This is part of my guide to ViniSud 2012

Like all the great music and art festivals, Vinisud draws a lot of talent to the area where it’s held (Montpellier).  So every day, after the fair ends, the party is just beginning for other people.

The French refer to afterhours parties and tastings as “OFF’ events.  This is a run down of all the OFF events I’ve heard about so far.  Feel free to add your own in the comments section or email me if I’m missing some.

If you find this list helpful, consider tweeting about it or sending a link to your friends by email.

Events that require a reservation or paid entry are marked as such.  Note that virtually all of these events are meant for wine buffs.  Especially the ones that are invitation only.  You should probably only attend if you’re in the trade or press, or if you can demonstrate a pretty professional enthusiasm for wine.  The dinner events are probably more open to amateur visitors.  Don’t get mad at me! You know I don’t make the rules.

Sunday OFF Events

Le Vin de Mes Amis – 14h-19h – Domaine de Verchant 34170 Castelnau le Lez
RSVP to charlotte.senat@gmail.com
Cost 10€
Vin de Mes Amis blog
PDF of invitation vdm 2012 pdf
A huge list of very good wines.  A lot of the usual suspects from Changer l’Aude en Vin, but tons more to boot.  See page 2 of the Vin de Mes Amis PDF for details.  I heard that this might be at Trinque Fougasse O’Nord but the invitation says Domaine de Verchant. Look into it if you’re interested!

Haut les Vins! – 10h-20h – Chateau de Flaugergues (in Montpellier)
official website
list of participants
A large group of winemakers from all around France, and a couple from Portugal, Spain and even Serbia.  This gang will be doing their tasting at a Domaine that is actually located within Montpellier’s city limits.  My buddy Benoit will be pouring his zero dosage Champagne and lots of other good winemakers are in attendance.  It’s open all Sunday so if you get to Montpellier early, this is a great way to ease into ViniSud.  But don’t party too hard as you have three days of salon ahead of you!

ViniFilles – 18h30 – Jam 100 rue Ferdinand de Lesseps 34000Montpellier
invitation required
contact presse@vinifilles.fr
This group of Languedoc Roussillon winemaking women are having a rock show and tasting at the Jam.  There’s a buffet and ample wine.  The bands playing are Les Gazelles de Bruxelles and La Mal Coiffée.  But there is a guestlist so you have to contact them if you want to get in.

Chateauneuf du Pape, Tavel & Rasteau – 19h - Chateau de la Banquiere Vauguieres le Haut 34130 Maugio
dinner & music
invitation only
contact: soiree.crus@hotmail.fr
The AOCs Chateauneuf du Pape, Tavel & Rasteau are organizing a nice dinner with music and winemakers from the three appellations presenting their wines around a buffet dinner.

Monday OFF Events

G-Night, Occupy Grenache – 19h-2h – location not yet announced (underground ;D)
PDF of invitation G-Night Invite Vinisud 2012
Facebook event page
A night devoted to Grenache.  Run by the same people who organized the Grenache Symposium at La Verriere.  Should be fun.  The location is still a surprise so I expect they’ve got something fun in store to reveal it closer to the date.

Le Vin de Mes Amis – 10h-19h – Domaine de Verchant 34170 Castelnau le Lez
RSVP to charlotte.senat@gmail.com
Cost 10€
Vin de Mes Amis blog
PDF of invitation vdm 2012 pdf
Les amis this time around are Jean Yves Bordier with butter and cheeses from Saint-Malo, Irene et Julienne Daniaux with glass art, and Antony Cointre a roving chef.  And a huge list of very good wines.  A lot of the usual suspects from Changer l’Aude en Vin, but tons more to boot.  See page 2 of the Vin de Mes Amis PDF for details.

Haut les Vins! - 10h-18h – Chateau de Flaugergues, Montpellier
official website
list of participants
If you’re not in town on Sunday, they’re doing it all over on Monday.

Contains Sulfites…Mais Pas Trop! – 18h – Le Ban des Gourmands, Place Carnot, Montpellier
Official blog
RSVP required on the official blog
This hilariously named group of reasoned winemakers are doing an event on Monday night at a restaurant. It might be a sit down dinner… the invitation just bills it as an Intergalactic journey.  Reservations should be made before the 10th so hurry up!

Mas de l’Ecriture – 18h-20h30 – Chez Boris (brasserie)
invitation only, for wine trade and press
contact: louisehurren@wanadoo.fr
A 12 year vertical of Mas de l’Ecriture. Pretty stunning opportunity, but very limited space in the venue.

Tuesday OFF Events

Mardi Gras des Gaillardises - 11h-20h – Aeroport Hotel Maugio/Montpellier
blog post about the event
facebook page
25 winemakers will present their wines at the Aeroport Hotel which is easy to get to by using the regular airport shuttles from the Parc des Expositions.  There are some really top notch producers from all over France.  And of particular interest to my blog readers, there are a couple of Internet superstars including my mom from O’Vineyards, Iris Rutz-Rudel from Domaine Lisson, Isabelle Perraud from Cotes de la Moliere, Amy Lillard from La Gramiere, and Lilian Bauchet from Les Bachelards.   So if you’ve been reading our blogs and wondering if the wine is as good as the words, here is your chance.  Full list of vignerons available in the link above; you’ll see there are some heavy hitters.

Mas de l’Ecriture - 18h-20h30 – Chez Boris (bistrot)
invitation only, for wine trade and press
contact: louisehurren@wanadoo.fr
A 12 year vertical of Mas de l’Ecriture.  Note the venue changes from the similarly named Chez Boris Brasserie to Chez Boris Bistrot.  But still limited space.

So OFF that they’re ON

There are a few events that are structured like OFFs or have the spirit of an OFF, but they’re actually going to take place within the walls of ViniSud.

The Outsiders will be teaching you new ways to communicate about wines.

on Monday afternoon at 16h @ the Pavilion 2.0
and
on Tuesday morning at 10h @ the Pavilion 2.0

Tags: after party, afterhour, afterparty, chateauneuf du pape, contains sulfites, dinner, event, exposant, g-night, gaillardises, grenache, hall, haut les vins, information, mais pas trop, mardi gras, mas de l'ecriture, meeting, montpellier, occupy grenache, off, off events, outsiders, rasteau, schedule, special, stand, tasting, tavel, time, vertical, vin de mes amis, vineyard, vinisud, wine, wine tasting, winemaker, winery

This is part of my guide to ViniSud 2012

The 2012 edition of Vinisud includes a space devoted to the web called Pavilion 2.0

I’ll be spending a lot of time there.  Additionally, I’ll be doing a presentation with some of my buddies from the Outsiders

on Monday afternoon at 16h
and
on Tuesday morning at 10h.

Each presentation will consist of a 10 minute talk about new opportunities in wine communication afforded by the Internet, followed by a tasting workshop where we’ll encourage people to talk about our wine with images instead of words.

Facebook event page

Invitation to the event

It should be a lot of fun.  It’s a focused, high-energy event.  Each producer is bringing just one wine to be tasted so it’s a small sampler platter of the Outsiders that will hopefully inspire you to visit the stand of your favorite producers.  And we might revolutionize the way you think about wine writing while we’re at it.

Tags: exposant, hall, information, languedoc outsiders, meeting, montpellier, multimedia, outsiders, schedule, stand, tasting, time, vineyard, vinisud, wine, wine tasting, winemaker, winery

Every two years, I meet lots and lots of people at ViniSud who are there for their first time.  If you’re not a part of the trade specialized in Mediterranean wines, it can be an overwhelming experience.  Even professionals who are native to this region organize their salon far ahead of time and have meetings booked all day.  So for Languedoc newbies, it’s easy to get lost.

This year, I’ve written a couple posts that might help out the odd journalist or tradesperson who doesn’t have their whole trip planned out.

• A guide to Vinisud OFF events
• 7 wines from the south of France that know how to tell a story
• 8 Languedoc winemakers from the great beyond
• 7 women winemakers at ViniSud from the Vinifilles
• Finding O’Vineyards at ViniSud
• The Pavillon 2.0 – A space devoted to the web
• How to find a specific producer

Tags: exposant, hall, information, meeting, montpellier, schedule, stand, time, vineyard, vinisud, wine, winemaker, winery

This is part of my guide to ViniSud 2012.

Vinisud is a massive wine trade fair in Montpellier.  It’s easy to get lost in the sea of mediterranean winemakers, so I’ve compiled a list of southern French wines that I think are genuinely interesting.

If you ever feel overwhelmed, just take a deep breath, pick somebody from this list and visit them.  I’m sure they’ll treat you well.  I picked people who are pretty spread out across all the halls so wherever you have your wine-induced panic attack, you’ll be near one of these producers.

If you find this list helpful, consider tweeting about it or sending a link to your friends by email.

1. Chateau de Nages  - Michel & Tina Gassier – Hall 11
2. Chateau de Gaure – Pierre Fabre – Hall 7
3. Clos du Gravillas – John & Nicole Bojanowski – Hall 9
4. Chene Bleu Rosé – Nicole Sierra Rolet – Hall 11
5. l’Oustal Blanc Naick blanc – Claude & Isabel Fonquerle – Hall 6 (tuesday afternoon only)
6. Domaine des Homs – Jean Marc & Anne de Crozals – Hall 10
7. O’Vineyards – That’s me. – Hall 1

 Chateau de Nages Vielles Vignes 2011
Tina & Michel Gassier – Costieres de Nimes
Hall 11 Aisle A Stand 99

This wine is one of the strongest arguments I’ve ever tasted for exploration of organic and biodynamic practices at my own vineyard.  That’s a pretty hefty statement, so let me explain myself.  I am  not convinced that organic wine is inherently better from a moral or ecological perspective.  I am therefore only interested in it to the extent that it can make my wine taste better.  Gassier makes my style of wine, big, dense, rich, etc. while preserving a certain level of freshness and acidity that keeps the wine from becoming overbearing.  He also has a relatively huge property.  Something like 6 times as big as O’Vineyards.  So if he can do it, I can.  And he swears that his wines have benefited from it.  So I’m intrigued.  More at the Gassier blog or Nages website.

Chateau de Gaure Campagne Chardonnay 2010
Pierre Fabre – Limoux
Hall 7 Aisle A Stand 74

Pierre Fabre started making wines a bit south of my vineyard at almost the exact same time.  On top of making fantastic wines, he’s a great artist and every vintage gets a different painting of his.  He’s recently released a new white wine where the label is painted by his five year old son!  It’s a great wine with some real value and the painting hilariously looks like his style at first glance.  He’s got a huge smile and loves to share his wines with strangers. more at gaure website or blog

 

Clos du Gravillas Lo Vièlh Carignan
Nicole & John Bojanowski – St Jean de Minervois
Hall 9 Aisle B Stand 46

St Jean de Minervois is famous for its muscat, but I’m sending you to the crazies up on the hill that make a pure Carignan.  They famously defended the grape to Jancis Robinson and other journalists who sometimes looked down on the variety.  You can taste a 100% Carignan done right and decide if it’s worth all the fuss.
Chêne Bleu / Domaine de La Verrière Rosé
Nicole Sierra-Rolet - Southern Rhône
Hall 11 Stand C64

This year, you can taste a rosé made for red wine drinkers.  It’s direct press and serious business.  If you go to their stand and say “Go ahead, make my day,” they’ll pour you their Clint Eastwood styled rosé.  :)

To their merit, Chêne Bleu was one of the few wineries that sent me an email so good I just wanted to publish their words:

Chêne Bleu takes the Clint Eastwood approach to winemaking – it’s not an adventure if someone’s done the same thing already – so when we set out to make a rosé, we wanted it to be different from the norm and to stand proudly alongside our critically acclaimed reds and whites. This rosé is not for knocking back by the pool. It’s one of the few direct press rosés made; and we call it our ‘anti-rosé rosé’ because we believe that even those who aren’t usually rosé fans will love its ‘chewy’ texture, long finish and ability to stand up to lovely rich Mediterranean food and spicy Eastern dishes. Through the years it’s won accolades all over the world including designation as a ‘Vin Mythique’ in La Revue du Vin de France. Come by the stand and, if you use the password ‘Go ahead, make my day’, you can see if you agree with us, and the critics, in a taste test alongside some spicy food.

L’Oustal Blanc Naick Blanc
Isabel & Claude Fonquerle – la Liviniere
Hall 6 Aisle A Stand 13 (Tuesday afternoon only)

A brother from another mother, the high end reds at l’Oustal Blanc remind me of a more mediterranean version of my own wines.  But what’s really intriguing is their 100% Grenache Gris.  A white wine for red wine drinkers.  This is one of the whites that pushed dad and me over the edge and made us decide to harvest our white grapes and make a white wine in 2012.  Claude will only be at ViniSud Tuesday afternoon.  You can also catch this wine at an OFF event we’re doing together on Tuesday at the Aeroport Hotel.

Domaine des Homs Paul 2011
Anne & Jean Marc de Crozals – Minervois
Hall 10 Aisle A Stand 8

I met these winemakers because we both make Cabardes wines, but I think their true specialty is their organic Minervois estate.  In a blind tasting I once confused this wine with a 60 € bottle from a more notorious estate, and the Cuvée Paul is thankfully much more affordable.  It’s a minervois that manages to capture ripe fruit without getting overbearing.  And they were some of our first neighbors to have us over for a drink when we got to the region.  So cheers.

 

 

O’Vineyards Stranger, Stranger 2007
Joe, Ryan and Liz O’Connell – Cabardes
Hall 1 Aisle B Stand 21

I’d be remiss if I didn’t invite you to come visit my family’s stand.  My parents, Joe and Liz O’Connell, don’t usually get a chance to talk because I am always blabbing for them online.  But at Vinisud, you can meet the silent majority of O’Vineyards!  And they’re coming with a special treat.  Ask about the “Stranger, Stranger” and they’ll give you a taste of a 100% Merlot they only made in 2007, in commemoration of all the strangers who helped us when we first moved to the Languedoc.  This wine always cheers us up, and it was the first bottle my dad reached for when the New Orleans Saints got knocked out of the NFL playoffs this month.

Tags: exposant, hall, information, meeting, montpellier, schedule, stand, time, vineyard, vinisud, wine, winemaker, winery

update: a reader has sent in a version with even higher contrast saying it works best:

So hopefully we’re getting somewhere!

 

A lot of people had trouble scanning the QR code I made out of wine corks so I made some modifications to help it become more scannable.

Hopefully this version works a bit better.  Thanks to Robert McIntosh for the excellent idea of desaturating the photo and increasing the contrast.  And then making it smaller tends to help too.  But not toooo small.

Anyway, here’s the finished black and white QR code made out of wine corks.  Although, I must confess I like it much more in color!

Please let me know if it’s working or not.

It scans perfectly on my phone with Quick QR Reader, but then so did the original in color.  And people say it works on Android and it works on iPhone!

But then some very competent people are telling me it won’t scan on their iPhones/Androids/etc. so I am sure it could be improved.  Probably variations due to QR Code Reading App, monitor settings, how much you’ve had to drink, etc.

Naturally, it’s more likely to work if you’ve had a glass of wine.  Which is why it works every time for me.

Enjoy!

 

Tags: barcode, cork, design, iphone, marketing, qr, qr code, smartphone, wine, wine cork

update: after hearing that the qr code didn’t scan properly on all phones, I made a black and white version that should be easier to scan!  second update: most people are reporting that it works with certain QR code readers (presumably those with better error correction)

I made a QR code out of wine corks.  I painstakingly placed the 25×25 grid (and then added a frame) so that the QR code uses over 625 corks.  Each of them placed by hand wine side up or wine side down to represent the black or white of the QR code.  Yes, pruning is so boring that I’d rather sit in and play an overly complicated game of wine cork dominos.  :)

What is this?  Why did I make a qr code out of wine corks?

A QR Code is like a two dimensional bar code.  Most smartphones have applications that can scan these and interpret the data.  Frequently, as in the case of this QR code, it will be a link to a website.  In this case, it links you to the website where iPhone users can download an app called Wine Demon.

Normally QR codes look sort of boring.  This is the original QR code that I decided to replicate:  

I’ve been working on doing artistic designs and patterns with corks for a while and this seemed like a perfect application for it.

Why link to Wine Demon?

I thought about making a QR code that linked to this very website or my other blog, Love That Languedoc, but on a whim I decided to link to Wine Demon.  Actually, I’ve been meaning to announce some big news on the blog.  I’m taking a sabbatical from O’Vineyards to continue my wine education  and hunt out new business opportunities in California.  This is a surprising move and a lot of people are harrassing me for details, but I cannot say yet.  However, this QR code is a small hint.

That said, even if I had second thoughts about what to link to… it took me two hours to line up the 600+ corks and I don’t feel like redoing it any time soon.

Attribution – Creative Commons – Share alike

Please please please share this image and this idea with all of your friends.  But please also mention me.  If you use this particular QR code or if you decide to make your own QR code out of wine corks, I would greatly appreciate a small attribution for the concept.  Just link to ovineyards.com and you will make my day.

Making the wine cork QR code

Basically, this QR code is a 25×25 grid where each square is either white or black.  I drew out the grid on paper and then used a single cork for each square in the grid.

It turns out that the squares in the corners are the most important part.  When a smart phone scans those corners successfully, it knows it’s looking at a QR code and then it can make a lot of assumptions to correct for errors.  But if it doesn’t get those corner squares, then it won’t know to run the error-correcting calculations.  So make sure the squares are perfect.  Also, I ended up putting a frame of white corks around the whole thing, mostly to make the squares stand out more for the phone reader.  This made a big difference and I recommend it to anybody trying to replicate this project.

Here are some photos of the process.

 

Tags: bar code, barcode, cork, qr code, stylized, wine, wine corks

If you’re a normal person who is just looking for a fun wine blog to read, run away from this crazy dirt-drinking wino.  Or maybe think about pretending to be a wine expert.

Yesterday, I posted my thoughts about a confounding Vitisphere editorial that argues about the downside of digital communications.  What ensues is the obligatory publication of the author’s response to the responses to his response.

Remondat’s words that apply to yesterday’s blog post

Michel Remondat, the author of the editorial piece that sparked it all, has offered a few explanations on Vincent Pousson’s facebook photo.  Just scroll down through the 100+ comments (bless you, facebookers).  If you can’t be bothered to scroll down all those comments or if Vincent’s facebook photos don’t load for you, just scroll to the bottom of this post for the full text of Michel Remondat’s message.

I guess the important parts concerning what I wrote are:

- Un édito en 10 ou 15 lignes est forcément réducteur. Je regrette d’avoir offensé tes amis. Chaque semaine, Vitisphere essaie d’attirer l’attention des professionnels du vin sur un point, qui pèse ou pourrait peser, changer l’évolution de l’économie du vin…

and then later

C’est un produit commercial avec des contraintes techniques, œnologiques, de marketing et il faut de la formation, de l’apprentissage, de l’expérience pour l’évaluer.  Pour ceux qui croient à l’avis des consommateurs donné sur Internet. C’est vrai ça fonctionne pour l’hôtellerie, pas sûr que ça fonctionne pour le vin !

- Enfin, si j’ai parlé de « certifier les certificateurs », c’est parce que j’ai pensé aux agences de notation et leur AAA. C’était un peu osé et ironique ! - Pour finir : Depuis deux ou trois ans, les attachés de presse des salons de vins se flattent d’organiser un « autobus de bloggeurs ». Autobus et bloggeurs, vous ne trouvez pas ça choquant. C’était le point de départ de l’édito !

So rough translation:

“a 15 line editorial is by nature over-simplifying.  I regret having upset any of Vincent’s friends.  Each week, vitisphere tries to draw the wine trade’s attention to a topic that is relevant or may become relevant, to change the evolution of the wine economy…

“Wine is a commercial product enmeshed with technical constraints, oenological constraints, and marketing constraints, and you need training and experience to be able to evaluate it.   For those who believe in consumer opinons being published online, it’s true that it works for the hotel business, but I’m not sure that it will work for wine!

“Finally, when I mentioned “certifying the certifiers”, it was because I was inspired by the ratings agencies and their AAA system.  It was a bit much and said with a degree of irony!  To finish, for two or three years, press agencies of wine salons have taken it upon themselves to organize blogger buses.  Buses and blogs, you don’t find that shocking?  That was the starting point of the editorial.”

 Conclusion:

wtf?

I probably shouldn’t post this at all

After all, this sort of hyper-nerdy conversation about the ethics of wine criticism or the qualifications of wine drinkers to talk about wines online does almost nothing but scare away the usual visitors to my blog.

But at the same time, Michel has posted a response and it just makes sense to republish it here so that people who read my blog but don’t religiously follow facebook photo comments might also see his response.  And maybe it will make more sense to you than it did to me.  You know… blogger buses.

Here’s the full text:

Bonjour Vincent
Merci de m’avoir invité hier soir. Je suis rentré tard. Il n’y a pas que le vin et le Web dans la vie ! Difficile de répondre à tous ces mots et à toutes ces phrases. Ceci n’est pas une réponse, car je respecte trop les opinions de chacun. Juste quelques explications :
- Je m’intéresse depuis longtemps au vin, plutôt aux vins, mais ce que j’apprécie le plus ce sont les gens du vin.
- Un édito en 10 ou 15 lignes est forcément réducteur. Je regrette d’avoir offensé tes amis. Chaque semaine, Vitisphere essaie d’attirer l’attention des professionnels du vin sur un point, qui pèse ou pourrait peser, changer l’évolution de l’économie du vin. Je défends l’idée que les éditos ne soient pas signés car je préfère le nous au je.
- Le vin est aussi et surtout une activité économique, créatrice de valeurs. C’est précieux. Vitisphere a démarré il y a plus de 10 ans. Nous avons créé 12 emplois, sans subventions, grâce seulement aux efforts de l’équipe. Nous sommes très attentifs à ces notions d’économie, d’indépendance.
- A propos de « journalistes et bloggeurs ». Je ne suis pas journaliste, mais comme tout le monde, je constate les difficultés de la presse du vin. Il serait dommage que ce métier disparaisse. Vitisphere est du côté du numérique, et nous savons très bien qu’il y a du talent, de l’avenir et même de la modestie chez les bloggeurs.
Le vin n’est pas une œuvre d’art (même si certains défendent cette idée) dont la valeur serait corrélée à la force de la critique. C’est un produit qui permet aux vignerons, aux négociants de « gagner leur vie ». C’est un produit commercial avec des contraintes techniques, œnologiques, de marketing et il faut de la formation, de l’apprentissage, de l’expérience pour l’évaluer.
Pour ceux qui croient à l’avis des consommateurs donné sur Internet. C’est vrai ça fonctionne pour l’hôtellerie, pas sûr que ça fonctionne pour le vin !
- Enfin, si j’ai parlé de « certifier les certificateurs », c’est parce que j’ai pensé aux agences de notation et leur AAA. C’était un peu osé et ironique !
- Pour finir : Depuis deux ou trois ans, les attachés de presse des salons de vins se flattent d’organiser un « autobus de bloggeurs ». Autobus et bloggeurs, vous ne trouvez pas ça choquant. C’était le point de départ de l’édito !
Michel REMONDAT

Tags: blog, blogger bus, bloggers, blogging, bus, criticism, critics, crtic, edito, editorial, michel remondat, oenology, remondat, vincent pousson, vitisphere, wine

This is a post in response to an editorial in Vitisphere.  The author has since responded here.

I was a little shocked when reading the editorial on the most recent Vitisphere which concludes with the following:

“Enfin, il faudra accepter une certification des acteurs de la critique, de la notation, par une Autorité, sinon les technologies du numérique pourraient imposer la dictature d’une démocratie virtuelle. ”

Roughly translated: Finally, we must accept a certification process for agents of criticism, of scoring, by some Authority, otherwise digital technology could impose a virtual tyranny of the masses.

The Tyranny of the Masses?

My natural instinct is to say that this is ridiculous.  Ultimately, consumers know what they enjoy and they are the best people possible to decide what to buy.  But let’s give the editor a chance.  What are the potential downsides of a world without authoritative wine criticism?  And what are the downsides of a “dictature d’une democratie virtuelle”?

I suppose there is a risk that we create a world where winemakers try to make bland and inoffensive wines that nobody hates (but nobody loves either).  As I’ve discussed before, I wouldn’t want that.  And it’s not an unrealistic proposition.  Vast volumes of wine are already made this way.

Music that goes on the radio is often chosen in a similar fashion where the single release is rarely the best song on the album.  It’s frequently just the least offensive song that is still a little catchy (but not too catchy!).  There are stories about this where people organize a test group to listen to a CD and they intentionally pick the song with the most average score instead of the song that some people love and some people hate.

And when you see projects like Design A Sam Adams Beer, you see that some beverages are literally being ruled by a virtual democracy.  And it is sort of preposterous.

But then the editorial sort of pines for the good old days when everybody’s pockets were full of francs and everybody’s glasses full of delicious wine.  At one point, it feels like he’s even blaming the decrease in wine consumption on the absence of an authoritative voice in wine criticism:

“Et au 3ème et dernier acte, disparition de l’art de la critique du vin… Perdu par la multiplicité des références, des origines, des prix, le consommateur perd confiance et se protège en réduisant ses achats de vins !”

Roughly translated: in the 3rd act, the disappearance of the art of wine criticism… lost in a sea of choices, of denominations, of prices, the consumer loses confidence and protects himself by buying less wine!

This seems like a pretty zany argument.  The reason people drink less wine in France is because they have less confidence in their ability to pick a good wine?  I’m doubtful.  It seems more likely that consumption is dropping because people are afraid to get a PV (moving violation) for drink driving.  Or because mixed drinks are more fashionable than a glass of wine at most night clubs.  Or even because there are more choices of what to drink today than there were 20 years ago.  The point is there is no reason to think that dropping wine consumption rates in France are a result of lack of confidence in wine buyers.

And what’s more, I don’t think the rise of blogs and the downfall of authoritative wine criticism do anything to undermine consumer confidence.  If anything, the notion that everybody can publish an opinion online should give confidence to consumers.  Whereas consumers would be intimidated in a world full of famous wine critics that they haven’t had time to read, they should be liberated in a world where the only thing that matters is what you and your friends think when you open the bottle tonight.

Anyway, I’m puzzled by the logic.

My experience with egalitarian publishing

One of the best things that ever happened to me was the customer interface on Naked Wines.  Customers who drink my wine can leave a review on the web site.  It’s as simple as that.  The majority of them don’t consider themselves bloggers or gurus or experts.  They just review wines.  And most of them simply say Yes or No to the question “Would you buy this wine again.”  And then some of them write in detailed comments.

I used to think that I would never let a critic influence my winemaking style.  But once the clients became critics… I changed my tune.  When thousands of people are tasting my wines and hundreds are leaving detailed comments, I’m actually very keen to hear what they have to say.  Obviously, I still make wines based on my own inclinations.  But I’ll take it into account that two hundred people were happy with the 2009 Trah Lah Lah that was a little less tannic than the 08.  It gives me confidence in the future to make a blend that’s a little less harsh.

Obviously, I shouldn’t make a bland and inoffensive wine just to appeal to everybody.  But at the same time, there’s nothing wrong with taking the pulse of the people who are actually drinking your wine.  And I’m glad that these people can share their own opinions, independent of what “recognized” wine authorities have to say.

Who gives authority to the authority?

And the last logical flaw in this editorial is about who gives power to the “Authority” that certifies critics.

“Pour éviter le drame, journalistes et éditeurs, du papier ou du numérique, devraient se réunir pour redonner un sens au journalisme du vin, redéfinir l’art de la critique.”

Roughly translated: To avoid tragedy, journalists and editors, be they paper or digital, should unite to bring back some meaning to wine journalism, redefine the art of criticism

If all wine writers get together to agree on who should write about wine (and how we should write about wine), doesn’t that include all the bloggers and social media voices that the author is denigrating in the rest of the editorial?

And why do we even need to redefine the art of criticism?  Will that actually help consumers enjoy wine more?  Or increase their confidence about picking a bottle at the restaurant?  Personally, if I were a normal consumer, the idea that there are certified wine specialists whose opinions matter more than mine would terrify me far more than the notion that everybody has different opinions and you just like what you like and you shouldn’t feel guilty for not reading all of the “expert” opinions that have been published before picking a bottle and enjoying it.

No, I’m fairly confident in the tyranny of the majority.  I like this brave new world we live in.

Tags: certification, critic, criticism, journalism, scoring, tyranny of the masses, vitisphere, wine, wine journalism

This post is part of my guide to ViniSud 2012.  It is specifically about my vineyard’s activities at Vinisud. If you’re looking for a list of all the winemakers at Vinisud, consult the official list on the vinisud website.

If you’re in Montpellier on February 20-22, there are many ways to interact with O’Vineyards while we attend Vinisud.

O’Vineyards official stand

Cité de Carcassonne – Hall 1, Allée B, Stand 21

We have a space in the Cité de Carcassonne space in Hall 1, Allée B, Stand 21. When you come into the conference through the main entrance, go straight forward and Hall 1 is the first building you’ll pass through. We’re one of the first stands you’ll see and we encourage you to start or end your day with my parents who will be at the stand. If you want to taste the wines with me (Ryan) then you should email me or tweet me ahead of time so that I can make sure I’m at the stand to meet you. But my parents are really awesome and you’ll enjoy meeting them too!

Mardi Gras OFF event

Aeroport Hotel  (google maps link)
34130 Maugio, Montpellier
Tuesday Feb 21
from 11:00 to 20:00.
Hors d’oeuvres offered.
contact anytime for more info: 33(0)6 30 18 99 10

We’re also participating in an intriguing off event in a private conference room in the aeroport hotel.  This is really really close to the airport so it’s very convenient for those of you coming from far away.  And there are regular shuttles from Vinisud to the airport, so it’s easy to get to from Vinisud.  It’s a laidback group that offers a more relaxed atmosphere than Vinisud (which can be very business oriented and sort of rushed with all the appointments you have to make).  Come by for some excellent wines from all over France and a bite to eat.  The uniting principle of this group is that most of the members have worked closely with Pierre Gaillard at some point in their careers, although a few of us (like O’Vineyards) are more friends of friends.  Anyway, it goes until 8PM so you can come by after the salon and meet some great winemakers who understand the value of a soft sell.  This is a room full of unique and interesting wines that will charm you without an onslaught of export figures and volume commitments.

The Web Pavillion

Pavilion 2.0

This year, Vinisud has an area devoted to the web.  Presumably, it will have wifi access.  And there will be several presentations devoted to the Internet’s effect on the wine business and the mediterranean.  They’ve invited several bloggers and online wine communicators so it should be a fun area.  It’s also relatively anglophone so brace yourself for that.

I will be here for a large portion of the fair since they picked me to represent France this year.  I also have a couple of my short talks scheduled in this space over the length of the fair.

Outsiders: A left field tasting

Monday February 20th, 16h
and Tuesday February 21st, 10h

We’re doing this presentation twice.  The first ten minutes (when I talk) will likely be similar.  I want to introduce the notion that the Internet allows us to communicate about wine in a variety of ways that conventional print media does not permit.  And then we’ll encourage you to taste several wines made by the outsiders and try to pair them with photos, sound, video and so on instead of boring old tasting notes.

Wine communication on a tiny budget

Date to be determined

A joint presentation with Charles Perez from Mas Becha, me, and maybe some others.  Still ironing this out.  We’ll basically show examples of massively successful communication efforts realized on miniscule budgets.  A must see for bootstrappers everywhere.

Tags: exposant, hall, information, meeting, montpellier, schedule, stand, time, vineyard, vinisud, wine, winemaker, winery

Every day in January gets a new Trah Lah Lah song… which it turns out is a lot of songs.  THIRTY-ONE of them.  Today’s song brings us to the realm of kid music.  A french version of the Big Bad Wolf who brings down some Tra la la on the three little pigs.

 

Tags: big bad wolf, cochons, grand mechant loup, loup, music, red wine, song, three little pigs, tra la la, trah lah lah, tralala, trois petits cochons, wine