2009 - Directions in the New Year
With the start of the New Year, some new directions will be taken here at BeyondtheBottle.com. This wine blog will not stray from its core mission, which is to focus on those experiences that connect me to the people and places behind Oregon and Washington wines.
Even still, there will be less coverage of some topics, with more emphasis on features that will take readers beyond the bottle. For example, in terms of reviewing wines, a new tasting notes section will be launched, covering any bottle that is opened at our table, good or bad.
The wines that truly stand out, specifically those that connect the consumer to the broader context from which that bottle originates, will be featured in detail and highlighted as a recommended wine. Those that come up short due to how the wine tastes, will only be covered in brief tasting notes.
With so many Oregon and Washington wines to cover, it has become a challenge to feature each and every bottle that is opened at our table. One way to resolve this is to follow the path of other wine bloggers who only publish positive reviews, with no mention of the bottles that didn't meet the bar and therefore should be avoided.
You won't find that approach taken here at BeyondtheBottle.com, for there will continue to be positive and negative reviews, with the former expounded upon in significant detail while the latter is covered by tasting notes. That said, it's important to remind readers that any review of any wine is purely subjective, therefore I feel compelled to share a bit more about my tasting bias.
If you've read enough of my wine coverage these last twenty months, then you hopefully realize that my palate skews toward wines that offer balanced acidity, moderate fruit, low alcohol, and understated oak. Put another way, I want to taste the variety of the wine, but also seek to experience the vineyard from which the fruit is sourced. I can be forgiving of a wine that came from a particular vintage, knowing that it's predecessor has been or successor will be better.
In terms of taste, I seek the variety, vineyard, and vintage with every bottle I open and each glass that is poured. Along the way, I yearn to understand something about the people and places behind the wine I am consuming. Many times this larger context is offered on the bottle's label, on their web site, or in the tasting room. Regardless, my enjoyment of any wine is increased whenever something is offered to take me beyond what's inside the bottle to the people and places producing it.
For 2009, it is a given that more Oregon and Washington wines will gracing our dinner table in the days and weeks ahead. I also resolve to invest more time visiting wineries, specifically those focused on sustainable farming and winemaking practices. In addition, I can't wait to attend more seminars in the coming year, for these offer a more meaningful and focused tasting experience than that provided through the marathon tasting event of going from table-to-table, with glass extended begging for a pour.
In the coming months, you will also see more general commentary on topics related to reviewing, experiencing, and reading about wine. These perspectives will go beyond how a specific wine tastes or what occurred at a particular event. As mentioned in yesterday's post, 2008 - Reflections on the Past Year, these commentaries have become a useful catalyst for constructive dialogue between wine enthusiasts and industry professionals alike.
With this in mind, I would like to invite you, the reader, to offer your input so we can include you in the ongoing conversation that is underway here at BeyondtheBottle.com. And if blogging about Oregon and/or Washington wine is something you've been thinking of doing, then I wholeheartedly encourage you to take the plunge. Our region deserves more attention, not only from those in the wine media or industry itself, but more importantly from enthusiastic consumers.
We live in an amazing time whereby any consumer can have their voice heard through this 21st century printing press, the weblog. I look forward to you joining me in the New Year, whether posting a comment here or publishing your own wine blog, which I will happily link to from my blogroll (see left column for list of current bloggers).
Thanks for reading and may you experience the very best that Oregon and Washington wine has to offer in 2009. Happy New Year!
Comments
dear beyond the bottle,
wine is a journey, and i think you learn more about wine and your own preferences by testing and tuning your palette when you try a lot of different wines.
with this in mind, while your plans are ambitious, i do feel they are a bit erratic and some points seemed a bit confounding.
for example, how does one shed more light on the nw wine scene (objectively) when such clear wine preferences and biases are stated?
also, with over 500 bonded wineries in wa alone, one could argue most are connecting with consumers beyond the bottle in some regard. i'd like to understand the different types of connections these wineries have built with their fans/customers beyond whether they use sustainable practices or whether they scratch an interest of your own.
so i challenge you and other nw wine bloggers to introduce more objectivity - stretch your comfort zones - but still maintain your unique point of view.
cheers!
Posted by: b | f | January 1, 2009 01:32 PM
BF, you appear to have me confused with a professional wine writer or journalist who is charged with covering the entire Washington wine scene.
As I have stated before, I am not a journalist, nor do I pretend or aspire to be one with BeyondtheBottle.com. My reviews are merely expressions of the experiences I have consuming Pacific Northwest wine. In doing so, I feel obligated to offer my readers a level of transparency about my personal tastes in hopes this will help the reader understand any inherent bias my wine recommendations might have based on my palate.
If you think there is a wine writer out there today that is "objective", then you have been fooled into thinking that this category is capable of standardized measurement. Granted, there exists a level of objectivity in terms of identifying some faults in wine (e.g., corked, VA, bret, etc), but beyond that baseline, the rest is left up to an individual's palate.
I would argue that consumers would be much better off if wine writers were more transparent not only with their palate preferences, but also their motivations for covering some wines while leaving others unmentioned. Even still, one does not need the Robert Parkers of the world disclosing their preferences, as their bias is embedded in ratings and reviews that favor big, bold, meaty wines.
For the record, I have no issue with those types of wines, for that was all I could drink in the 90's. But as my wine journey has progressed, my palate has evolved from drinking wine as a cocktail to enjoying wine as an accompaniment to food. Thus, my preferences for Oregon pinot noir and Washington riesling as well as the occasional Syrah, Cabernet, or other local wine that is food friendly.
Beyond the local bottles, there is a rather diverse cornucopia of wines that fill my cellar and make it to my table each night for dinner. But I am only able to enjoy one bottle at a time, unlike those who cover wine for a living. These folks frequently sit down to marathon "tastings", covering dozens if not hundreds of wines in one day, whereupon quick proclamations are made as to which ones merit points or purchase. If that's how you choose your wine, then more power to you.
For me, basing my wine selections on someone who takes a quick sip, swirls and then spits, is not for me. And don't even get me started on the lack of objectivity this approach involves, regardless of one's palate bias. Tannin, alcohol, and other components in wine dull the palate after a certain period, therefore it's not wonder big, meaty wines get more points these days than their lighter, more understated peers.
So, I challenge you, BF, to accept what I and other bloggers like me are doing for what it is: a simple expression of our personal experiences consuming local wines or visiting local wineries and the resulting recommendations that are derived as a result of our individual palates and preferences.
Posted by: Thad W. | January 1, 2009 04:37 PM
Thad,
First, Happy New Year!
Second, with respect to your plans for 2009, in my experience, it has (thankfully) become harder and harder to find an outright bad bottle of wine, leaving aside various forms of inadvertent spoilage.
There are undoubtedly still a few total losers to be sure, but a much bigger category -- and a category that should be of considerable concern to consumers in the current economic climate -- is wine that sells at a premium price and isn't worth it.
Unlike the previous commentator, I don't think there is any problem with you stating your preference for wine that has certain characteristics -- less oaky, for instance.
But within the range of wine that you like, I think it is useful to keep questions along the lines of the following in mind:
"When is it necessary or adviseable for a consumer to pay a premium price for a certain type of wine?"
"Is a higher-priced wine really better than a similar offering that costs less? What makes it better?"
"When are consumers simply paying for a 'name' and not getting good value for it?"
Best wishes,
Fowler W. (Skip) Martin
Posted by: Fowler Martin | January 1, 2009 06:15 PM
Hey Skip, your point is well taken and it is one that offers a useful approach when evaluating wines within a certain segment. Good or bad economy, it is worthwhile to assess which wines merit their premium price points, as there are a number of inexpensive alternatives that exist. I will definitely take this into consideration on a go forward basis in 2009. Happy New Year!
Posted by: Thad W. | January 1, 2009 07:44 PM