Help Me Understand A Wine Critic: William Kelley (The Wine Advocate)

WINE TALK
41

Another huge plus one for William Kelly.

The reason it made me subscribe to TWA, aside from how knowledge he is, is just how open and engaging he is with others about wine. Others critics are accessible with their subscriber base (e.g. Vinous on their forum), but William is accessible regardless of whether you subscribe to TWA or not. He is so eager to share his knowledge with others who are equally passionate here and in other media platforms. I truly appreciate that.

42

William Kelley is my favourite critic, and I think it all boils down to the fact that he loves eating and drinking and cooking. He drinks and he thinks, and he writes well.

43

Agree. The thing that makes William so great is that he makes the hobby more fun. Meadows and other good critics provide useful data points. But no one does as much as William to actually infuse more joy into the hobby.

I also particularly like Williams’s focus on viticulture and the way he champions off-the-beaten-track producers.

44

To echo what many have said, I think William is a tremendous critic and I am personally very appreciative that he is as active and personally available on social media as he is. I also really enjoy how much he highlights both vicitulture/agriculture and the science of winemaking, something I’m not very knowledgeable about. I don’t think my palate always aligns with Williams’s completely (no one’s palate aligns completely with anyone else’s), but I greatly value his insights and I think his love of winemaking and his respect for winemakers who care about their craft really comes through.

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45

I didn’t know William loved cooking, though it does make sense given his regular “likes” of my cooking posts on social media. Obviously it wouldn’t be appropriate in the context of formal tasting notes, but in writing about wine consumed more casually, I’d love to hear more from him about dishes he has paired with particular wines. After he posted once about how well cassoulet goes with aged Madiran, I’m convinced he knows his pairings! :slight_smile:

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46

If we could get him on a bike, he’d be the total package! I thought all proper Brits enjoyed cycling.

47

Piling on. William’s contributions to the board are among the many highlights of WB. His insight and expertise is invaluable, in my opinion.

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48

I probably should get out of the kitchen and onto a bike. Either that or hit up Josh Reynolds for the name of a good cardiologist (see the thread on Josh)…

Mine is a dangerous profession!

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49

Your competition, Jeb Dunnuck, is an excellent biker!!! :wink:

Step up your game, big boy!

There are a lot of people in this industry that cycle at a serious level. Todd Hamina from Biggio Hamina, Morgan from Bedrock, Eric LeVine from Cellartracker, et al.

50

what I wrote on another thread: I’ll be first to subscribe when you start your eponymous Burg publication. Tie it in w your videos and you have a real winner.

51

I’ll only pile on to say that William is a lavishly generous person. He is a great giver of gifts and incredibly gracious. I think it’s that spirit of generosity that prompts him to post so much content here and on IG. He is full of original ideas and has an animated vision to convey, but part of that comes from a dogged curiosity and authentic passion about this craft. Who else is analyzing 19th century oenology on the side?

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52

Another great interview with William on the XChateau Podcast this week. A discussion on the modern state of wine criticism and its value.

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53

Nice, will check it out

54

I like his avatar.

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55

It’s a snail in Musigny! The ultimate slow food…

56

Does a snail from Musigny taste of its terroir? [snort.gif]

57

The garlic butter tends to obscure the aroma of wilted roses, but in the slime one can detect a distinctive “mineralité” [rofl.gif]

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58

Overt slime is a bit of a turnoff. I prefer it to be well integrated.

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59

You need to wait at least 20 years before the snail starts showing real gout de terroir [snort.gif]

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60

I really enjoyed the XChateau interview. Some real gems in there.