The World's Worst Wine Writer?

This post on bad wine writing from Bob Bly (a pretty well-know direct marketer and copywriter), entitled The World's Worst Wine Writer?, is interesting for a couple of reasons.

First, it highlights a poor wine review from a very popular publication, USA Today.  If you wonder why "average folks" have a bad impression of wine culture, this is certainly a contributing example.  To be fair to the writer, Jerry Shriver, it appears that he doesn't usually write this way, and his blog does link to great examples of wine writing like Dr. Vino and Vinography (both American Wine Blog Award winners).

Second, the comments to Bly's post illustrate how a cross-section of people in and outside the wine drinking public feel about wine and wine writing.  It's a small sample, but it does serve as a reminder that not everyone sees the world as we do.

All wine reviews are a substitute for actually tasting a wine.  The best wine reviews help us to understand whether we would enjoy the wine, and get us interested in finding out.  And that means taking the audience, be it wine lovers or McPaper readers, into account.

And the same applies to the writing you do on your winery Web site.

Personal example?  I bought a case of Dover Canyon Old Vine Zinfandel, Benito Dusi Vineyard solely on the strength of Mary Baker's writing (who was nominated for an American Wine Blog Award).

Comments

[Ken]

I also write wine reviews. I try to focus of the 3 elements, I think people are most interested in. The bouquet, the taste, and the finish. I give lots of credit for balance as that will appeal to many. Feel free to check out my site for a feel of my reviews.

[eljefe]

A case? I clearly have work to do...:)

[Mary B.]

Thank you for the mention, Mike! I hope to raise the bar for myself this year. There are so many things to consider . . . when you're a company blogger, you can quickly lose your readership if you only present the company line--new releases, events, etc. Blog-as-brochure syndrome. Blog readership is still not widespread, and those who do read and bookmark blogs expect in-depth articles, professional writing, passion and surprises. This would be a large challenge for a freelance writer . . . now imagine if you want to present a small business in its best light, sell a product in a competitive field, and have an award-winning business blog. New challenges for 2007 . . .