweeting” in 2009, 64 percent were doing it this year. A year ago, only 18 percent had a company blog; now it is almost 52 percent.

And with good reason. While the jury is still out on social media’s effectiveness, employing Facebook and Twitter and blogging to get your message out is relatively inexpensive, and the growing use of social media has coincided, not surprisingly, with the continuing hangover of the recession being felt in the wine business.

Sips: a wine and Twitter blend

I dipped into last night’s wine “Tweetup” event, an online wine tasting organized on Twitter and, despite a bit of skepticism, I must say I enjoyed the experience. The theme was wine blends: open a blended wine and then voice an opinion about it in 140 characters or less (actually 129 characters because at the end of each Tweet you had to type in “#wineblends” so that all who were involved in the event could see your posts.

The tasting was held from 5 to 7 PM Pacific time, which was actually great for me because we usually eat dinner here in New York after 8, so I was able to provide a food context. The wine I chose was Newton Vineyard’s 2006 Napa Valley Claret, a $25 blend of mainly merlot and cabernet sauvignon with smaller amounts of cabernet franc, petit verdot and syrah. I was hoping that it would be a good match for what seemed like a classic, simple pairing: grilled steak, baked potatoes and sautéed broccoli rabe.

The combination, it turned out, was superb, and I was excited to Tweet about it. So there I was, BlackBerry in hand at the dinner table with my wife Carla, who has a thing about manners, and our two boys who were clearly wondering what I was doing with my gadget when they couldn’t play with theirs. It was “business,” Carla explained. And so I called up Twitter, logged in and posted my first Tweet of the evening: “Nice combo = prime London broil + Newton's '06 Napa Valley Claret.” I immediately followed that one with a slightly more specific Tweet: “Newton's '06 Napa Val Claret kinda Bordeaux-like w/nice bal, gd tan struct, pretty dark berry fruit.”

Within minutes, I heard from an acquaintance, “joejanish,” who wanted to know, “What is more chewy? the london broil or the tannins in that claret?” I laughed out loud and clearly had to think of an equally witty counter-Tweet. Almost immediately, the experience had become more than about just the wine; it was entertainment, which is clearly part of what is drawing so many people into it. “Chewiness is in check in both,” I replied. “Maybe it's the A1 sauce neutralizing the steak & wine. ”

And so it went for a couple of hours with strangers and friends, amateurs and wine professionals, all mingling virtually as they posted tasting notes, observations and friendly banter. Some had gotten together at wineries or art galleries or in their homes for the event. Most seemed to have had a good time. Back on Twitter today, someone wrote that the event was attended by 347 “Tweeps” who posted 1,781 Tweets.

Wineries that had organized tastings within the Tweetup seemed ecstatic after last night’s event, as well they should be. With the chance to promote their brands to hundreds of wine enthusiasts at a time, the chances for positive feedback and increasing sales are high. It would be interesting to know whether anyone is thinking of a way of holding blind tastings on Twitter, which would present a slightly more challenging situation for marketers. Given the speed with which the wine world is changing, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone is on it – and already Tweeting about it.

del.icio.us Tags: Twitter,Twitter wine,Newton winery,Social media,Edward Deitch,Wine marketing,Virtual wine tasting,Tweetups,Tweets