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10.18.2011

An Important and Exciting Announcement

As many of you know, writing about wine is hardly my full time employment. With a demanding day job and a family, it requires a significant amount of discipline (along with perhaps a less than dynamic social life) to fit the wine writing into my crazy schedule. But I do because I love it. It's what I do for fun. People laugh when I say, "other people knit, I write about wine," but it's really true.

I have been approached many times over the years with offers to write more for established outlets, but I've always declined for a combination of reasons that can generally be boiled down to it not making sense for me to dedicate the time -- time away from Vinography, away from the job that pays the bills, and away from my family.

Until now.

Today I'm announcing that I'm the newest columnist for Jancis Robinson's Purple pages, and will be authoring a monthly column there called "Alder on America."

I've been friendly with Jancis ever since chance threw us together at the IPNC celebration in Oregon a few years ago, and we've swapped a lot of mutual admiration that I thought had hit its peak when she actually paid me to write an article during my trip to Burgundy last November.

But conversations continued and we began to explore a way to work together more regularly, and the idea of a monthly column was batted around, and we both ended up thinking it would be a great idea. For me it's a paid writing gig for one of the world's most respected wine writers. It gives me some exposure to her readers, and it's a nice feather in my cap. For her, it's additional coverage of the American corner of the wine world, and some more exposure to American audiences (who already make up a sizable chunk of her subscribers).

I have the utmost respect for Jancis as a wine writer and critic, and greatly admire her accomplishments in the world of wine. What can I say? She's a titan in the world of wine, and it's an incredible honor to be working with someone who has forgotten more about wine than I will likely ever know.

With apologies to Virgin America, for the .001% of you wine lovers who haven't yet heard of Jancis Robinson, she is the author of the Oxford Companion to Wine; a co-author of The World Atlas of Wine; the first non-trade recipient of the Master of Wine certification; and basically the wine critic that the rest of the English speaking world outside of the U.S. actually pays attention to.

My first column for her will appear publicly on Wednesday, October 19th on her site, though subsequent columns will be available only to members of Purple pages. If you've never had a look through her web site, I encourage you to do so, as well as possibly consider subscribing for a year, or even just a month, to check it out. The content is fantastic, and offers a unique perspective in comparison to, or in conjunction with the traditional critical outlets here in the U.S., not to mention searchable access to the Oxford Companion and The World Atlas of Wine, which is worth the tariff alone.

For those who might be interested in subscribing to her site, in honor of this new collaboration, Jancis is offering a first year subscription price of only $70/£44 (instead of the normal $108/£69). Use the promo code: "THANKSA&J" to receive your discount when you sign up.

Thanks, as always, for your continued readership and for your support as I embark on this new part of my journey as a wine writer. It's going to be fun!

For those who care, here's the official press release: "Wine Authority and Publisher Jancis Robinson Taps Wine Blogger for Content Expansion"

Posted by: Alder on October 18, 2011 7:21 AM: Tweet; Share this post elsewhere: Digg it! - Add to del.icio.us - Add to Stumbleupon - Add to Reddit; Filed under: Ramblings and Rants

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Comments (19)

CJ and PK wrote:

10.18.11 at 7:47 AM

Welcome to Britain, Mr Alder, with similar apologies to Virgin America for the the .001% of Brits who haven't heard of YOU!

Natalie MacLean wrote:

10.18.11 at 7:57 AM

Congratulations Alder! This is an amazing honor and I can't think of a better person to write for Jancis. Richly deserved Alder.

Cheers,
Natalie

Kimberly Charles wrote:

10.18.11 at 8:51 AM

Well deserved Alder! Congratulations!

Todd wrote:

10.18.11 at 9:05 AM

Kudos to you Alder, as this is a great recognition of the fine work you do. Congratulations to Jancis for bringing you on board!
I raise a glass in your general direction!

Stephan Schindler wrote:

10.18.11 at 9:22 AM

That's fantastic. Congratulations Alder!

Eric wrote:

10.18.11 at 10:10 AM

Wow! I saw you in SF on Weds evening, and you were as cool a cucumber!

Congrats!

Carlos Silveira wrote:

10.18.11 at 10:40 AM

Congratulations and the best for you in this new and important venture. CS

Doug Wilder wrote:

10.18.11 at 10:42 AM

Alder,

This is fantastic news and a great acknowledgement of your cred in the universe of American wine!

Doug Wilder

Evan Dawson wrote:

10.18.11 at 12:14 PM

Alder - Wonderful news. Cheers all around.

I've been wondering for quite a while if the more mainstream wine pubs would go the route that ESPN chose 20 years ago, when they decided that they needed more specialization and wider sourcing. They decided to hire the best print reporters in the sporting world, knowing that it would take time to make it fit on television. It turned out to be a brilliant move. There seems to be a strong opportunity for just such a development with wine writing; after all, specialization is where it's at, and some of the strongest specialization comes on blogs like this one.

Of course, I figured this would start to happen sooner. So perhaps this is more a one-off than another step in that direction. But it's nice to know people are reading and watching and realizing that there is some serious talent in all corners of the online world.

Karl Laczko wrote:

10.18.11 at 1:07 PM

Excellent news Alder, I look forward to reading your pieces (as the joint offer has spurred me into renewing my Purple Pages association after a brief dabble a couple of years ago).

Karl

Douglas Trapasso wrote:

10.18.11 at 7:24 PM

Congrats, Alder! I actually was considering dropping my Purple sub, but now that you're on board, I will stick around a little longer!

Jancis Robinson wrote:

10.19.11 at 1:21 PM

Wanted to write to you personally, Douglas, but couldn't find you on our records. Please don’t hesitate to let us know what you’d like to see more or less of on JancisRobinson.com. Apart from more Alder, of course.

Hamish Wakes-Miller wrote:

10.24.11 at 5:38 AM

Many congratulations Alder. A wise and sensible collaboration for both of you. Cheers.

John Skupny wrote:

10.24.11 at 8:15 AM

Kudo to you Alder - well deserved and I know that 'Jancis Fan's' fans will be well served!

Stephen Kerford wrote:

10.24.11 at 10:31 AM

Alder, what great news. Best wishes for the new adventure!

cheers,
Steve

Anonymous wrote:

10.24.11 at 2:22 PM

Congratulations.
You deserve it.
Best wishes.

Melinda Y. wrote:

10.24.11 at 7:17 PM

Congratulations Alder! I know you'll do well! What an honor! Cheers!

Balan Tholandi wrote:

10.25.11 at 11:07 AM

Great news Alder. I follow her articles on the weekend Financial Times. But it is mostly about French wines and some of the wines she reviewed are very expensive. Since you will be joining, I will subscribe to "Purple Page" and give it a try. Hope you will bring some balance to it.

Best Wishes,

Balan Tholandi

Angela Logomasini wrote:

11.01.11 at 6:47 AM

Congrats! You earned this very big honor.