How much is a wine critic worth?
Today I wrote a post for the soon-to-be-gone catavino.net, stating at one point that the regional wine body of Murcia would have been better off spending a fraction of the €29,000 cost of inviting Jay Miller (Robert Parker’s taster for Spain) to their region on a bunch of Social Media incentives and blogging aids.
I meant it. €29,000 is a decent enough salary in Spain. For that price I could inundate the blog and twittersphere with Murcian wines. And for a whole year – not just one issue of the The Wine Advocate. In fact, I know a handful (and there must be a whole host more) of people who could do this for Murcia without the regional wine body having to spend anywhere near that sum. Bloggers are (by their very nature) happy with what they get so there’s no need to set them up in a five-star hotel or a Parador. As long as the bed’s warm, the welcome’s ‘quirky’ and there’s decent Wifi, we’re happy.
But, of course, as most marketing people will tell me, Jay Miller represents a more tangible return on investment. Murcia certainly thinks he’s worth forking out €29,000 for. So there must be a reason why that’s so.
And what is that reason? Probably – and I’m going out on a limb here – because they reckon that if they shower him with a lavish hotel and (just as likely) a multi-channel TV with prepaid porn, their investment will reap its reward. With high scores and better sales. If they didn’t think that I – or any other wine blogger – would be getting the same service.
But you see, we bloggers are not guaranteed to move sales that much (I think that’s slowly changing but clearly regional bodies are putting their money where they think they’ll get the most return – and it ain’t on bloggers’ field trips). Wine writers – proper ones – are.
So what does that make their role if most wine professionals believe that if you spend enough money on them, you’ll make more money back? Even some ‘proper’ critics recognise this. A week or so ago, Michel Bettane criticised wine producers for paying critics to taste their wines.
Indeed, at the same conference Bettane was at, Miller’s fellow Parker contributor, David Schildknecht, bemoaned the fact that ‘…Producers are naive. They think they have to pay to have a wine writer visit – this will start happening more and more.’
Yes, David, just look at what’s being forked out for your buddy Miller and his visit to Murcia…
Indeed, while I don’t know whether or not Bettane and Desseauve charge producers to enter their wines for their annual publication, I’m damned sure they don’t buy in all the bottles they rate.
But the point that Bettane and Schildknecht miss is that producers wouldn’t be paying them if they didn’t think there would be a certain ‘return on investment’.
So if it’s worth forking out for a wine writer, you have to think that the odds of getting a decent review (i.e. better sales) are higher. Imagine, for instance, Miller having to book his own Ryanair flight to some godforsaken strip of tarmac in the most desolate part of Murcia. Imagine him having to pay for his own seedy bedsit in Cartagena. It may well be that, like a lot of people, he absolutely loves it – rightly so. It may well be that he is grumpy and disheartened by the lack of attention he gets, especially after being pickpocketed in a back alley. Far safer (and this doesn’t just count for Miller) to put him up and cosset him every day.
There’s a lot of criticism of wine bloggers by ‘established’ critics these days but you have to wonder what bastions of moral integrity they are if producers and regions think it’s worth paying them for the trouble to be ‘professional’.
Perhaps the logical conclusion of Bettane’s complaint is that wine critics should actually have to pay for all the wines they taste. Believe you me, we might actually get some proper scores when it comes to Bordeaux. Or just very rich wine critics.
Great piece Olly, I was talking to Oz Clarke on Sunday and he was saying how pleased he is with the blogs and twittering about wine, he reckoned it’s great that people just want to talk about wine and that he thinks people who want to learn about wine should start blogging and tweeting about.
Just thought I’d add that to the mix!
Lisa
Your point is… are the reviews bias as they are paid to be submitted?
As the 2010 International Wine Challenge Wine Educator of the Year, I was recently told by Louis Roederer to quit consumer education and get into PR… Enough said. That’s the world we live in. We can either choose to be poor and not afford the wine are so enthusiastic to share with others or choose another career. At the moment… I choose to be poor. How long can my family suffer for my good will? That is the real point.
Sorry… I just don’t agree that there are so many experts (not just enthusiast) offering to give up their life and family for the sake of spreading the good word of a brand for ‘the experience.’ At the end of the day, we all need to pay our bills… and the money needs to come from somewhere. If you wine is so good, you don’t need to pay then there should be a point system that includes you in the research. But with 10′s of thousands of brands out there, how do you separate the real players from the fakes? It’s $£$
and another thang! The comment from @lisalewis is total BS…. if your learning about wine… don’t blog about it!
The bottom line is 95% of the people I interview with the WSET advanced qualification would agree with the statement: Chardonnay is the main grape in Bordeaux
… bring on the paid bloggers!!!!
Just not the shaddy ones who review positively for money.
Just decline if the wine isn’t great, your reputation is worth way more!!
Another Parker-bashing article. Shame you can’t charge for them. You forget that the WA is one of the few publications that (1) aims to be somewhat comprehensive and (2) actually visits most producers (not all) it reviews.
Others – either online or in print – in the UK or US simply do not visit, but rely on trade samples/tastings.Nor do they aim to be comprehensive.
Good luck to JM for his good fortune in having his trip made easy. Most WA reviewers including RP get along with simple self-funded trips in less than comfortable accommodation. Given even UK-based bloggers (to say nothing of certain writers) have a ligger-tendency (flights/accommodation/yet to no point) , this no doubt shows some restraint.
Certainly no WA writers at Davos in recent years, or flying down to South Africa (or elsewhere) for a break and a quick tasting.
It’s odd that those who do best, and set an example are overtly criticised, while those who do worst (or do little to no effect at all) are not. You surely would not dare to write something like the above on a UK critic. Why? That would require too much backbone. You would be a person a persona non grata. Nor would you even dare to tackle the easy task of suggesting one – or perhaps more – in the UK were not really up to scratch.
Bettane and Desseauve charge producers and visitors for “Le Grande Tasting” in Paris each year. Given their only other activity is in the ailing publishing field, no doubt the events organising area is more interesting. As the Kinks song runs, this type of ‘article’ can only be ‘penned’ by a dedicated follower of fashion.
Hillary,
Thanks for your comments – I wish more people like you would respond to my articles.
Firstly the piece doesn’t bash Parker, nor does it bash the Wine Advocate, though heaven knows there’s enough of that in my blogs – hopefully, though, when I bash, I’m making valid points.
But you seem to be closer to the WA than I, so perhaps you can tell me why Schildknecht and Miller differ so clearly on this issue?
Is Miller lucky? Maybe. Remember all of his trips are paid for by the Wine Advocate anyway (that’s the official line: The WA pays his expenses). Why is he incapable of organising his own travel like everyone else?
Also – has no one at WA questioned why they’re supposed to be covering expenses for all trips and yet it still costs a regional body €29,000 to have Miller visit?
There’s more but lets leave it at that.
You mentioned Davos – if you go back far enough, you’ll find that I have criticised Jancis Robinson MW (who you are no doubt referring to) for this too.
I often criticise UK writers – perhaps you might care to look? – but the point about them is that they don’t have a manifesto (as part of being a ‘consumer advocate’) that is quite as shrill its proclamations as it is in its implied criticism of other tasters.
Indeed, that’s part of the reason the likes of UK wine writers are not interesting: they are pretty open about their ‘ligging’ (shall we say).
Everyone knows it goes on, it’s just that the WA takes pains to say it’s above everyone else, which (as an implied criticism) perhaps should be examined, no?
You are correct, though: I regularly Parker-bash. If he was only known as an amateur critic in Maryland, I wouldn’t bother – I’d look at someone else. Why should I expend all my effort on the Green Party if the Democrats are in power?
Sincerely
Oliver
@tastour Thanks for your comments. Just one thing: why shouldn’t learners blog? Where does it say that in the rules? If anything a learning blogger probably serves a better purpose for the wine industry than this kind of post!
I’ve been saying the same for years. Small rewards to those in Social Media for honest reviews are worth 10 times the amount many wineries/wine assoc pay to those in the print media for biased reviews.
In my humble opinion it is all about ‘tangible reach’ and you get that from social media, not print media (or web/print media).
Why don’t you just leave Parker and WA to rest? Are you sure there’s no corruption elsewhere; or should I say all over? Is Bettane above all criticism? And… why do bloggers constantly talk about mere suspicions as if they were facts. I Write about Food and Wine in Portugal for 17 years now and very few of us keep doing our job. I don´t care about others’ ethics. I keep worried about my own.
Hi,
Pay attention to what is going on in Spain now. This is not “Another Parker-bashing article”. Nothing against Parker. Nothing against him or Jay Miller being paid for speaking, teaching… The wine industry in Spain is happy to have TWA, Parker, Miller and any other wine critic in our country, taste our wines, have fun and write about all of it back home to their readers. They are all welcome!!!
What I dont understand, as well as many others in Spain is why Parker hired Pancho Campo to set up Miller´s agenda. We are astonished !!! Do Parker know what is going on here in Spain? I seriously doubt he would approve how Pancho Campo is using Jay Miller´s visits to Spain in his own benefit.
It is not the Master classes that Pancho´s business organized in Jumilla, Navarra, La Mancha, and next week in Madrid with the Cooperatives using Jay Miller, and making lots of money. It is that if you DONT pay Pancho´s business Miller dont show up, like in Madrid DO. It is about all the visits organized to wineries which did not deserve a “in person” visit by the famous critic but as they sponsor and pay Pancho´s business they get privileged access to Miller . There are dozens of examples but in our region we all know about Campo Viejo, o the Araex Grupo wineries, all big Pancho´s sponsors.
It is not against Paker o TWA, it is about how a character like Pancho Campo are using this deal to his own profit. I hope Mr Parker is aware what has been going on in Spain during the last year as soon as possible. TWA, Parker, Jay Miller, James Suckling, Bettane, Jancis Robinson all are welcome to Spain (and RIoja! ) but please organize the agenda in your own, or ICEX, or any other organism but not through Pancho Campo´s business.
Again, nothing against Parker!
Have a good weekend. Chema
Fernando – please read my other stuff – yes, I criticise Parker quite a lot (he is the most powerful wine critic and he is supposedly pro-consumer, something I’m not too convinced of – as you will see) but I also look at other critics (inc. Bettane, Robinson, etc.).
I don’t doubt a lot of people, like yourself, are striving to do your job – that’s fine and good. You might not care about others’ ethics, some people do. What do you want? “Like what I recommend and don’t ask questions”? Surely not.
I have a huge amount of respect for all wine writers – and I try to show it by seeing if they can be even better.
Of course, we could all simply tell ourselves our job is to promote wine and nothing else…there where would we be?!
Thanks for commenting
O
Jose Maria’s comment goes to the heart of the problem: a convicted felon has been put in charge of organising Miller’s Spanish visits. Small surprise that he is now charging large sums to turn up with Miller. Campo is screwing the Spanish wine industry, while effectively trashing the reputation of The Wine Advocate.
I do care about others writers’ ethics because I know most readers won”t discriminate and will tend to think all our trade is corrupt. It isn’t. And I’d like to break a lance for wine journalists – even if they are not perfect, they are journalists, not sommeliers turned writers, or show organisers, or PR’s. I am a journalist. I prefer to sleep in a nice bed, I don’t ask for luxury. Just standard. I can’t afford to pay for my trips and accommodation because the price I’m paid for my articles is too low. But my comments do nor reflect the quality of the welcome. What counts is what the consumer will drink and think of my comments. He or she doesn’t care about the way I am treated.
Last thing: I think bloggers is the best thing that has happened in wine writing for decades. I am now a blogger myself, an activity I enjoy and defend, like I defend wine journalism. Of course not all bloggers are great writers or even tasters (not all journalists are either), but the freedom of speech wine blogging has given back to our sector is well worth some indulgence.
PS. Too bad for Catavino. Why do they stop? My regards to Ryan.