Wine & Spirits

At one time I absolutely adored this magazine. It contained articles that appealed to the wine geek in me. Not like Wine Spectator and their frequent score dropping. In an issue of Wine Spectator I was very interested about their article on the Russian River Valley and sorely disappointed that 50% of the article was in mentioning how great X winery was for making a 90 point this and a 91 point that. So I often turned to the amazing writing in W&S magazine.

In years past the articles were more numerous, the content much more creative and appealing. Now it seems they have run out of ideas. Instead it seems the magazine is becoming more like the Wine Spectator. Year after year it seems certain issues rehash stories from previous years, just with newer writing. I used to enjoy the stories of Rias Baixas, Sherry grown on the various soils, strange SW French wines like Iroulegy (sp?) and Gaillac. An article about grower champagne. Mendocino county wineries. The list goes on and on. But it seems in the interest of attracting subscribers they have gone more to the mainstream (this issue of Napa Cab and this issue of Bordeaux). Granted these are central to the world of wine, but it seems less space is being given to the interesting articles of up and coming wine regions. They still do include some interesting stories (hence the 3 star review), but as the magazine shrinks, so does the content. And the percentage of ads is about the same.

The reason I have a tough time recommending this magazine is that in the last 10 years or so (I began subscribing in the early to mid 2000s) I have noticed the number of pages decrease while the price jumps. It doesn't make much sense. Many other magazines are lowering subscription rates to increase readership and attract more profitable advertisers. I currently subscribe to a half dozen or so magazines, all were under $20 per year for at least 10 issues (Beer Advocate, Nat'l Geographic, Smithsonian, Yoga Journal, Runners World, and an inexplicable subscription to Outside magazine that has been coming for over 4 years... without my ever renewing...). I notice that these magazines have continued to provide strong articles while maintaining their reasonable subscription prices even in these tough times for periodicals.

So if the price ever drops to less than $20, I would recommend this magazine. But with the $29 price for 8 issues, and the lessened content, I find it hard to recommend. Go with Decanter magazine instead. It is the current leader for true wine lovers who don't dwell on scores, but it IS $55 per year (12 issues). Many of their articles are written by Masters of Wine and Master Sommeliers. Though it does have a more Eurocentric outlook (not necessarily a bad thing!). If you love buying wines based on the 100 point scale and enjoy very quick and simple articles, or buy for collecting and investing, then the Wine Spectator is a good magazine ($50 for 15 issues). The magazines I mentioned are more expensive, but well worth the content. And I would probably avoid Wine Enthusiast magazine.

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