Wine Enthusiast Magazine
SubscribeThe Internet has led to a great democratization of wine reviewing. No longer do consumers need to rely on just a few published critics for advice on what wines to buy or when to drink wines that they already own. Not only are there hundreds of wine bloggers offering buying advice, but bulletin-board and forum software, found at such sites as Brad Harrington’s West Coast Wine Network and The Auswine Forum, allow thousands of users to publish their own tasting notes. Web sites like Cellartracker and Snooth let users track their wine collections and review wines. The next generation of the Wine Enthusiast wine-ratings database will allow users to compare their impressions with those of our expert tasters, and share their own wine reviews with the world.
Given the enormous proliferation of wine tasting notes available on the Internet, will the public continue to support professional wine critics? Should they?
In my view, only if those writers are able to set themselves apart from the crowd. As we move forward, that will be the challenge for professionals—to differentiate themselves from the thousands of passionate amateur voices by offering extraordinary wine knowledge, unique perspectives, consistency of approach and entertaining writing without losing the reader involvement that seems to mark the best of the Web.
These editor blogs are our first real step in offering that capability; the revamped Buying Guide will be another, and eventually we’d like to add our own forum software so that more and more readers will be able to interact with our editors and each other on topics of your choosing, not just ours.
What do you think?
Filed under: Critics/Competitions, Opinions and Commentary
7 Comments
7 Responses to “Wine Critics in the Age of New Media”
Please Wait
March 23rd, 2009 at 6:18:13 PM
Hmm. Yes and no. Clearly the rules of journalism are being re-written and the threat that traditional publishing is facing must be quite scary for those who’ve yet to establish a wine community. Clearly peer to peer is more important than it’s ever been, partly because the means of production are now in the hands of the enthusiast as well as the professional. And let’s be clear, there are some pretty poor professional writers out there and some damned fine enthusiasts.
Content remains king though. The next few years will see new stars shine bright – opinion formers are as relevant online as they were in print. Witness Jamie Goode in the UK and Gary Vanyerchuk in the US.
March 23rd, 2009 at 6:46:04 PM
I think as long as the professional wine critics continue to receive the support and trust from readers and the access to wines unavailable to all but the most well-off wine blogger, then the current print media will survive the online media thrust. It also helps when publications such as the Wine Enthusiast realize that to stay current there needs to have an online area where readers can have more direct access to the writers by creating a dialogue (such as leaving a comment on a post).
March 23rd, 2009 at 8:06:47 PM
Good topic. I haven’t gotten into West Coast Wine Network or The Auswine Forum. Not a big fan of Snooth, just doesn’t work that well for me. Cellartracker, on the other hand, is incredible. I always reference that site to see what others are saying both pre and post purchase.
As for whether or not professional wine critics will survive, I think they will for at least a little while longer. Being a part of the new generation of wine drinkers, I am more than happy reading through multiple blog posts and watching WLTV. For those who have relied on Tanzer, Parker, and all of the others, it’s going to be a tough change. A change that I don’t think will be made any time soon.
March 23rd, 2009 at 9:42:15 PM
There’s a place for those professional critics. Always will be. They are a beacon that illuminates the terrain of wine brands and flavors, regions and vintages. They leave the bread crumbs we can follow. By their words we come to know them, and their dependable consistency is a lighthouse as we navigate the often complex world of wine. To be clear: it’s up to us to decide who is right or wrong, which we agree with and which we think is pure drivel. But without a pro’s grounding comments, there’s no home base. Without a home base to center us, we’re never really sure which of the blogger comments about wine is convincingly worth our time to read, or more importantly, our hard-earned wine dollar to purchase. That so, we might as well not have any comments at all and just toss the dice; taking pros out of the equation takes all sense of equilibrium from the effort.
March 23rd, 2009 at 11:19:08 PM
I certainly enjoy using Cellartracker, both writing my own public thoughts on wines I try and reading those of others. But I know I don’t have nearly the breadth of tasting experiences that any writer for any wine magazine has, or even many others posting reviews on public sites. So critics certainly still have a step up on evaluating a wine in my book.
March 24th, 2009 at 11:48:19 AM
I don’t think the true issue is whether a critic is a “professional” or “amateur”. The reason for the waning significance of professional critics is that they fail to connect with today’s wine consumer.The language, the attitude–it’s in the wrong decade. Cellartracker, Gary V are enjoying great success because they know their audience.
April 8th, 2009 at 12:33:48 PM
The issue is, as Joe notes, “extraordinary … knowledge, unique perspectives, consistency of approach and entertaining writing.” And that holds true for any media, any population, and any subject matter.
From what I read as a judge in Tom Wark’s wine writing category, there’s plenty of opportunity for new wine writers emerging from the blog world. Some amateurs will rise to the top and become professional. And perhaps not in wine but as writers.
So, I disagree with Raghav. Those he mentions rose to the top because they supply serious content. The delivery is either technically superior (as with cellartracker) or entertaining (as with Gary V). They are professionals. It doesn’t happen overnight.
Michael Broadbent is a good example of how one stays the course. He writes a note on every wine. He has a taste memory that is astounding. He doesn’t write for an audience. He writes for the wine and the moment. Therefore, he is consistent and entertaining.
Talking the language of the moment without depth is just skin on a web page.