Mayo Family Winery 2005 Random Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

You Bastard! A top poster?

Evan, what do you mean by a Top Poster?

"Agent Red" wrote ........

Yes, and there were several provisos, weren't there?

The major concern expressed was the fine line between a commercial post and a discussion topic.

Furthermore, I for one pointed out that "this Newsgroup is one of the most international in stature", and that you should consider "the fact that we have people from France, Austria, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and many other places contributing."

It has been expressed that several contributors find the "secret agent" tone of your postings quite infantile and tiresome (my thoughts) - you undertook to cut the "operative/mission accomplished" crap, a promise upon which you have reneged.

I judge your postings thus - is this a genuine discussion topic, or are you trying to sell something?

I fear the tone and tenor is directed towards the latter - thus is more commercial than should be permitted.

Just my $0.02.

st.helier

(p.s. - FYI, I am in New Zealand and, personally find your posts tiresome and irrelevant to the extent that I shall probably kill file "Agent Red" as my best remedy)

and me UK ;-) BTW, agree with you St H re Agent Red and the tone of the posting, paragraphs of crap when two words would do.

JT

Then count those (e.g. myself, based in Austria) whose mother tongue is not English. I didn't even understand a single word of Agent Red's postings.

M.

The guy runs a web site on wine and is trying to get his ratings up, even plugged his site.

AFW helped.

He should thank AFW.

Well, I watch Wine Library TV and he obviously sells wine but his reviews are frank and he pans wines he thinks are not up to his tastes and tells you what he thinks of wines that he sells so it is not pumping sales. This Agent Red with the secret agent conceit seems to love every wine he sells and that really isn't possible so I'm not sure the wasted space here is necessary. He reviewed a wine from the Mayo Family as wonderful and I found all of their wines to be barely drinkable so I take it with a big grain of salt.

Here's another French chime in. I find the secret agent stuff sophomoric and offensive in the international context. Obviously the site and reviews are intended for an Americanocentric audience. Though I like to see reviews of CA wines even when I can't get them, this stuff reads like pure salesmanship.

Red, just give us the tasting notes -- the bad with the good -- and cut the rest of the chaff.

-E

I think it is legitimate when a critic likes wines that I don't. When I read that Parker gushes about "gobs of jammy fruit" that's a useful data point for me: I know I probably won't enjoy the wine much. So Larry has discovered something, which is that if you like it (in a certain way) he probably won't. Those of us here who's tastes align with Larry's will also find this information useful.

I think it normal that your customers love and trust your reviews, because otherwise they'd buy wine elsewhere. That doesn't mean that folks on AFW will agree.

Furthermore those of us with a fair amount of experience, both in tasting and with producers and journalists -- not to mention those contributors that are producers or journalists -- recognize the concept of a "useful wine." These are the wines we drink, they go well with food, they have aspects that are not perfect. Those are of interest along with the completely positive aspects of the wine.

Once in a while we meet a wine that causes us to gush over it, but certainly not in every tasting note... That's why I suggested that your reviews read more like marketing than tasting notes. I understand (as an American even if expat) that there is a cultural bias there, but even still.

I'm sure that will be appreciated. If you keep references to your site confined to your sig, and mention (as Bill or Emily do when they post notes on a wine they represent) that you sell the wine, there should be no problem.

-E