So it’s rare that I share any of the myriad of press releases that come through my inbox on any given day. It’s not that they aren’t well-crafted, or even interesting (to the right crowd), it’s that the headlines are just so…promotional.
I know, they’re press releases and they’re supposed to share news, which often means promoting something. I don’t begrudge them that, it’s just not something I spend a lot of time on my blog sharing, preferring instead to share my thoughts on specific wines.
This one, however, caught my eye, because it touched on a pet peeve of mine in wine, as well as appealed to my day job sensibilities.
I’ve mentioned, at great length in fact, my distaste for the 100 point wine rating system that was popularized by Robert Parker. My reasoning boils down to by loathing of the application of an objective rating system like numbers to something that is, at least to me, very subjective. That’s why I share my thoughts on wine by saying what flavors and aromas I got, how it paired with my dinner, and whether I’d buy it again. That’s why this piece appealed to my blogger side.
In my day job I run my own digital agency. My focus is on Content Strategy and Search Marketing, both with a very data-driven approach. I try to measure everything, holding both myself, and other marketing efforts, accountable, as well as taking a lot of the guess work out of what the next steps should be – we have the numbers, what do they tell us?
So what was this press release that so appealed to me? The headline was Can Wine Quality Really Be Measured? - in other words, can we actually apply some objectiveness to wine?
This is really all part of the CABs of Distinction event in Paso Robles early next month, a trade and media event that, if anybody is attending (I am not), I’d love to get your feedback on. Specifically, there’s a panel discussion about the measurement of phenols in wine, and how measuring them could offer up a more objective way of measuring the quality of wine.
Seriously, if anybody is going and wants to do a guest post (which I also rarely allow), hit me up and we can talk.
Also, if anybody has thoughts on the idea of being able to measure the quality of wine through science, which I think my wife would love, I’d like to hear those as well.