If I may….one of the (minor) issues I have had with Connoisseurs’ Guide is tasting Oregon Pinots with California Pinots. You say you don’t taste Pauillacs or Australian with Cab Sauv but it seems that Oregon is a distinctive region from CA, right? — Or perhaps do you taste all Oregon together in the flight of eight per session and then rate them and just include the printed reviews in with CA? — Thanks for the clarification.

Adam Lee
Siduri Wines

Thanks for the info. I wonder if the the Wine Spectator follows the same austerity-of-information format?

At Connoisseurs’ Guide, all the reviewers know is the category and vintage. No appellation info save for the fact that we are a West Coast oriented publication so folks know they are not tasting Pauillacs or Australian, etc when the category is Cab Sauv.

We taste two flights of eight per session, usually taking about three hours from start to finish, including time to taste, to discuss, to unwrap and for any further discussion. At our night-time tastings, we then take the wines on to dinner with dishes that are hoped to be appropriate to the category.

“little girl,” and this is my inner industry voice speaking, “how can ANYthing you try to say to these big boys have meaning?” let me see.

first of all, aMEN to charlie olken. how on EARTH can there be a comparison between wine and literature and art? when a book is published under an author’s name it is typically written by that author. when a piece is painted or sculpted or drawn or whatever, it is typically done by a single person. AND, there is NOT a rush from year to year to throw a product out to the market. if an artist doesn’t find the “right” inspiration? the right light, the right eaves-dropped on conversation that might help them move from scene A to scene B? they wait for that perfect moment of creativity. they may wait years.

wine, on the other hand, is a yearly offering and goes through so many seasonal iterations, and besides WEATHER (but that only matter if you’re one who cares about what weather provides you that year), there are changes of management and winemakers and vineyard operators and fruit sourcing; disagreements and squabbles and wife/husband swapping and whatever else. and unless you can claim the entire cycle from start to finish under a VERY WELL CONTROLLED environment, including the people attached to that environment, then there is absolutely little sense in having “context” for a label having their wine rated. unless, of course, the critic speaks to these company changes AFTER their blind tasting.
those are my two little girl cents.

and “show, don’t tell” goes a LONG way in marketing, btw.

and steve, from what little i know of you, the audience reaching for a book called, “I Drink on the Job”?!?? you’re worried about them? good lord, man. you are so much better. don’t sweat it.