Former “The New York Observer” president, Christopher Barnes has launched this new website that creates and curates content about wine, wineries and the wine industry and offers readers the ability to order many of the wines under discussion directly from a distributor working in partnership with the site. In fact, Christopher does not come alone in this new venture. He comes with a team and some contributing writers including Alia Akkam (editor of Edible Queens magazine), Kristen Bieler (former editor of Food & Wine’s annual Wine Guide), Jim Clarke (writes for the World of Fine Wine, Sommelier Journal, and Wine Enthusiast), Anthony Giglio (wine reporter for CBS News Radio, as well as the wine columnist for La Cucina Italiana), Courtney Humiston (contributes regularly for Decanter.com), Timothy Moriarty (former managing editor of Wine Enthusiast), Zachary Sussman (regularly contributes stories to Tasting Table), Monty Waldin (author of The Organic Wine Guide and Biodynamic Wines) and Michael Woodsmall (previously served as the Managing Editor of The New York Observer).
So what’s new really? Here is what Christopher Barnes says:
“The process of choosing wine can be tortuous. The multitude of options can turn a simple decision into rush of anxiety. But it can also be joyful, serendipitous and charged with the thrill of discovering something new and interesting. I started Grape Collective because it is a site that I, as a wine consumer, wanted to exist. As a casual wine drinker trying to develop a greater appreciation and understanding of wines, I found the sources of information limiting. The traditional wine media did not speak to me; I felt they were in direct dialogue with people with fancy cellars. Beyond that, the experience of reading about and then trying to procure wines became maddeningly frustrating. More often than not, I would seek out the wines I had just read about in a wine column, only to find that they were unavailable. How should one go about choosing a wine? We believe that wine does not lend itself to the absolutes of 100-point grading system. Instead, we’re guided by a more diverse orchestra of voices, those of people who have taken the time to develop their own unique sensibilities and are skilled in communicating their experiences. Our purpose is to provide a platform for writers and wine industry personalities to share their own journeys of exploration. To tell stories about delicious wines, the people who make them, where they came from and how they may evolve. We are writing for casual wine drinkers, wine novices dissatisfied by traditional media and even wine connoisseurs, seeking a fresh perspective. Telling the stories behind the bottles is at the core of Grape Collective’s mission, but we also want to bridge the gap between reading about a wine and drinking it. We’re ending the wild goose chases: You can buy the wines we write about right here on our site. Yes, this will be a for profit undertaking mixing journalism with commerce. Writers are given the latitude to write about the wines they enjoy, subject only to the following restriction: the wines covered need to be available for purchase by Grape Collective from a whole seller. Our firm belief is that a good wine becomes better the more you know about it. So we will cover as wide a swath as possible, from obscure, eclectic subjects such as Californian Ribolla, to the more tried-and-true offerings, like Brunello. We will offer a platform for emerging talent within the wine world, with innovative tools and experimental approaches to telling their stories.”
The site is now live at grapecollective.com.
