Why Emerging Changes in Wine Writing is Great News for Readers
- Marla
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
As you may know, I was recently honored to be chosen as one of the 24 Fellows of the Wine Writers’ Symposium for 2026. The Symposium, held at the idyllic Meadowood Napa Valley Hotel in February, was an intense, immersive four-day event filled with masterclasses, workshops, and mentoring from some of the most experienced, influential, and talented wine writers from around the world.
We also toured several vineyards, such as those at Continuum Estate and Honig Vineyard and Winery, to learn more about geology and sustainability. The Symposium has nurtured 500 Fellows since its founding more than 20 years ago.
We readers benefit from these knowledgeable, thought-provoking, and entertaining storytellers. This is way beyond reading wine reviews augmented by artificial intelligence or listicles of which wineries allow dogs.
But we also learned that, as with publishing in general, wine writing is evolving. While this may be more challenging for writers, it’s a boon for those consuming their information. Here’s why the emerging changes in wine writing is great news for readers.
1. We’ll Get to Hear About and From More Diverse Voices
The wine industry used to be dominated by older, white men, and those were the stories that were told.
That’s changing. There’s now a much greater variety of people in the wine world, bringing with them new perspectives and fresh insights. As a result, more wine writers are focusing on those stories and sharing them with us.
This is also reflected in the increased diversity of those covering the wine industry, seeing wine through their own lens and imparting information in a whole new way.
For example, the Wine Writers Symposium itself is “committed to fostering and developing voices and promoting diversity, both key issues in the wine writing community.”
Just look at this year’s Wine Writer Symposium Fellows, selected after a rigorous, anonymous application process. We were from very different backgrounds, lifestyles, and places. Given a particular topic in a workshop, we came up with 24 different ways to write about it. That’s diversity in action!
2. We’ll Be Reading Broader, More Creative Content
Much of wine writing has historically been about the wine itself, such as its rating in the glossy wine publications or its aromas and tasting notes. Is that stone fruit or dried fruit you discern? Honeysuckle or bell peppers?
While that’s interesting, the information is somewhat limiting, especially for a reader who doesn’t know that much about wine. To make wine more accessible to a larger number of readers, we can expect wine writers to expand their methods of communication.
“For an audience outside of wine, people don’t know very much about wine, so you need to reach a different kind of conversation,” said Alder Yarrow, wine writer, critic, and founder of the blog Vinography, speaking at the Symposium.
For instance, instead of articles listing a wine’s tasting notes, wine writers are moving more to communicate how a wine tastes by evoking feelings and emotion, such as a crisp late autumn sunset. That’s more understandable and relatable to a wider swath of people.
We can also expect more unconventional, wide-reaching articles that include or incorporate wine but aren’t only about wine. These will run in publications not solely dedicated to wine. These “wine and” articles go beyond the more common wine and travel or wine and food stories. Think wine and sports, wine and fast fashion, or wine and parenting.
“Everything has a fresh angle,” pointed out Jane Anson, award-winning author and wine critic, also speaking at the Symposium. And we readers will reap the benefit of learning them.
3. We’ll Obtain Our Wine Information from a Myriad of Sources
In the past, I received most of my wine news from my local newspaper and a couple of print publications. The paper has recently cut back on wine reporting; even publications dedicated to wine have narrowed their scope. This is not unique; many traditional publications have reduced the amount and/or the content of wine reporting.
“Wine media [like publishing as a whole] is contracting,” noted Mary-Frances Heck, VP/GM Media & Business Growth, Outside Inc., also speaking at the Symposium.
This may make it harder for wine writers, but not for consumers. There will be more avenues for accessing wine information.
For instance, I now subscribe to a number of print and online wine publications. These include the Grape Collective to read wine journalist icons Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, former wine columnists for the Wall Street Journal, the newsletter Decanter, and wine writers on Substack, such as Dave McIntyre, former wine columnist for the Washington Post. I also follow several bloggers, including Jamie Knee, author of The Petite Wine Traveler, and Frank Morgan, who writes Drink What YOU Like. Into podcasts? TikTok? Go ahead!
While initially I thought reading from a greater variety of sources would be more cumbersome, I now prefer it because I’m more informed and more entertained.
If you want a shortcut, there are also a few people who compile wine articles, such as Alder Yarrow, who outlines “what I’m reading” each week on his Vinography blog, and Tom Wark, author of the Fermentation newsletter, who amasses articles in his daily column, The Spill.
The bottom line: there’s a lot of newer, different information about wine available to absorb.
We hope that this information on how the emerging changes in wine writing is great news for readers will help you decide how to stay up to date on the wine intel that most interests you.
Which wine writers do you follow? What are your favorite sources? Let us know! Send us a message at info@winewithourfamily.com. As always, feel free to reach out to us with any questions or feedback.
