House Rules:

On the eve of my first (non-self) published interview, I thought I would remind myself and others of the rules of fair play.

My intention is to share interesting stories with you, and I would be delighted if I occasionally made you ponder something new. These stories will generally be positive in nature. If you want bad news and critiques, there are plenty to find out there. When warranted, I may speak to some negative generalities in the region, but I will never make personal attacks. There are livelihoods at stake.

This website is basically a hobby, and is not tied by any financial arrangements with anyone. My intention is to keep it that way, barring some unforeseen personal financial collapse that has me seeking shelter under a bridge. In that unlikely event, I shall inform the public. It does seem possible that the occasional publication of some sort may wish to pay me a small amount for some article. Any income I receive from this sideline will be donated to some worthy cause.

I guess while we’re talking about financial arrangements, I should mention that we don’t ask for, or accept wine donations. That said, the line gets a bit fuzzy when we’re wandering the tasting rooms. We try to obey the intent of the rule without obsessing about the letter. I think most people that know us would admit that we usually bring more wine than we drink. To another point, most of the places we write about are wineries where we belong to the clubs, we do accept normal club benefits as members. We also accept occasional tank samples. I don’t know any other way one can judge the vintage early, and I don’t know any way to pay for them without seeming rude and tacky. These things are always a work in progress.

It may seem that I’m obsessing on the point of financial ties. This should in no way be taken as a shot at anyone that does make their living as a wine writer, it’s just that things change as soon as money is involved. I wish to put that day off for as long as possible, hopefully forever.

I often write about people that either are, or eventually become friends. It’s almost inevitable, I’m seeking the opinions of thoughtful, interesting, kind, caring individuals. You know, the kind it might be cool to be friends with sometime. Again, if there is bias, I’ll state it. When it comes to interviews, I’m still finding my voice but I’ll always have one concrete rule; I’ll never print anything that hasn’t been fact checked by the subject. I’m looking for honest, thoughtful responses, not gotcha questions. The subject’s true intent, that’s all I’m after.

My target audience is anyone that has some kind of emotional attachment to wine, or to anything made with skill, love, and care. Occasionally, I write at a level that might assume some technical knowledge, if there is something you don’t understand, please reach out and ask the question. It will thrill me if any of you do so, however, I believe that intuition and emotion will serve you better than mere facts when trying to determine my meaning about anything. Not that facts aren’t still important, slippery as that slope is becoming, I’ll always strive to be factual but imagination is equally important.

My favorite approach, what might be becoming my style, is to take something seemingly unrelated to wine and find some common ground. I’m on record as believing that wine is wrapped up in pretty much every aspect of human existence and endeavor, I like to prove it every chance I get. Wine hits me in the head and the heart, it makes me happy and contemplative on a level that can’t possibly be explained by mere intoxication. The wines I drink and write about are made by interesting people who believe deeply in what they do. It’s more than the wine, though, it’s a population of people who care about others, about craftsmanship, about what purpose we can wring from this comedy called life. Wine has become a lifelong journey to me, it’s a ride I’d love to share with you.

Cheers, Jerry.