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READERS' MAIL Peek behind the curtain T hank you so much for your column, "What Do Wine Writers Want?" (Wines & Vines, April 2011 issue.) It was extremely helpful to me, having been a publicist for more than 40 years, but with less than two of those years in the wine industry. I worked in music for the major- ity of my career, and I have found that the similarities between the wine business and the music business are pretty incredible. As you say in your column, wine writ- ers don't get paid much, and neither do music writers. I am still learning, and your column was a great step forward for me. E D I T O R ' S L E T T E R W hen I returned to my routine in late February after the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood Napa Valley, I found myself think- ing about what wine writers want. As a former full-time consumer wine writer and editor, I have a certain understanding of the craft that may help Wines & Vines readers see wine writers in a more accurate light. Winemakers and marketers tend to have a love-hate relationship with the media. But I recommend a love-love approach if you want your own busi- ness and the wine industry in general to benefit from well-informed media coverage for the long term. So, what do wine writers want? To taste and taste and taste Virtually all wine writers really love wine. They live to taste and taste and drink. In the late hours one night during the symposium, after sam- pling dozens of wines at the recep- tion, dinner and postprandial hour, some attendees continued the party with rarities they lugged from home to share with their mates, like a 1971 J.J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Ries- ling from Germany and a 6 puttonyo Royal Tokaji from Hungary. How to help: Send samples. Send Mike Hyland Meadowcroft Wines Sonoma, Calif. I them especially to writers who fre- quently cover your region or wine types, but learn their rules and pol- icies first. Cooperate with requests for older vintages, etc., from reli- able writers. Listen to them. It's very positive when wineries address head-on what concerns writers. Healthy publications Wine writing doesn't pay much anyway, so as newspapers and magazines continue to fold or lay off staff, wine writers value stable buyers of their writing more than ever. Stability comes with revenue, and revenue comes largely from advertising for both print and online media. How to help: Wineries are notoriously anti-advertising and pro-public relations. But advertising still works to sell and build brands. Further, if you believe that wine criticism has too few strong voices, then identify lesser-known media that you respect and advertise with them to support diversity of opinion. No strings attached Having said the above, let's be clear that serious, professional wine writers are journalists. Advertising does not influence good journalists, even though it can influence their publishers. Wine writers want no strings attached to the advertising support that their publications get. Write Us: Please send us your opinions about wine industry issues as well as your reactions to any of our articles. Send email to edit@winesandvines.com, What Do Wine Writers Want? Better yet, how can growers and vintners help them get it? How to help: Understand the wall between advertising and edi- torial content. Ad dollars should not and do not buy favorable editorial coverage in any respectable publication, despite frequent rumors to the contrary. If a publication offers this kind of quid pro quo, then walk away. You don't want this, really. Readers detect the dirty ethics and lose trust in not just the publisher but the advertiser, too. Less oak and alcohol The critics of high alcohol and domi- nant oak flavors have not gone away after 15 years. They are here to stay. It's one of the issues that wine writers love to discuss. Writers are finally becoming proactive about it by praising lighter, more balanced wines rather than sim- ply trashing the full-throttle wines. How to help: Let them know about your shorter hang-time, naturally lower alcohol, or low-oak wines. Capitalize on this non-interventionist approach as a point of difference that makes your wines more authentic. To be heard Wine writers, even the ones who are quiet in person, love having an audi- ence in print. They want to be heard. They love to see their names in print and enjoy it when consumers and wine producers take their advice. How to help: Listen to them. I think it's very positive when winer- ies address head-on what concerns writers. A seminar and tasting about "California Pinot Noir: In Pursuit of Balance" was scheduled for last month in San Francisco. It sound- ed like a direct response to the pleas of critics. To learn Journalists are essentially students who get paid to learn about a subject and write reports about it to help educate others. Wine writ- ers love to suck up new information as well as any other journalist. The newer the better, because most journalists covet true scoops, where they are the first in their field to report a new development. How to help: Educate them. Be the winemaker or grower who is happy to talk with journalists about a variety of issues and not just the vintage you are selling at the time. Call an especially in- terested writer with a scoop sometimes, before you send a press release. Help writers understand the realities and intricacies of grapegrowing and winemaking, and they will in turn do a better job of educating your consumers. who works in the industry. Regardless, I have been a subscriber to Wines & Vines for about 10 years or so. To me, this is one of the most interesting regular features you have had, and it pro- vides interesting information not available in other wine publications. Before your first report, I would regularly check out cinderellawine.com, buying from the site perhaps once every three to six months or so. When I saw your first Flash Report, I signed up for emails for all of the sites you listed. Now that a few months have passed, here are my results: I unsubscribed to all of the emails except Consumer thoughts about flash sites Cherokee_Nov05.qxt 9/19/05 10:52 AM Page 1 worth. I am a wine consumer, not someone know you've received a lot of corre- spondence regarding your new monthly Flash Report. I'd like to add my 2 cents those from WTSO and Cinderella Wine. Those two were the only sites that clear- ly indicate ratings on a wine if one was given. The others rarely showed ratings on wines. Perhaps most of the wines they offered didn't have ratings, or perhaps the ratings were not perceived as being very good. I won't go into the concept of buy- ing wines by rating, as that can occupy an entire issue. A high rating will not guaran- tee I will like a particular wine, but since there are tens of thousands of wines made every year, and I cannot taste them all be- fore buying (I wish I could), a high and un- biased rating (such as by WS or WA) will increase the odds that I will like that wine. Over the past few months I have bought about four bottles from WTSO and one from Cinderella Wine. In a perfect world, I would wish for two changes: First, to be able to set a "filter" on their sites to have them only send me emails for wines with a certain rating score or higher, and second, to only re- ceive emails from WTSO only as often as I change underwear, not the five emails per day they currently send me. It seems like I get one every five minutes. 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