When I started this blog, I did not really think about doing it in the hopes of getting wines sent for me to sample–I was just looking for an outlet to write a bit. After a while, for whatever reason, I started getting wine sent to me to review. At first, I thought: “Cool. Free wine.” You’re likely thinking: “We should all have such problems” or something along those lines, but it is not quite that simple. As with many things in my life, accepting free stuff is accompanied with moral complexities that I did not anticipate.
As with just about every morning, yesterday I was listening to NPR as I was trying to get the kids ready for school, and there was an interesting story on the ‘Rule of Reciprocation’. I was only able to hear parts of the story, so I later consulted the NPR website where I read:
“We are obligated to give back to others, the form of behavior that they have first given to us…. Essentially thou shall not take without giving in return.” (from http://www.npr.org).
This got me thinking about why I had not yet reviewed the wine that I received a few weeks ago as samples. I started to wonder about this ‘Rule of Reciprocation’ and how it might apply to wine reviews. Wineries, distributors, retailers, etc. send out thousands of bottles a day gratis to critics, publications, and yes, bloggers in return for a (favorable) review of the wine. This in turn would create demand, encouraging sales. It seems as though the providers of the free wine understand this Rule of Reciprocation. In short, it is rather simple: you really don’t want to say anything bad about something you get for free.
I visit a bunch of wine blogs and I often read the “Samples Policy” on many of the sites. Usually, they say something like this (I made this up and it was not actually taken from a real site):
“We gladly accept samples for review, and will try to review products in a timely manner. We will only review those wines that we feel our readers will appreciate. We will try and be positive and constructive in the review, but reserve the right to not publish reviews on every wine we receive.”
Although I can not speak for every wine blogger, it seems like bloggers (myself included) do not want to say anything bad about wines that they (we) receive for free. Is this the Rule of Reciprocation? Perhaps. Or is this something I remember from my childhood—the Aesop fable of the Goose that Laid the Golden Egg? Bloggers, most of whom do not get paid for what they write, don’t want to stop getting free stuff. As a result, they either do not write about wines that, well, stink, or worse, they ‘like’ wines a little more than they might otherwise had they not received it for free.
Certainly, the latter is doing a disservice to our readers, and is more than a bit dishonest (I would use a harsher word, but I try to keep it under control), and is not really the point of this article. Rather, I would like to address what one should do if a sample wine is horrible (and not ‘flawed’). I recently discovered that there are people out there that read this blog and actually appreciate and use the recommendations and advice that I provide on this site. One reader went out and purchased one of my Thanksgiving selections and another actually showed me a note card that he keeps in his wallet of wines I had pointed out on this blog. I do not say all this to inflate my already substantial ego–instead I mention this because it was the first time I realized that I had some influence and with that influence comes responsibility.
As I receive more samples (but not anywhere close to the level that my pal 1winedude receives) I am presented with the dilemma: should I write a review for every wine (no matter how much it may taste like, well, ass)? Or should I abide by the apparent blogging ‘standard’ which seems to be not to tick off anyone who sent you the wine for free. (When is the last time you have seen any wine receiving anything below a, say, 86 [or the equivalent] on a wine blog?) Please let me know what you think, but I am in the camp of telling the truth and letting the chips fall where they may. If I review a wine and it is horrible, I feel like I have just as much responsibility to write about those as I do the good wines.
Knowing which wines to avoid is as important (if not more important) than knowing which wines to seek out.
What do you think?
Having said all that, I received this wine from the good folks at Wine Château who seem to be making a big attempt to create a larger internet presence. Although I have never had a Côtes du Roussillon Villages before, the producer, M. Chapoutier, is one of the largest and most respected producers in France. Chapoutier mostly produces wines from the Rhône region in France, ranging from the inexpensive every day wines all the way up to bottles that cost several hundred dollars. This wine is certainly more the former than the latter and we found it to be a very pleasant wine indeed, one that I would certainly consider buying (and no, I am not being a hypocrite here–I would buy this wine!).
2010 Les Vignes de Bila-Haut (Michel Chapoutier) Côtes du Roussillon Villages: Retail $12. A bit on the dark side with bacon, anise and black raspberry on the nose. Quite fruity on the palate but also a little bit of heat (14% a.b.v. is a bit high by French standards). The blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Carignan is soft and inviting, indicating that this wine is ready to drink now, with really no need for any cellar time (although it could certainly hold up nicely for a couple of years). Some tannic grip on the back end screams for some animal flesh, most notably beef. I would pair this with a burger, some spaghetti bolognese, or even a good old sloppy joe. Good to Very Good. 87-89 Points.
the drunken cyclist 
I love NPR, wine and bacon!
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This comment cracked me up.
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It cracked me up as well….
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Preach it sister!
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you should always tell the truth and nothing but the truth . . .stinky wine and all.
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But some people can’t handle the truth (sorry, could not resist).
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I have followed one blog in particular that seems to only review wine sent as freebies. I found myself saying “Does this person EVER not like a wine? Or do they just post the positive reviews?” Consequently, I tend not to read that blog much anymore. I don’t need someone blowing sunshine up my ass. 🙂
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I agree. I do believe that the vast majority of wine out there is ‘good’ but it is nearly impossible to ‘like’ all of it. If someone only comments on what they like, it is difficult to determine if your own personal tastes align with the reviewer. No wine writer/blogger/reviewer appeals to everyone.
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I agree. And even a negative review might not put me off, if the things the reviewer didn’t like are things I personally like. The truth is always the way to go, in my opinion. But then nobody is sending me free wine. 🙂
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I agree. Truth rules. I’ll send you some wine!
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Just to comment on Bila-Haut – I didn’t have 2010, and 2008 was outstanding, but then 2009 was terrible in my opinion.
This is a very complicated subject. I personally for a while was contemplating to write that samples are not accepted, but then changed that to something more complacent along the lines of what you wrote above. I’m not sure you should write up negative reviews – I don’t think that majority of the wine publications and wine bloggers publish their negative reviews – I don’t know if this is associated with getting the stuff for free, or not – but this is what I observe. Having said that, it is your freedom as a blogger to write what you want – so if you don’t like the wine, you should say it… Hell, I don’t really have n answer to that – but as you can see, I have an opinion : )
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Interesting about the Bila-Haut. The 2010 was pretty good I thought. Now I want to find the 2009! I actually wrote this post with you in mind–I know you have struggled with the samples issue and there is no easy answer. The other thing–I usually like wine with some age on them, but when you get samples, they want your (positive) opinion upon release. I wonder when was the last time that some of the big reviewers have had a wine that was more than a few months beyond its release date?
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I believe both Spectator and Parker do re-tasting of the older vintages and announce them as such. The problem is that the older releases have much lesser availability to the general public. Crazy people like you and I, stash the wines away to enjoy them later – but when we rate the older releases, the ratings carry much lesser importance for the general public as they don’t have an access to those in general… Thus tasting upon release makes a lot of sense, and you can effectively assess and predict what will happen to the wine – as long as you can avoid the “bottle shock” time window : )
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I completely agree! It is one of the great conundrums for me. Most of the wine I buy I hold onto for years–there are a couple pinot producers that I have been buying since the mid-2000s that I have not even tried yet! That is the problem–producers want to sell wine so they have to make wine that will impress the critics now (upon release), which ends up in wines that are less age-worthy.
Ugh.
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When my blog was wine focused (I used to live in France) I refused to receive samples. It is a slippery slop to ending up an industry mouthpiece like traditional media.
Cars on the other hand 🙂
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Thanks for your comment! Yeah, if I were offered a free car, I am pretty sure it would be the best car ever made (just kidding, I think).
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This is a very interesting subject, I think. And not an easy one to deal with.
Leaving concerns of being sued for bad reviews aside (there was an interesting/amusing post about it on Steve Heimoff’s blog last month), this rating thing is difficult to handle, in my view.
The main reason for this is because I think there cannot be one single set of ratings for all wines, but rather each wine should be rated relative to the “league” it belongs to. I mean, with just one single scale of 0 to 100 for all wines, after you rate a bottle of say Petrus, how much lower would you rate a $20 bottle of Merlot that you would otherwise deem to be very good *for its price point*? I think in many cases going linear would not be fair, or using different words would be excessively penalizing to many good producers who strive to make solid wines at affordable prices. And I think a reviewer should not be considered biased for being much stricter in his/her evaluation of a $300 or more bottle of wine while being a little more lenient toward a $20 bottle of wine. I mean, if I buy a Mercedes I am certainly more prone to nit pick than if I buy a Toyota, but this does certainly not make the Toyota a bad car in its class.
And after all, I personally value more the actual tasting notes of a reviewer than a mere grade that can be affected by many external circumstances unknown to the reader.
Just my 2 cents.
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First, thanks for stopping by and making such a well thought out argument (and I also enjoy your blog). I certainly agree with everything you just said (with the exception of the metaphoric slight to Toyotas–we drive a Prius ;-), with the following caveat: it is true for those who spend a lot of time drinking and assessing wine. I think for the vast majority of the wine drinking public, they want to know what wine is good and what wines suck. Simple as that. None of them are going to drop the cash for a bottle of Petrus or even Insignia, for that matter. They want to know that their $20 bottle of merlot is one of the better ones out there. Whether they are on a date, at a business dinner, or just watching Grey’s Anatomy, they want some sort of guide. I am the first to admit that my ratings are subjective–there are simply far too many factors that have nothing to do with the wine (time of day, ambient temperature, accompanying meal, degree of fatigue, etc.) that can affect the individual taster’s perception of the wine. Having said all that, I know many people that could not tell me that the bottle of Vouvray is a Chenin Blanc, but they could sure tell me it received 90 points in Spectator. More than the rating systems themselves, I was just taking a bit of umbrage with my own personal view that there are wine reviewers out there (be it bloggers, critics, whatever) that only write reviews for those wines that they rate highly. Why? Perhaps they do not want to get sued (I missed Heimoff’s blogpost–but I will go and read it), but more than likely (especially for the small time bloggers like me) it is out of a desire to keep the free juice flowing. When that happens, again in my opinion, you lose all credibility as a ‘journalist’ and you become closer to a marketer (or worse).
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Well, first of all thank you for your nice words, and let me add that I am glad I “landed” on your blog a few days ago through a reblogged post of yours on another blog!
Second of all, to take care of the most delicate issues first, let me say up front that no slight was intended to Toyotas: I drive a Highlander, drove a RAV4 before and am very happy with the cars they make 🙂
Having gotten all that out of the way, I concur with everything that you pointed out in your original post and in your follow up comment.
Regarding the issue of “sample policies” and what to do if you receive free wine to evaluate and, let’s say, you don’t think much of it, I think it is again kind of a sticky issue and, while I totally see your point and I think your approach is absolutely commendable, I would just like to add that, as in many things in life, I think oftentimes one has to judge on a case by case basis. I’ll take a little bit more of your time to try to explain what I mean by that.
When I was taking my sommelier certification course in Milan, one of the things the teachers tried to instill in us was to always use caution and let’s call it “compassion” when evaluating a wine because, leaving crooks or indifferentiated mass production aside, behind a bottle of wine, even if it may not be the “perfect” wine in your book, there generally is a lot of work, investment and dedication on the part of the producer, who (again, generally) tried their best to come up with that wine, even if maybe that specific vintage or that blending experiment did not come out as great as the one before or as the producer and their enologist would have hoped. This clearly does not mean that, in such cases, you should turn your… nose the other way 🙂 and say it’s the greatest wine you ever tried – what they meant was for us to just try to always be balanced and point out both the good and the bad about that bottle instead of just “killing it” without appeal. And honestly I can relate to that approach.
Finally, my personal view about what to do if you receive a sample of a wine that, for short, really sucks, as a reader I would personally deem acceptable both the viewpoint of a reviewer who is transparent to his/her readers and says “you know what, they sent me a bottle of x to taste, I did and it sucks big time because bla bla” and that of a reviewer who instead decides not to review those samples that he or she finds “below standard”. Because in the latter case, none of your readers is ever going to know that you ever received a sample of such wine, let alone tasted it and therefore is not going to be misguided. It would be an entirely different story, in the example, if some day a reader would ask the reviewer’s opinion about a specific wine that the reviewer tasted and did not like: then I think the reviewer should definitely say that he or she did taste it once and that the reader would be best advised to spend their money on something else…
What is certainly unacceptable and unethical, in my view, is (like you said) giving a good review of a bad wine just to please the importer/distributor/producer and keep those free samples coming, no question about that.
Apologies for being so verbose: I promise that I am going to shut my mouth now! 🙂
Congrats once again on a very interest and thought-provoking post.
Take care
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Once again Stefano, great points. I agree that most winemakers are trying their best to make the best wine they can. I would also say that I truly believe that the vast majority of wine out there is “good” (in the sense of “correct”) and that while you might not “like” it–rarely is it “bad”. Having said that, though, it is simply highly unlikely that every wine a blogger receives, he/she LOVES. When you read some blogs, though, it certainly seems that way. It is just hard for me to compromise my principles for a few free bottles of wine and I do not think all bloggers look at it that way. I do not mean to put me on a moral pedestal–not at all. Just pointing out hypocrisy (so I guess I am looking for that moral pedestal?).
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Kudos to you, and the problem you pose to the readers. I think that if you are candid and reveal that you did not go out and purchase the wine, and that you may never have thought of trying the wine, then you may state your tasting results of the wine. When I was a buyer for a store, I would not go out with vendors for fear of anyone questioning my decisions. As long as you are honest with yourself and with your readers at large, I think you are fine and will not fall down that slippery slope.
As for me, I guess I don’t have that concern, because most of my writings are of past memories. I guess wines that I did not enjoy, just don’t make the cut.
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thanks for the comment–it seems as though in other areas (take cycling) there seems to be much more honest and trustworthy evaluation of products. I simply do not understand why some reviewers feel the need to pass over the wines they did not like. I also understand your perspective that as you recount your memories, you tend to hols on to those that were most dear.
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Wait. You get wine for free? How does that work? Man, I want wine for free, too…definitely has not happened to me since I started my blog. Sigh.
I struggle with writing bad reviews, too. My biggest issue is that it is not fun to write a bad review. Writing about it means I need to go back to that memory, and I really don’t want to. So really bad wines just don’t get written up. What I think is fair is to be ambiguous if I have mixed feelings about a wine. And, in a way, not mentioning a wine or winery is also a statement…
I agree with Anatoli that it boils down to what you are comfortable with. Also, I think that anyone who sends out samples has to live with the review that is produced. That is the risk you take…if you send me a bone dry riesling after I stated many times that I prefer them off-dry to sweet, then that is the senders problem, not mine.
Stefano makes a great point about comparing wines within their peer groups. I never get over the fact that some random mass produced wine sometimes gets the same 88 points that a small batch winery super wine gets. It is just hard to compare these, and the point system conveys some kind of absolute equality that does not exist. Therefore I do not rate wines with points, It simply doesn’t work for me, I also don’t think in points when I try wines. It is about the overall experience for me. Plus, I HATE numbers. I just can’t deal with them…
But now back to the point: Why am I not being sent samples??
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Thanks for the comment. First, I do not get a ton of free wine. People like 1winedude and the Reverse Wine Snob get tons of wine. I also agree that it is not fun to write a bad review–I never really thought of it that way until you mentioned it. But is that really what is going on? I’m not so sure. As for the numbers thing–I am the complete opposite–I love numbers, so it is perhaps easier for me to attach a score. I have started using a range, though, since I am only precise part of the time 😉
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I think it’s very important to write bad about a wine if the wine tasted bad. That way you warn your readers to stay away from that wine. What’s the point of reviewing wines if you are not honest with yourself and/or with your readers?
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I agree! Now if it is flawed in some way (e.g., corked), that is not necessarily the wine makers fault so I firmly believe they should get another chance (and they likely would want to know if their wine was faulty). But if the wine is just not good TO ME, then I think I need to say that. I realize other people out there might have a different opinion (similar to music–someone bought Wham! records) and they might love the wine. But it became clear to me that at least some people read my blog for my opinions on wine (one even served one of the wines I suggested for Thanksgiving!) so I see that as an obligation to them.
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Well if a wine corked then yes the wine should get another chance.
I like your wine reviews. Especially the “what we’ve been drinking” editions are always interesting and fun to read. But image you would praise bad wines there – that would be kind of sad and misleading.
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Not quite sure what the tacit difference is between a wine I buy with my own money and one that is sent to me as a sample. I feel I can say what I want when it is my own cash, but there seems to be some sort of understanding that if I am sent a wine as a sample, I will not say anything bad about it….
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Nothing but the truth, whatsoever….
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Thanks! Good to hear the affirmation….
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