Do Winemakers Check CT?

[Richard_Foxall]

Yes. Every day .

Paul

Heck, I’ve even seen Paul write his own tasting notes on other wines.

[Bob_Hoelting]

I wish ALL winemakers would check CT, not just for tasting notes but to help the admins clean up the errors and dupes in the database.

[Vincent_Fritzsche]

Thinking again about this subject, it’s true that some online reviews can seem to relish in the perceived awfulness of a wine. Criticism is fine. Piling on or just being over the top is another thing, though of course the line between is blurry. Just sometimes - mostly reading about wine that are NOT mine - I have to wonder what the motivation is, beyond self satisfaction.

Imagine someone reviewing the last hour of your work day, like they were sitting in your office or cube while you’re on Berserkers or Winebid instead of doing what we might expect of someone on the job. “Very scattered stuff, this ‘wine’ alternates between what I expect of a professional and how I imagine a child spends its morning, mindlessly writing on the walls but acting innocent anytime someone walks by. This is not even close to what I expect Pinot noir to be, sloppy winemaking from someone I can only imagine is skating though life hoping no one calls them out. An abomination, 62 points.”

The analogy made me chuckle and was well done, but I don’t think it is entirely apt. The relationship of the employee to the employer is one-to-one. The relationship of the winemaker to the wine consumer is one-to-many.

It may be closer to say a stock broker picked one bad stock for a client (all the rest were great), and the client goes on a message board to rant about the terrible stock pick.

Point being, even if the person is being a jerk, there is some value to the community to know they had a bad experience. (None of which is to excuse the piling on…)

Fair points. I was mostly going for the chuckle.

[John_Glas]

I wish ALL winemakers would check CT, not just for tasting notes but to help the admins clean up the errors and dupes in the database.

That would be nice. Sometimes it is difficult to put in the correct info so it would be nice for them to check those errors.

[Bdklein]

I wish ALL winemakers would check CT, not just for tasting notes but to help the admins clean up the errors and dupes in the database.

Think they have other priorities. Hope they do, anyway.

[Adam_Frisch]

Well, this is a small industry and one day you’re going to stand next to a winemaker at a pouring, or have to borrow a harvest bin in a pinch etc and then it helps if you haven’t trashed his/hers wines on a open forum. I will sometimes be a little more outspoken if I feel the wine is very corporate, as then it feels less like you’re hurting someone personally. But the not scoring part is actually a good tip - I might use that if a wine is stylistically not my cup of tea, but not a bad wine.

[Uli_K]

Yes. Every day .

Paul

Heck, I’ve even seen Paul write his own tasting notes on other wines.

Me too, and I appreciate it greatly - no one else will be able to speak as authoritatively to actual vs. expected results, and have all the necessary bottles at hand. I assume most winemakers do this in some shape or form, yet few publish it. CT is a great way of publishing those impressions. Edit: Misread your post, I thought you said Paul’s own wines. I’ll keep my point regardless…

[Keith_A_k_e_r_s]

I’d reckon a big portion of wine makers have fairly thick skins

Wouldn’t this be more dependent on the grapes they choose to work with?



Just from my experience, I’ve had much more interaction from winemakers on IG than CT. I’m also much more active there than I am on CT though

[larry_schaffer]

Well, this is a small industry and one day you’re going to stand next to a winemaker at a pouring, or have to borrow a harvest bin in a pinch etc and then it helps if you haven’t trashed his/hers wines on a open forum. I will sometimes be a little more outspoken if I feel the wine is very corporate, as then it feels less like you’re hurting someone personally. But the not scoring part is actually a good tip - I might use that if a wine is stylistically not my cup of tea, but not a bad wine.

I hear you - and yep, I’ve certainly had plenty of wines that I didn’t think lived up to my expectations based on notes and ‘feelings’ on this board and I have not commented on them. I have commented on some wines in the past, and had a winemaker reach out to me to ‘ask if I was trying to ruin his business’ because I agreed with others who found one of his wines bretty at a large gathering at HdR back in the day. THAT still bothers me . . .

If someone does not like one of my wines, I’m never offended. What I do try to understand is the context of trying this wine - was it served at an appropriate temperature?; did the food it was consumed with ‘alter’ its perception perhaps?; was the bottle ‘compromised’ in some way?

Cheers.

[larry_schaffer]

I wish ALL winemakers would check CT, not just for tasting notes but to help the admins clean up the errors and dupes in the database.

Think they have other priorities. Hope they do, anyway.

Bruce,

In all honesty, it’s a matter of ‘priorities’. I find that some winemakers who state that ‘they just don’t have time’ are instead spending their time posting about fabulous meals that they are enjoying or beers that they are drinking Again, it’s a sense of ‘priorities’ . . .

Cheers.

[Marcus_Goodfellow]

Well, this is a small industry and one day you’re going to stand next to a winemaker at a pouring, or have to borrow a harvest bin in a pinch etc and then it helps if you haven’t trashed his/hers wines on a open forum. I will sometimes be a little more outspoken if I feel the wine is very corporate, as then it feels less like you’re hurting someone personally. But the not scoring part is actually a good tip - I might use that if a wine is stylistically not my cup of tea, but not a bad wine.

That’s a fair point. And while I check CT,
I don’t post TNs much at all. I should but would not write a negative review. While that may sound contadictory to my previous post, I don’t know that negative winemaker feedback is what most wine industry people are checking for on a daily basis. Especially out of the blue and publicly.

[Paul_Gordon]

Yes. Every day .

Paul

Heck, I’ve even seen Paul write his own tasting notes on other wines.

Me too, and I appreciate it greatly - no one else will be able to speak as authoritatively to actual vs. expected results, and have all the necessary bottles at hand. I assume most winemakers do this in some shape or form, yet few publish it. CT is a great way of publishing those impressions. Edit: Misread your post, I thought you said Paul’s own wines. I’ll keep my point regardless…

I do write CT notes on my own wines, particularly in the first couple years in bottle when they can change so much. Hope to help people avoid those periods when a wine can be closed or overly tannic for instance. But also when I think a wine is starting to shine (as I did a year ago with the 2016s Syrahs).

Paul

[Bill_Tex_Landreth]

On the flip side, I myself often drink wines made by other board members. And sometimes they’re just not in a style I like, but not bad wines. I had one such yesterday from a board favorite. And in those cases I just won’t write a review as it serves no purpose.

I disagree that a review would serve no purpose. I will write an honest review and typically add language like “well made but not my stylistic preference” and I ususally won’t score (other times I don’t score simply because I don’t feel like scoring).

As to the original question, I’m aware of a winemaker contacting a board member and asking him to contact another board member to remove/amend the review that excoriated her wine. I found that sort of interesting.

Sounds like a catty thing to do.

[Cris_Whetstone]

I assume anyone making wine reads CT whether I know they do or not. Honestly, it makes me somewhat gun shy on letting off sometimes. I’ve made plenty of friends in the CA wine world. I’d rather not dump on one of their wines and then run into them. Some would care. Some wouldn’t. If I don’t have anything to add about how a certain bottling may be having problems or is shutdown or some other specific reason why it needs to be noted then I probably won’t review it. Maybe I should anyway but I most often don’t.

[Corey_N]

I assume anyone making wine reads CT whether I know they do or not. Honestly, it makes me somewhat gun shy on letting off sometimes. I’ve made plenty of friends in the CA wine world. I’d rather not dump on one of their wines and then run into them. Some would care. Some wouldn’t. If I don’t have anything to add about how a certain bottling may be having problems or is shutdown or some other specific reason why it needs to be noted then I probably won’t review it. Maybe I should anyway but I most often don’t.

It’s possible to be tactful in expressing a dislike for a wine. The reality is that not every winemaker is going to hit a home run with every wine. But if tasting notes reflect nothing but praise, then they quickly become meaningless.

[Cris_Whetstone]

I assume anyone making wine reads CT whether I know they do or not. Honestly, it makes me somewhat gun shy on letting off sometimes. I’ve made plenty of friends in the CA wine world. I’d rather not dump on one of their wines and then run into them. Some would care. Some wouldn’t. If I don’t have anything to add about how a certain bottling may be having problems or is shutdown or some other specific reason why it needs to be noted then I probably won’t review it. Maybe I should anyway but I most often don’t.

It’s possible to be tactful in expressing a dislike for a wine. The reality is that not every winemaker is going to hit a home run with every wine. But if tasting notes reflect nothing but praise, then they quickly become meaningless.

Sharing notes that involve nothing but praise is something I’ve never been accused of. Quite the opposite.

As I related, I understand some are cool with less than praise. But as is human nature not all would be. That’s fine in the internet ether. It’s different face to face. Sitting down with someone privately and sharing my reservations is much easier than publicly broadcasting them when I know someone. Given the nature of how sharing our likes and dislikes on the internet has become I think I’m a bit old fashioned that way.

[David_Patte]

I check CT about once or twice a month (along with 3 other apps…) and typically will respond to insightful TNs. I do gain insights and especially enjoy seeing notes on flavors and aromatics that are a new to me. Everyone’s palate is different and TNs can reveal new insights for sure (good or bad). I learned in sensory classes that I have certain very specific strengths and weaknesses (for example, acidity and sugar levels, excellent; EA, can’t smell it but learned to pick it up on the taste). This is why I love being in a coop. winery space that Vincent manages— nice to get feedback along the way and I view the CT notes the same way for the finished wine good or bad, and yes we do appreciate tactful “negative” comments : )