Garden Party: How To Keep Wine Blogging From Going Mainstream

So... I'm "freshly pressed," so to speak (specifically in terms of palate fatigue and possible liver damage), from the first North American wine bloggers conference in Sonoma. Overall it was a fantastic event, about which I could pen a great number of virtual pages in covering. But that's not what I'm going to write about.

Not exactly, anyway.

I'm also, as I type this, just returned from a visit to C. Donatiello winery in Healdsburg. I could write a lengthy amount (what else is new, right?) about how nice owner Chris Donatiello is (he's quite pleasant, and generous), how beautiful the aroma garden grounds were (very), or the quality of their wines (extremely promising for a first vintage, but unfortunately not yet widely available - anyway, more on those upcoming on my twitter wine review feed).

But that's not what I'm going to write about. Not exactly, anyway.

Instead, I'm going to write about how the face of wine media is changing, and why that's dangerous for wine bloggers. Because I just spent the better part of three days at a conference where I and my fellow wine bloggers were being at times courted by the Sonoma wine industry, which helped to sponsor the event.

The congregation of 150+ wine bloggers at the WBC, whose individual influence in the world of wine could by-and-large be considered modest (at best), or insignificant (at worst), has amassed the collective power and reach of this new(ish) arm of the wine media - one that is now drawing a larger and larger amount of wine marketing attention. Gary Vaynerchuk underscored this during his WBC keynote speech, when he provided the energetic NJ businessman's view of the opportunities available now that the 'old guard' is no longer the all-dominant force in wine media. The attention given to bloggers by PR departments is a natural progression - and now this is happening for the world of wine.


This is a dramatic turn of events compared to how wine blogging was viewed (more or less as a fad) a little more than three years ago. The winemakers, PR, and the Sonoma wine industry in general "get it" - and it's all happening rather quickly thanks to the immediacy of the Internet.

Which means that wine blogging has the potential to completely screw itself now.

First, I need to make one thing very clear: there is nothing wrong with what the PR departments in Sonoma are doing by sponsoring the WBC and courting the wine blog-o-world. It's their job - one that they've been doing for years with the traditional wine media.

In a way, wine blogging has arrived. The danger is that, as guest panelist Tracy Rickman told us during one of the conference breakout sessions, outside factors (such as the potential influence of the courting PR) can influence us to become more and more mainstream. At the moment we actually become mainstream, we have lost our edge (and might as well be 'overtaken' by the next phase of wine media, whatever that may be).

Uh-ohhhhhh...

In the same breakout session, Wine Enthusiast's Steve Heimoff cautioned that winery PR would no doubt attempt to "use" us, and that we needed to be prepared - and cautious about to whom we lend our trust. Keynote speaker Alice Feiring (yes, she actually entered CA wine country for this...) added (among some very inspiring dialog), "Trust no one."

What's a wine blogger to do?

Go on blogging, of course!

I'm not saying that bloggers need to become prudes who completely shut down at the very thought of having to walk a tightrope line of credibility just because they've been invited to an industry event, or a personal winery tour, or the like. Heaven knows I've got no problem whatsoever being courted by winemakers, PR contacts, or the wine media in general (in fact, my view is that it's about time this has happened).

The trick is maintaining the willpower to keep a unique, individual, and (hopefully) credibly opinionated voice as a blogger while the "courting" ramps up.

I don't know what the future will bring, but I'm looking forward to the ride...

Cheers (and "Organic Flow" forever)!
(images: 1WineDude.com)