Michael Steinberger on the Future ( of wine writing)

You might want to take a look. Download file A fine article, but one expects no less of Slate’s Michael Steinberger who has a blessedly trustworthy voice and palate. One question he raises in the Fine Wine Magazine (out of England) piece is whether the next wave of wine criticism will be the playground of the rich? When he told of his mention of me in the then to-be-published piece, he offered advice. "Don't you think you might get a job in the trade and write on the side?" I told him I'd email him back after my panic attack subsided. I paced for the next two hours. He just wanted to protect me from what he knew to be the dilletantism of the wine world. Back when I sneaked into the first trade tastings, did I ever even think I would be cut out of the game because I couldn't play with the doctors, lawyers and investment bankers who compete for ink--just for fun ---because I couldn’t afford to? It's fine when I'm batting up against other full time writers, that's cool, but it's the 'on the sides' that give me the palpitations. Oh, sure, I've had my moments of glory tastings, but can I count on any verticals of Cannubi or Les Amoureuses as my God given right? It's not like I can go down to my 5,000 bottle cellar and stage one for my friends. (Damn!) For two years I've been lucky enough to sit at Becky Wasserman's ten-year on Burgundy tasting. Shit. What an education. What history! But this year the growers revolted. No more outsides. No more Alice. Maybe I brought it on myself. Maybe I was such a pain in the ass to Clive he told Becky, no more Alice! So Alice is on the bench this year. No 1998's for me. And I am sad that I will not see that snap shot into the vintage. I can't pierce the code. I can't see how the wines were influenced by fashion and time. I will never own that piece of knowledge. I suppose there is always getting a job at Whole Foods...but I digress. Steinberger also brings up a very pet peeve of mine; the way editors assign wine stories to great journalists but to those who know nothing about wine. (Honestly, I could write about cardiology way more effectively). His example is the oft cited William Langewiesche Atlantic Monthly article on Robert M. P*****, Jr. and as he calls it the "rumpus over the garagistes." And of course, I thank him for respecting my writing and opinions enough to have included me (with Tyler Coleman, Jamie Goode and Tom Wark) in the kicker.