Believe it or not, we actually got a few emails with questions. Mainly from PR people, but there were a few readers out there genuinely curious with some good-faith questions (one bad faith one, but we suspect that person also thinks Mike Lindell is "on to something"). On the occasion of celebrating 100 reviews, we decided to take a moment to answer them.
So I still don't understand....who is writing this?
We don't full understand it either. There were six of us, and now that has diminished in 9 months to two people writing: one on the east coast, and one on the west. We are all professionals in our day jobs, and don't wish to have our identities disclosed.
We all remain friends and keep in touch via CellarTracker and text messages, but for now it's just two folks writing.
Why don't you disclose who you are in the reviews?
Why take the fun out of it? Does it matter that much? That seems very inside baseball. Trusting the process in 2022 is a perilous proposition but one that may pay off.
Are you taking on new writers?
Not yet. Stay tuned. Possibly though. They have to like Malbec.
Why not grades?
We've been through this: everyone else assigns points and ratings and listicles and all of the other click-baity elements that make the entire internet feel tired and uneventful. We give an honest opinion, tell you what's not hot and what's amazing, and let you deduce your opinion from there.
Have you had any sample offers? If so, why not disclose that fact?
I do not think we have had sample offers. This is a very expensive hobby for both of us. If we were to get samples, I think we would mention it? Will have to go back and check to see if we have.
Why just Malbec?
Because that's what we love and we are sticking to it. Totally niche...yes, but there's so much versatility and range in this small little part of the wine universe that we are perfectly content staying focused in this arena. People can go elsewhere to examine and read about other wines.
Have you established a preference for region?
Somewhat yes. Apparently, we tend to gravitate towards Uco Valley for favorites, but there are other areas of Argentina that make us swoon too. At some point, we may play some inside baseball to find out what areas we are covering too much, and what areas need more attention. I know we have some budget-line French bottles requiring some attention.
Okay, so that's it. As we mentioned above: France is definitely some place we are going this fall, and we have a few more bottles from the US we'd like to cover. With the amount of time required to maintain this site with some modicum of decency, how many bottles we are ordering and reviewing per month, and sourcing bottles becoming harder and harder, we aren't sure at what pace we will continue this site. Perhaps next January we will pull the plug on this experiment, but for now, we keep ramblin' on.