A Really Odd Wine Interview

[Rebel Rose]

At Appellation America, wine writer Alan Goldfarb interviews . . . or tries to . . . Clark Smith of Vinovation, "a prime winery outsource which performs what it calls wine quality enhancement which involves adjusting alcohol levels and flavors in wine."

The interview follows in the wake of a discussion about Vinovation in Eric Asimov's New York Times blog, The Pour.

Part One - The Man They Call a Blowhard, a Technocrat, and the Anti-Christ of Wine Speaks Out

Part Two - Clark Smith is Vilified for Changing the Way Wine is Made

The vitriol keeps up at an interminable pace, relentlessly streaming in from distant keyboards whose letters no doubt are being smudged from angst-ridden pounding.

Rat-a-tat-tat. “God, can there be a more rambling, blowhard, digressive, cornpone submission? Rat-tat-tat, “A little dose of Composition 1, Philosophy 1 and a permanent disbarment from wineries may be the solution.”

Just as unrelentingly, the report from Clark Smith’s machine gun of a brain rips across the computer screen. The screeds serve only to prove the point of rebuke. “I’m saddened to see the extent to which responders to your article by alarmists pointing at the wrong enemy,” one of his posts retorts.

Please, if you are going to comment, take the time to read one or both parts of the interview first, and include a quote from the article if you are referring to specific comments!

[JohnL]

The Asimov piece is well done. It is a sane and common sensical approach to what is an overblown and hysterical reaction to the subject.

The Clark Smith interview is IMOP not very interesting. Smith engages in a bit of leg pulling, snake oil salesmanship, science and argy bargy. In fact, for most people, I would recommend they skip the Smith interview and most other pieces on this subject and simply read the Asimov piece. It basically tells you all you need to know.

Like it or not, the wine world is evolving and science is part of the driving factor. Because of innovation (not vinovation) we have more better and interesting wines available to us today.

As always, it is how science and technology are used by humans--wine makers that is most important. Ultimately its what's in the glass that counts, not how it got there!

Edited April 27, 2007 by JohnL (log)