One dog barks at something, the rest bark at him – Chinese saying
I read somewhere that as of 4 years ago there were an estimated 50 million blogs on the internet. That number has probably increased exponentially since then. Add to those blogs all the personal and commercial websites, and the amount of information available to each of us is overwhelming. The internet is where an extraordinary number of people get their information. Whether that information is good or correct is another matter.
The opportunity for us all to express an opinion is wonderful. Having to read all those opinions isn’t. I fully participate in the “noise” and enjoy many of the things that I read online. But, my overall sense is that the internet, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc., are like the talking dogs that you would see at the circus. It’s interesting that they exist but you would have to be an idiot to believe anything they say.
I believe this is certainly true when it comes to wine blogs and online advice. In his op-ed piece in the NY Times last week, Christopher Kimball, the publisher of Cook’s Illustrated magazine, wrote about the demise of Gourmet magazine. In it he wrote, “The world needs fewer opinions and more thoughtful expertise — the kind that comes from real experience, the hard-won blood-on-the-floor kind. I like my reporters, my pilots, my pundits, my doctors, my teachers and my cooking instructors to have graduated from the school of hard knocks.”
That sounds pretty old school and maybe out of touch with what is acceptable thinking today. But I realize that as much as I like all the new technology and access to everything there is in the world and the ability to throw up every thought, feeling, twitch, and grunt – in my heart of hearts, I agree with Christopher Kimball.
I just wanted to remind our customers and readers that we at Guy du Vin have that experience and the ability to put wine in context – which is really what advice is all about. We have over 30 of years experience in tasting, buying, learning about, teaching about and enjoying wine. We’ve visited the producers, traveled to the vineyards, and shared dinner with the growers. We do our best to offer you wines that reflect distinctiveness and emphasize a connection to their place of origin. We offer wines that aren’t merely intellectually interesting to taste, but wines that are actually delicious to sit and drink.
It just isn’t enough to cough up one more hairball of an opinion and post it on a blog. Experience really does count.