When I was still freelancing, I noticed about 10 years ago there was this shift to getting out articles that were "newsy" as opposed to being good coverage of wine, which is what Lebanon deserves. The wine media at large have horribly missed their mark in understanding that people who read about wine aren't looking for CNN style coverage. It's unshocking that there's little worth reading these days at the main outlets and the more engaging content has gone independent.
There is room for both something that's newsy yet nuanced. Unfortunately, that takes more time and understanding which doesn't work when you just want the scoop. I agree though - that richer stuff isn't in the mainstream.
During the BLM protests all of a sudden wine publications noticed Black writers. I had been calling out wine media for years for rarely inviting Black wine professionals to events, Jancis Robinson website is a sea of white wuth very few exceptions, but she published loads of interviews promoting Black wine professionals.
The industry has almost entirely ignored the genocide and in typical capitalist fashion, they think featuring a few bottles of Lebanese wine or Palestinian to sell will solve the problem.
It's interesting that it was the wine industry that got the coverage as a result of the Israeli attacks. Not unexpected given how good the wine is. We import and sell Lebanese extra virgin olive oil in the UK, equally as delicious but perhaps even more niche, in the UK at least. So while we've had lots of "interest" from customers at the markets we attend, food writers in the UK never having considered Lebanon as a source of good quality ingredients, have left the subject unwritten, it seems.
It's not just about getting any coverage, it's the type and timing. There was probably a similar spike in other sectors while Lebanon was in the headlines. Unfortunately, when it comes to food writing, it seems that Lebanon isn't a regular feature but a seasonal one-off when pubs want to mix it up with something *different.*
When I was still freelancing, I noticed about 10 years ago there was this shift to getting out articles that were "newsy" as opposed to being good coverage of wine, which is what Lebanon deserves. The wine media at large have horribly missed their mark in understanding that people who read about wine aren't looking for CNN style coverage. It's unshocking that there's little worth reading these days at the main outlets and the more engaging content has gone independent.
There is room for both something that's newsy yet nuanced. Unfortunately, that takes more time and understanding which doesn't work when you just want the scoop. I agree though - that richer stuff isn't in the mainstream.
During the BLM protests all of a sudden wine publications noticed Black writers. I had been calling out wine media for years for rarely inviting Black wine professionals to events, Jancis Robinson website is a sea of white wuth very few exceptions, but she published loads of interviews promoting Black wine professionals.
The industry has almost entirely ignored the genocide and in typical capitalist fashion, they think featuring a few bottles of Lebanese wine or Palestinian to sell will solve the problem.
but never talk about it.
It's interesting that it was the wine industry that got the coverage as a result of the Israeli attacks. Not unexpected given how good the wine is. We import and sell Lebanese extra virgin olive oil in the UK, equally as delicious but perhaps even more niche, in the UK at least. So while we've had lots of "interest" from customers at the markets we attend, food writers in the UK never having considered Lebanon as a source of good quality ingredients, have left the subject unwritten, it seems.
It's not just about getting any coverage, it's the type and timing. There was probably a similar spike in other sectors while Lebanon was in the headlines. Unfortunately, when it comes to food writing, it seems that Lebanon isn't a regular feature but a seasonal one-off when pubs want to mix it up with something *different.*