Gimme a Balanced Wine & A Real Story
And I’ll Give You a Good PR Run for Your Money
By Alan Goldfarb
July 13, 2022
A family member asked me recently regarding my clients, “What if you don’t like their wine?” Meaning: What do you do if you don’t like the wine; and do you even take the winery as a client? The answer is nuanced.
My first instinct is not to take the client; and I have eschewed wineries as clients if I absolutely did not like their wines. How can I possibly justify – to the client; and very importantly, to the media (which are my target audience) – that I don’t like the wine; and then get behind them? I don’t deal in hyperbole. I can’t be dishonest. And I won’t ever spin a yarn about a wine that doesn’t deserve to be spun. In other words: Everything PR-types are perceived to trade in. I’m not one of those. I need to love the wine and I want to like my clients
Have I ever taken on a client whose wines aren’t up to my standards, my particular palate, and my idea of what a good wine might be? I have. As stated, the answer to the original question is nuanced.
First nuance: I’m not likely to like a wine that is more than 15 percent alcohol. I generally find these wines to not be in balance.
Second nuance: I‘m not often pleased with wines that exhibit more than 3.6pH. I find those too fruity and too sweet.
Third nuance: Wines that have been fermented in a high percentage of new oak (more than 65 percent), I find the wood to be too prevalent.
Fourth nuance: If the winery’s story or the principals’ stories are real, unique, and are compelling enough to tell – but the wines are on the threshold of my parameters – I’ll almost always take on that client. Good, authentic stories – combined with wines that are at least balanced – are gold to a flack and by extension, to the media – and make for a good client.
Fifth nuance: If the winery produces wines that are different in variety, style or taste and not exclusively Cab or Chard, and are well-made, I’ll be drawn to those.
Sixth nuance: If the wines or vineyard sources are not made or grown in Napa Valley or Sonoma, I’ll have a long look because I’m always attracted to experiencing and promoting perceived disparate regions.
Note: Don’t misconstrue – I am not at all averse to Napa and Sonoma and Cabernet and Chardonnay. I love those wines and will – faster than you can say Jack Robinson – take on those clients and promote the must out of them. After all, who am I kidding? It’s Napa and Sonoma that drive the American wine industry; and which attract the most attention from the media. And I’m down with that and all in.
But and but: Please give me balanced wines; and then give me great, tangible stories to tell. I love telling stories.