Consider this a report from the frontline of wine journalism--if there is such a thing anymore.
The fifth annual Symposium for Professional Wine Writers convened in February in the Napa Valley, drawing 40-plus individuals who, in widely varying ways, write on wine professionally. Attendees included some newspaper staffers and book authors, as well as a bevy of bloggers and a few full-time multi-discipline freelancers; but many of the "pros" arrived at Meadowood Resort for their three-day hunker-down with idiosyncratic footholds in the discipline of wine writing.
The range was almost shockingly expansive, stretching, for instance, from the editor of Sommelier Journal (about as high-end as current American wine writing gets) to a self-publisher of wine country touring guides. Others included a California couple who developed a website 14 years before they ever penned a print article; a blogging waitress who has tattoos where most people have sleeves; an entrepreneurial Tennessean who created a magazine catering specifically to consumers of that controlled state; even a Manhattan ad sales rep who is hoping to break through to editorial and chef-sommelier and rarely puts his words on paper.
As a group, the symposium-goers represented the reality that wine writing has become a many-headed beast. What separated these writers from their peers was a desire to congregate with fellow scribes in a setting both rich in wine and deep in talented panelists and presenters. What they lacked in Parker-esque panache they more than made up for in passion and commitment.
So which way is the wind blowing in wine writing these days? As an attendee at the first (2005) and most recent symposia, I can state with certainty: it is blowing, with gale force, toward the Internet. At the opening session, attendees were asked: How many of you read wine blogs? Every hand went up; in fact, about half the attendees said they are bloggers. Five years ago, only a handful knew what blogs were. Fittingly, in place of the traditional thick, leathery three-ring binder of printed materials, each symposium-goer received a sleek silver flash drive.
The specter of the Internet was raised repeatedly throughout the conference. If one could chart the general zeitgeist of wine communication as viewed through symposium lenses, the trajectory of online writing is slanting steeply up, while print is sliding downward. The arcs may not have crossed yet--indeed, certain print titles remain tops in terms of industry impact--but online outlets represent the brave new world of opportunity and attention for wine writers.
Diverse Content
Evidence that the symposium has kept in step with the shifting tenor of wine writing was seen in the diverse slate of presenters and sessions. Panelists included some print icons (Karen MacNeil, Eric Asimov, Frank Prial, Elin McCoy) as well as two well-known bloggers (Tyler Colman of drvino.com and Alder Yarrow of Vinography.com) and tangential experts, including a screenwriter, video maven, photographers, book publishers and a few scribes ensconced at food/lifestyle magazines.
Jim Gordon, editor of Wines & Vines, set the theme with his opening remarks on "telling the authentic story" in wine writing. Group discussion circled back to that concept at several junctures, as the sessions themselves struck a balance among wine, the craft of writing and professional advancement.
On the content count, attendees heard an in-depth presentation on climate change and the impending impact on wine styles; a consumption-demographics report by John Gillespie of Wine Market Council; a focused blind tasting of Napa Valley Cabernet and Merlot; and panel discussions on "where great ideas come from" and "exciting trends in wine media." The writing craft was tackled by The Chicago Tribune's Louise Kiernan, speaking on journalistic techniques, as well as in private sessions with either Kiernan or writing coach Antonia Allegra. For professional advancement, one panel explored the process of collaboration; breakout sessions zeroed in on blogging and video production.
Perhaps the symposium's seminal moment came when Eric Asimov presented his take on "The Tyranny of the Tasting Note." Asimov, from his perch as The New York Times wine critic, began by positioning tasting notes as wine writing's most mockable form, which have contributed extensively to what he called "wine anxiety" on the part of normal wine drinkers. He then exhorted the audience essentially to do better than give overly specific organoleptic descriptions, especially when tied to scores. Asimov stressed that "the real purpose of wine is to facilitate friendship," and the only way to transmit that truth in wine writing is to present wine in context of how it is enjoyed: "Sometimes a great Beaujolais is a better choice than La Tâche." He added that describing wine in simple terms--such as "serious wine, frivolous wine, picnic wine or seafood wine"--is more useful to readers than "trying to nail down every sensation that comes to mind."
Judging from the nodding heads in the room, this session might be better defined as a conjugal moment. Not only did it spur animated discussion afterward, but the speech was also singled out in several blog posts and at least one newspaper column written by attendees within weeks of the symposium.
Interestingly, Asimov's address also shone light on the degree to which talk of mainstream wine media was missing in action at the symposium--yet hardly missed. Only one attendee actually uses the 100-point scale (and that is for his day job, rather than his blog). Moreover, Wine Spectator and Robert Parker reared their heads only briefly as reference points. I don't think I heard Steven Tanzer or Connoisseur's Guide mentioned once. Discussions clearly and consistently pointed in directions other than "points."
On the other hand, this being the symposium's fifth go-'round in the same locale and many of the participants being repeat attenders, there was palpable awareness and out-of-session talk of the elephant in the room named Napa. Indeed, the event is run by a non-profit corporation whose board members are employees of Napa Valley Vintners, CIA Greystone and Meadowood. In addition, 13 of the writers were awarded "fellowships" that covered the expenses of these individuals (myself included); the fellowships, sponsored in assorted categories by 13 NVV wineries, were given to applicants based on writing samples judged--blind--by three independent wine writers (board members and wineries had no say in who was selected). And of course, the symposium was timed, as in past years, to feed directly into Premiere Napa Valley (perhaps the Valley's most insider-y event of the year), making the Napa flavor even more salient. The Napa-is-awesome undercurrent, emphasized by the steady and exclusive flow of hometown bottlings at bountiful meals, was semi-subtle, not unlike being tapped repeatedly with a padded mallet.
The symposium's tolerance for (or perhaps embrace of) diversity came to the fore during two concurrent blind tastings at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. In one room, Karen MacNeil assumed the role of stern taskmaster, leading her group in a serious nose-to-the-glass session. In another room, Alder Yarrow and the avuncular Frank Prial made their session a sort of Cab vs. Merlot guessing game, peppered with levity (plus the revelation that Frank Prial "not once" tasted wine blind when he wrote for The New York Times). Individuals from both groups emerged raving about how much they enjoyed their respective sessions, even though they had been conducted with completely divergent tacks.
Throughout the conference, individual attendees were compelled to gauge their own positions in the churning seas of wine writing, replete with evolving markets and ethical gray areas--amidst an economy whose downward spiral showed few signs of abating. Not unexpectedly, more questions were raised than answered. And while the future for wine writing is not exactly clear, those professionals who attended, be they part- or full-time, seemed more than willing to aim for the bright side moving forward. wbm
Based in metro New York, W. R. Tish edited Wine Enthusiast for 10 years; he now develops wine events through www.wineforall.com, blogs at www.wineskewer.wordpress.com and can be followed on twitter @Tishwine.
