Three Newsletteres Every Wine Geek Needs to Read
By Tom Wark
Despite what you’ve heard, there is more to the traditional wine media than just Robert Parker Jr.’s “Wine Advocate” and the “Wine Spectator”.
Yes, the “Wine Spectator” is an advertising behemoth that has a loyal following of upwards of half a million readers. And Parker’s “Wine Advocate”, though fairly small in its circulation, is a market maker all unto itself. Both fine efforts.
But there’s more out there for the literate drinker. There are voices. Unique voices.
Berger has been writing about wine and the wine business for upwards of 30 years. He has written for the LA Times, numerous other wine publications and is syndicated today. But it’s inside his own newsletter, VINTAGE EXPERIENCES, where he lets loose with some of the most astute observations about wine, the wine industry and wine drinkers that you’ll find anywhere.
VINTAGE EXPERIENCES arrives weekly in your e-mail box for a fee of $58 annually. Each issue covers recent wine news and offers a collection of recommended wines. But what you are waiting and looking for is Dan’s commentary on what’s good for wine and wine drinkers. His most recent issue explored the most important factor that will lead to a wine aging well: the correct pH level. A warning to those of you who follow Mr. Parker’s Palate: Berger doesn’t like BIG, unctuous, over-the-top wines. He does not recommend them. In fact he bemoans them in language that only a man who’s seen better and wants better could muster.
If you are, as you should be, a fan of North American Pinot Noir, then you have no choice but to subscribe to THE PINOT REPORT. The newsletter that, again, arrives via e-mail is no more than three or four years out of the box. However, in that time it has already garnered enough attention to win a James Beard Award. And it deserves it.
Greg Walter is the mind and pen behind THE PINOT REPORT. I’d always thought of Greg as a publisher given his stints at the “The Wine Spectator” and “Appellation”. Yet with the release of this Pinot-centric monthly newsletter, it became clear that all these years Greg had been harboring an intense appreciation for wine and a great palate. One of the benefits of reading THE PINOT REPORT is that it regularly introduces its readers to new wines that few know about but that turn out to be stars.
For $75 annually you get a ton of reviews of Pinots from California and Oregon mostly, along with stories on Pinot-related events and some outstanding recipes to prepare for your assumed nights of Pinot debauchery.
Wiegand’s “Restauant Wine” is the granddaddy of these three publications having been published now for 18 years.
Bottom line: Ronn’s Got Palate! This man is both a Master Sommelier and a Master of Wine, two titles that are extraordinarily difficult to obtain. Early on Ronn chose to parlay this knowledge and talent into a career advising restaurant wine buyers. RESTAURANT WINE was just one of his projects.
Arriving bimonthly, RESTAURANT WINE is a bit of inside baseball insofar as it is aimed at the restaurant wine buyer, offering tips on everything from how to run a successful wine program, wine education, profiles of successful wine-oriented restaurants and coverage of how to match a wine program with different types of cuisine. But, for you and me, it’s the wine reviews that keep us coming back. Ronn’s descriptions of wines are dead on! Also, keep in mind that as he reviews wines he’s thinking about food and pairing, something not too many reviewers incorporate into their approach to wine criticism.
The price? $99 for a year.
