Wine X folds; wine industry blows

The incredibly stellar Wine X magazine had pretty much everything I wanted in a magazine. It talked about wines and booze, didn't talk to me like I was an AARP member trying to decide where to put my cellar for retirement, and had actually interesting people within it's covers.

The magazine is now going to fold and the founder and editor, Darryl Roberts, is not happy about it, blaming most of it on the wine industry in general. He says that with all the talk that wine makers have of hitting the 20-something market, they don't do very well. Quote:

“The wine industry says it's interested in young adults but spends all of its ad and promo money targeting the same people it's been targeting for the past 30 years - rich, old white people.”

Ouch.

I'm inclined to agree with the quote though, the more I see of the wine industry, the more it becomes fairly obvious that they're leaving the younger market to Charles Shaw and trying to hit those people up when they're older.

There are some sites out there that are doing it right, but there are a lot more that aren't, and amidst it all, Wine X was doing a hell of a job making it worth it. If nothing else, wine companies should have helped keep the magazine afloat because it did all the things that a magazine focused on a younger generation was supposed to do and it did them well.

I guess when I'm a rich, old white person, I'll be well served. I can't wait.

via Decanter News

Comments

Shhh said…

I think you do it right, when you're not too booze posted-out and talk wine. So does The Wine Offensive. so do a few more, like The Caveman. All these sites love the subject and want to tell people about it, never got that from WineX.Just talk abotu what's cool with wine, don't preach or teach, and don't assume we all want to get wasted. And that "X" bugged me as much as the Toyota "Matrix." I mean, come on.

12:04 PM

Rick D said…

Funny thing, I get e-mails and people ask if I could talk about wine less. There's no accounting for taste. ;)

I would talk more about wine, but EVERYONE does, so it's not really a subject I like to spend a lot of time chasing after.

I can agree with you on the name, but the magazine started in 1998 and "X" wasn't quite as overused as it is now, and the name did tell the story of the magazine, which is useful.

12:30 PM

Mixology Monday 7 - Gang Grape: The Second Pressing

I'm hosting the August version of Mixology Monday. You might say to yourself "Rick, August is a long way off. Tell me at the end of July." To this I say, "No." This coming weekend is the 4th of July. Then you'll be on vacation or something. Then you'll have that thing. Next thing you know, it'll be August. So, I warn you now. It's coming. It'll be here before you know it. So write about the topic and let me know and we'll post it on Mixology Monday. If you're looking for a way to promote your blog, this is a good way to do it. Topic: Grape drinks (Not wine). A pretty broad topic. It could be about Cognac, or Sherry, or something that only you may know about and want to share with us. BRING IT ON!

Mx Monday - Grapes

Well, I waited until the last minute of Monday (Pacific Time) to wait for all the entries for this Mixology Monday and I'm glad I did! I was thinking of going through all of them and commenting on the post with a rating or something like "Here's a sucky post about Cognac" but then decided that would wear me out. I'm very fragile. Over at "Interesting Thing of the Day" Joe talks about Coffee, Grapa, and Friendship Yay! Jimmy makes a Fog Cutter! Go Sherry! Okay, Grape Vodka isn't great by itself in my opinion. But Barbie2Be makes a Grape-tini that looks simply yummy. That's right, I said it. Yummy. Man it's hot. I sure could use a drink, something refreshing yet good for my urinary tract. Marleigh at Sloshed! comes through with Deep Purple Punch . Darcy, The Royalty of All That Is Alcohol at The Art of the Drink, brought out a zinger with the Broken Spur Cocktail Haalo spends a little time telling us more about Brandy and mixing it wi...

New Absinthe's on the market

Only 8 months after real absinthe has become legalized in the U.S., the importers and overseas producers have really started taking advantage of the buzz and mystique that absinthe holds and launching like crazy here. With more absinthe launches than vodka lately, it may not be long until the brands are just as gimmicky. Three new absinthe's have launched this week in hopes of garnering early market share in a soon-to-be-crowded market. La Fee Absinthe Parisienne is made in Paris and has been around for a while as it's been sold in 20 countries for the last 10 years or so. The product is made by traditional standards and the owner of the recipe still approves each batch of La Fee. For a while, Lucid Absinthe was the only one you could get in the US as it wasn't made from the traditional Grand Wormwood (until March of 2007) so it could get away with going around the law. The producers guessed that the stuff that was considered a fake (but still very flavorful) wasn'...

Martini Groove

Search This Blog