they can keep the leaded glasses

A 2QT sized pyrex liquid measuring cup works wonders as a decanter

Though I like the stems, I struggled with the presentation. It was more on luxury and fantasy than wine, which judging from the audience, it was probably just what they wanted. Also, no questions were allowed during or after.

The staff pouring from the snake in the room were having difficulty…

Mr. Dressner, lighten up, lest we all go to your boring self-promoting “blog” and flame you directly. At least Dr. Vino gives us interesting and valuable content and a broad perspective across dozens of brands.

Your attack on Dr. Vino has convinced me to purposely avoid your imports — not a difficult decision, as there are plenty of other bottles on the shelf to choose from. Congratulations.

If “a journalist would do comparative pieces on different types of stemware,” then a quick search of this site for that term, then Tyler is a journalist. He has posted precisely that. Here’s the results page from the search I just did on this site:
http://www.drvino.com/?s=stemware

…which includes a post with the title “Varietal stemware: genius or hucksterism?” And another that includes a comparison of different stemware brands.
http://www.drvino.com/2005/11/16/putting-stemware-to-test/

Can we move on, please?

Regarding stemware. I use Ravenscroft and find the quality superb. Ravenscroft does not have budget to run the same type of promotional events as Riedel. A journalist would do comparative pieces on different types of stemware, not just puff pieces on the stemware producer who runs the best promotional events.

The concept of what Joe is asking has become a very valid one in the face of recent discussions – I think it is worth answering . . . but I don’t believe it has much bearing on this piece itself, as others have noted.

Max will be leading a seminar at Hospice du Rhone later this week and I am looking forward to tasting rhones from around the world out of different riedel glasses . . . should be fun.

In any event, carry on . . . . but please do so in a civil manner for the rest of us out here!

Cheers!

Joe said: “What I find objectionable is that he accepts all these handouts himself and claims he is an independent journalist.” Unless you are independently wealthy, and can buy all the wine in the world, or have the financial backing of a huge corporation, there’s no way to taste wines or learn about wines without the help of others. Maintaining your independence is tough, but that’s why policies and disclosure are so important. Tyler has a posted policy and has thoughtfully answered questions about it, much like Jancis Robinson did recently. Tyler held Parker’s team up to Parker’s own standard; they failed. Tyler seems to hold up to his own published standard. He just doesn’t hold up to yours.

Joe’s words, again: “The Riedel piece had nothing newsworthy.” If I want solely news, I read a newspaper. If I want interesting stuff that’s a mix of news, opinion, and silliness, I read a blog. What’s so hard to understand about that?

Joe proclaims: “I don’t hand out freebies to journalists.” So you have never invited the media to a tasting? Ever?? You have never poured even a thimble of wine for a writer, a critic, a journalist? To be honest, I could care less if you poured your stuff for anyone and everyone. You’re trying to sell wine, you want people to taste it and like it. But if you set the standard so high for others, then you need to be held to it yourself.

Joe prods: “By the way, do you have a last name? What do you do for a living? I love reading hard-hitting criticism on the web from people who don’t leave their last names!” Why yes, I do have a last name. It’s Spanish. And I do have a career, unrelated to wine, or wine writing, or anything related to wine, though I live 25 minutes from a winery here. I opt not to share details of my life online, as that is my right, and I prefer not to be stalked online by nutjobs or overly aggressive wine importers. If you don’t like being critiqued by people who use their first name alone, then go to the eRobertParker boards, where full name disclosure is required, or communicate solely in person after requiring the counterparty to flash photo ID. Perhaps the latter option would be ideal.

Anyways, I found the piece interesting. By the way, Joe, I’d like to pose a question…are all the pieces on your various blogs newsworthy? Or do the rules you hold others to not apply to yourself?

If Dr. Tyler wants to accuse other critics of corruption and can document their infractions, then that’s good investigative work.

What I find objectionable is that he accepts all these handouts himself and claims he is an independent journalist.

The Riedel piece had nothing newsworthy. Dr. Tyler’s piece reads like PR fluff. Given his willingness to accept hand-outs it makes one wonder.

I am an importer not a journalist. But I don’t hand out freebies to journalists. The quality of our wines speak for themselves.

By the way, do you have a last name? What do you do for a living? I love reading hard-hitting criticism on the web from people who don’t leave their last names!

Joe Dressner

@Joe Dressner — Not sure where your plainly-obvious hatred of Tyler comes from (I’ll leave it to you two to explain the origins of that one) but this post hardly seems like good evidence for your claim that wine writers are on the take.

Joe, if you’re an importer, you do tastings, right? Do you charge writers, critics, store owners, distributors, or anyone else for the samples you pour? If not, by your logic, aren’t you bribing them? To which address should I be sending the federales?

An aside to wine professionals: Reading these posts and comments over the past couple weeks, there is a lot of interesting discussion and room for debate. But I think one lesson is clear. THINK TWICE BEFORE DEALING WITH JOE DRESSNER PROFESSIONALLY. God forbid you have a differing view of the world from you — maybe he’d be harassing you, posting about you online, and just generally being a grade-A a$shole.

I am already in the habit of checking the back label for the name of the importer when I buy wine. If I see the Dressner name on there, I’ll think twice before buying. There’s a lot of other good wine out there.

So on to lighter matters. I also like Reidel glasses, but I, and several others that I know, have stopped buying because they are simply too breakable. Dishwasher my eye. My wife and I have each broken one while gently handwashing, and a family member broke two when the chinked together sinkside. No, I’ve had enough of that. Shame though, they are nice to drink from.