Can wine lovers really trust wine writers? Are wine critics and reviewers truly independent representatives of wine consumers or are they just wine insiders with their snouts in the trough (lake?) of wine provided by a generous wine industry that is always on the lookout for a free editorial plug?
This perennial question arose again recently and in response I dug out a relevant piece I wrote on the topic in 2002. Here it is.
Top five wine writer types
Winewriters are a dime a dozen. They come in various shapes and sizes – here are a few of the more common types.
The Junketeer – Accomplished, freeloading world traveller. Guaranteed to write glowing reports on wines from hosts’ wineries in France, Spain, Italy, Portugal etc. or, less frequently, from another state in own country. Rarely found in city of permanent residence.
Related to the Researcher. Who employs gushing gambits on industry identities to solicit free hospitality, such as:
‘I’d just love to visit your winery, region. What’s that? Stay at your house? I couldn’t. My plane arrives at 3 pm.’
‘That sample of wine you sent me – wonderful. I wonder if your rep could just drop off two or three more bottles, I’m having a few influential friends around for dinner and would like to show it to them.’
‘I’ve heard that your new restaurant’s wine list is a stunner – love to come by try out the cuisine and have a look.’
‘No, I’ve never been to the Napa. Do you have a visiting wine writers’ program?’
The researcher, in turn, is first cousin of the Mad Hatter – Who can expertly juggle many different hats simultaneously without being aware of the degree of difficulty. Can write wine columns and earn money via commercial interest/s in the wine industry whilst maintaining complete objectivity. Common species. Over the years there have been enough practitioners of this feat to staff a circus. Loved by the industry, feared by the consumer. Thinks a conflict of interest is a parliamentary debate about bank lending rates.
Then there is the Pisspot – Rosy, grog-blossomed cheeks. Attends every free lunch and dinner. Drinks every sample bottle. Always in the market for a liver transplant (as transplantee that is, not donor). Endangered species. Nocturnal, most often seen at dusk in well-frequented watering holes.
Independent – Self-employed, buys own wine. Never accepts samples or freebies of any sort. Palaeontologists believe that a fossilised skeleton showing evidence of malnutrition found in a recently excavated paupers’ graveyard might possibly be a relic of this long-extinct species. Of interest to academics only.