Wine industry to blame for Wine X demise: Darryl Roberts
February 19, 2007
By Adam Lechmere
Wine X Magazine, purveyor of fine wine knowledge to 20-somethings, is to close amid bitter accusastions that the wine industry's complacency killed the publication.
Based in Santa Rosa, California, Wine X launched in 1997 as a hip alternative to the established wine press. At its height it sold 330,000 a month, and claimed 2m readers per issue.
The magazine's founder and editor Darryl Roberts made the announcement with a broadside at the drinks industry, which he accused of hypocrisy.
'There's a lot of talk within the wine industry about marketing to young adults,' he said. 'New wines have been created, new wine divisions have been formed by large wine companies, all with the idea of targeting young adults. Yet they give us absolutely no support.
'Other alcohol producers - spirits, beer, RTDs (ready-to-drink packages, known as alcopops in the UK) - who are interested in young adults back that up with advertising and events to reach out to this demographic.
'The wine industry says it's interested in young adults but spends all of its ad and promo money targeting the same people it's been targeting for the past 30 years - rich, old white people.'
With rock stars like Moby and Steven Page of Barenaked Ladies, actors and musicians on the cover, self-consciously wacky tasting notes (a wine would be described as 'Pam Anderson' instead of 'voluptuous'), and the strapline, 'Wine, food and an intelligent slice of vice', it aimed itself squarely at the younger generation.
But Roberts constantly lamented the lack of support from an industry he felt had no interest in young adults.
Each issue is a struggle, he said in 2003. 'I forgot I was dealing with the wine industry, an industry still stuck in the 80s. They don't want to market wine to young adults. Young adults don't drink wine.'
Roberts now says, 'It will be interesting to see what happens now that there are no national/international groups or organisations reaching out to young adults. It takes a peer-to-peer relationship to influence young adults…. With Wine X gone, that … support is gone too.'
Wine X also funded Wine Brats, a wine appreciation club aimed at 20-somethings that organised 'WineRaves' and had members in 31 cities. It too is 'out of business due to lack of wine industry support,' Roberts said.
Adding a UK point of view, Angela Mount of supermarket Somerfield said the industry here was much more proactive in dealing with young adults.
'Young adults of 20-25 need a huge amount of attention – particularly from a sensible drinking point of view. As an industry we would be severely criticised for not focussing on their needs.'
She added that wine is an excellent way of educating the young into better drinking habits.
'If we can use wine to educate them off alcopops, then so much the better.'
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While I regret the death of any publication that strives for individualism, I am not in the least surprised that Wine X is tanking. I thought it was dead years ago. Despite an obligatory vein of seriousness, the magazine was so over-hip, so calculatedly quirky, that substantively much of it could be unreadable, and I dropped it.
Darryl Roberts's blame game is off the mark. If he wants to find the source of the magazine's trouble, he ought to look into a mirror. He was not automatically entitled to the kind of economic support he needed, because his editorial product seemed so iffy that, I believe, many serious producers simply did not want to be associated with it.
Wine, after all, is about alcohol, and alcohol requires editorial treatment that bespeaks thoughtfulness and responsibility. The ill-chosen name Wine Brats, an evidently serious organization Wine X supported, connotes childish misbehavior. What Napa Valley winery would want its name linked to a Route 29 crash that killed four people after a Wine Brats event?
At bottom, Wine X's Attitude played into the shallow notion of never-grow-up 'fun' portrayed in young-demographic magazines by those thousands of empty photos containing make-believe hilarity. But real life, deeply understood, is mostly the pits, not mosh pits.
Wine X's terminal coolness inevitably fought a losing battle against a bedrock fact that's hard for youth-worshipping America to swallow: sooner or later, brats have to become adults.
Howard G Goldberg, New York, USA
I have never seen a copy of Wine X although I did meet Darryl Roberts in 2002 when we both spoke at a Harpers seminar on the 'youth market'. I thought then, and I still believe it today, that the concept of actively chasing what the Americans call 'generation X' (young adults aged between 18 and 25) and extolling the virtues of wine to them is a flawed strategy.
Wine is, and should remain, something to which young adults can be encouraged to aspire - as a right of passage into the next phase of their adult development. Even if successful, attempting to make wine 'cool' to the so-called X-ers will result in wine becoming distinctly 'un-cool' to them as they mature and the risk is that they will be lost for ever.
Adults routinely divorce themselves from student habits - like wine, it's all about maturity. Wine doesn't need the X factor.
Michael Cox, Ascot, UK
Ladies, gentlemen, pleeeeeeeeaaaaase...
I picked up this "Wine X" publication a few times in the late 1990s
and was unimpressed. Its "pop" references were sadly passé, with
stuff one would hardly consider "hip" at all. "Pam Anderson"? Kindly
spare me. More, better imagination was required to make this rag even
remotely worth looking at. For a long while they needed better
material. Now, they are admitting that all they were seeking was the
support of the industry, which has ignored them.. . Serves them
right, the scorned corporate whores.
Sorry to say, but a bit of rebellion is what's needed. Young people
demanding real wine, as opposed to the corporate-backed fruit crap
and the pretentous, point-driven horrors that pollutes most wine shop
shelves today, would have made for a refreshing publication, one
worthy of a truly alternative audience. Who needs more imbeciles
selling Yellow Tail? These guys got what they deserved.
A Cuban Gentleman Who Objects to This Idiotic Whining
What a joke!!
A simple case of sour grapes!
And in need of someone or something else to blame simply because they couldn't cut it or make it work.
Always amazed at these so called high flyers or opportunists who have no real insight into the industry, its people and its workings.
Obviously their market research (if they actually did any before launching) was wrong!!!!!!
Make me wonder what else he has stuffed up previously and blamed someone else for??
Wayne Leicht
I always love the way blame is pointed in the direction of 'someone else' when we fail. For us all to suggest that is was 'the industry' to blame because they didn't support the Wine X magazine is ludicrous. Is it possible that maybe the magazine and Wine Brats weren't delivering what the '20's something' crowd is really craving? Is it possible that they're looking for something other than the magazine and the Brats were delivering? I think it's about time that we look deeper inside that young people are not always looking for 'a slice of vice'. Wine is something that has always delivered a slice of something more evolved and refined. Kids are looking for a slice of class, not a slice of crass. When we deliver the degradation of what society has to offer, we'll always see the decline of an organization whether family, industry or political policy. Study Rome. It fell not from the outside, but from the collapse of moral aptitude. Rome fell from within.
Nicholas Karavidas, Oak Ridge Winery, Lodi, California
Having read Wine X magazine over the years, Mr. Roberts' sour grape comments are way off base.
The wine industry will continue to market to, and support responsible wine consumption for the generation X adults but it will not support a printed publication without substance.
Wine is about passion, dedication and commitment that starts in the vineyard. With time and a lot of hard work it becomes an art form in the glass. Wine X magazine's content rarely focused on anything remotely educational, interesting or supportive of wine making and the nuances that most wine-loving readers are interested in, regardless of their age.
If Mr. Robert's publishing and editorial efforts recognized winemakers and wineries in the same light as it did other hip-hop, music and celebrity artists, well then, I'll bet many wine industry executives would've bought more ads.
Dan Thompson, Thompson Wine Group, Atlanta, GA, USA
One of the primary reasons Wine X failed was their arrogant, near borderline abusive style of communication to the wine industry. If you ever read their "For PR Flacks" submission guidelines you'll understand why they went under. Hey Wine X, stop whining, those same marketing "flacks", they also control the marketing dollars, i.e. ad dollars, why would someone you insult, who is just trying to do their job, want to spend money with you? Good riddance.
Top 10 Useless/Dumbest Items That We Receive from Wine PR Flacks/Firms… and Why
Press releases detailing awards from wine competitions and/or other wine magazines.
-- Do wineries/PR agencies really think that we'll write about a wine because someone else liked it? That's why we have a tasting panel and do what we do.
Announcements stating that a winery has released a wine.
-- Whoopie! So what. What're we supposed do? Save us time and you money and send us samples of the wine and we'll take a look.
Releases announcing a new winery regional sales manager.
-- Why would anyone (except that person) care?
Releases announcing a brand's new ad campaign running in magazines other than ours.
-- Now here's a winner. Announcing a winery is spending money with everyone else but us. Brilliant!
Receiving large, unsolicited files/images via email.
-- Thanks for tying-up our email system with useless information. Send us a link. If we want to see the image (or read the story) we'll let you know.
A story on a winemaker, written by the winery's PR department.
-- Yeah, that'll surely be unbiased.
Wine samples with no suggested retail price.
-- Are we supposed to guess? What magazine (wine or other) writes about a wine but leaves the retail price out?
Media kits full of newspaper/magazine articles from other sources.
-- Again, useless!
Releases announcing their winemaker won “Winemaker of the Year.”
-- Gee, congratulations. With every wine magazine/wine organization (except ours) handing out a godzillion “… of the Year” awards, every winemaker wins one of these. Hint: no one cares.
Press release stating that a winery has just hired an “industry veteran” wine marketing director.
-- At the rate that people shuffle around this industry, save the ink and the postage. Chances are you're gonna be writing about another “hire” in about three months.
And please note: If we receive one more press release with “Family-Owned,” “Award-Winning,” “World-Class” or “Hand-Crafted” in it we're gonna puke!
Russ Kimpton, San Francisco, USA
Robert's is quite correct in his comment that the wine industry is targeting the same old market that it has for 30 years. It's the reason that the wine market in the US is barely growing, and not growing enough to account for the increase in US capacity. The beer industry, by contrast, is focused on ensuring that 20 somethings choose beer as their libation of choice and never stray. They've got a cradle to grave philosophy. US wine folks have only a near-the-grave philosophy, and it will hurt even more in the future when the Australian's, Chilean's and others figure out how to sell to younger, less affluent buyers--as they're doing with their critter brands.
Magazines sell their audience to advertisers. The US wine industry didn't want the 300K young people that Robert's could deliver.
Brad Asmus
For Mr. Roberts the demise of his wine periodical should come as no surprise...not because of lack of need, but due to underestimating the demographic group he so desperately grabbed for. LDA to 30 year olds are not always driven by sarcasm, lack of courtesy and a never ending agenda of staying out past midnight surfing the hottest trends. 'Denouncing the status quo of wine' seems a hot topic for both Mr. Roberts and the wine industry giants in their greedy pursuit of young adult drinkers - how about denouncing the status quo of being blatantly obvious in marketing schema?
Wine X was at best a novelty, and at worst a joke to those having an existing appreciation for wine. For new wine drinkers, the tone and appeal of Wine X was so slim it instead offered a near insulting hodge-podge of random pop culture interest ads, and articles that never clearly identified the beauty, structure and heritage of wine....pushing the reader to other resources that actually told them something about wine after one or two issues.
Stuff, FHM, Maxim, and a host of other late teen-26 year old oriented magazines would (wishfully) die a similar death if it wasn't for the scantily clad beauties that adorn their pages. Wine magazines are about the inner beauty of what is in the bottle, the place where its from, and enjoying it with friends - throw in a dose of opinion that doesn't insult the encumbent consumer, and you have a periodical that will suit ALL wine lovers both new and established.
EHB
I'm 22, I drink wine. I greatly dislike the fact that I can't pick up a wine magazine and have something in there actually apply to me. I am not a rich Doctor or a Lawyer; nor do I aspire to become either of those things. I grew up in the Napa Valley and I work in the wine industry. I appreciate the art behind wine making; I detest all the cult wineries that are primarily focused on the fame they'll get from their Robert Parker score. I could care less about Parker and find it utterly ridiculous that his pallet can sway so many consumers. If you want good wine, you don't need too spend $100. I want a magazine that focuses on the reality that a not all wine enthusiasts can afford the hyped up, ridiculously trendy, socialite Napa Valley. Focus on small, non-corporate producers, “old world' Napa; REAL Napa Valley. Not what it has been turned into in my life time. Restaurants that don't break the bank, winery jobs, unless you're a cult winemaker, don't afford such luxuries as regular meals at Ad Hoc, Terra or Go Fish. Wine X was not the magazine I am looking for, Wine X was pretty tacky. The Same 20 something's that read Wine X were, more likely than not, the ones coming to the valley and making it rather embarrassing to be in your 20's. I wish I could have seen Napa when it was focused on what was and still is essentially the life blood of the valley; The Farming and the land.
Autumn Tello
When Wine X reviews wine with the term Cat Piss it's no wonder they received little support. Wine is art and yes most young people have that gene. By the way that smell is eucalyptus.
Michael Coats
Good idea. Bad magazine. Maybe someone else will try it with more class and less attitude.
Bruce Schoenfeld, Wine Writer, Boulder, Colorado, USA
As a 25 year old former subscriber to Wine X, I can say with certainty that no one is to blame but the magazine itself. I only received 2 issues over a 12 month period (and sporadically at that). The issues I did receive had very little content, and were absolutely slathered with advertising. In addition, the blast e-mails were sent with such frequency that I quickly tuned them out. I think the reason they failed is because it seemed they weren't there to educate or communicate, but was an all too overt source of advertising. And the tasting note style really got old quick. It just seemed like a really bad attempt to be hip, and oozed disingenuous.
Adam
Their (Wine X) demise is Unfortunate...however their effort will not die in vain. All of you swim in the dominant paradigm of the wine industry... which I intend to subvert. There is a tsunami coming to wash away the facade that they (the wine industry) have so carefully crafted...and there is no way to stop it.
B. Napa
I started working in the "industry" as a "twenty something" in 1999.
This is the first time I've ever heard of Wine X Magazine.
David Ashcraft
What a shock that they folded.
What a shock that Roberts is blaming anyone other than himself.
Glenn Siegel, Santa Rosa, California, USA
I first saw this mag when I was still in my 20's, and being a Gen Xer, found it to be horribly insulting. It dumbed down and marginalized what I felt to be something special. Worse, it wrapped itself in wannabe jargon and forced "hip" content that was intended to make a connection with me, but only left them looking very much the poser. There is a difference between stripping pomposity and just playing crass. Too bad they never figured that out. Now in my thirties and well versed in wine, I couldn't care less about a publication that purported to be "hip", however, those in that sub thirty demographic would still enjoy someone taking the time to talk to them, just don't talk down to them.
Paul Stroth
Everyone is a little bit right. Darryl Roberts was arrogant and unprofessional towards the industry pros that he needed to support the magazine, but he was right on about the industry's mistreatment and ignorance of his focus demographic. It seems the goal should be trying to bring more, and younger, people to wine. How do you do that if you're too obsessed with accentuating the negative?
The wine industry has more problems talking to young people about wine than parents have problems talking to kids about sex. But by ignoring the younger generations, the wine business is losing potential customers that might never come back. Because you can bet that beer companies and the spirits industry know all the right things to say... Perhaps Gens X and Y will go the way of the greatest generation--and become the next cocktail generation.
Maggie Dutton, The Wine Offensive, Seattle, Washington, USA
If a wine magazine described the results of all my hard work as being "comfortable like a pair of sweater puppies" I doubt I'd be spending my advertising dollars in their rag.
Wineguy in Des Moines
It's too easy to blame somebody/everybody else. Their plan didn't work. They didn't deliver the right message, the right way, to the right people. Go back to grad school and modernize their skills.
William Frank
Mr. Kimpton hit the nail squarely on the head: I found the editorial staff and publisher of Wine X to be monumentally self-important and unbelievably rude. We removed them from our list and radar years ago, preferring not to be a target for their abundant anger and derision.
Kevin Karl, Senior Partner, Karl, Bright & Mariani Public Relations
I also disagree with Mr. Roberts' remarks.
While I am always sad to see a publication go, and a wine publication at that, the wine industry was not what brought Wine X down, it was Wine X itself.
I am 28 years old, a so-called “millennial”. I started earnestly learning and researching about wine when I was 19 years old. I was a charter subscriber to Wine X, a regional leader of the Wine Brats, and have been involved in the wine industry in many facets including editorial, retail, importing and distribution over the past 8 years. I also spent 3 years in publishing so I feel that I do have some relevant insight. I still work in the wine industry.
What I did not appreciate about Wine X's editorial content was it's offbeat, pandering style, which alienated readers and steered them away more than they encouraged or educated. On the PR side of it I found the editorial instructions (as detailed on their website) and overall attitude to be pretentious, holier-than-thou, and generally felt a disconnect. Wine X didn't appreciate the wine business, so as it seems, the wine business didn't appreciate Wine X. From a readership standpoint the articles were jaggedly written, their coverage was sporadic and had no flow, and the wine ratings were useless. Give the “point scale” as much flack as you want, but it makes SENSE to people. Off the wall comments and an inconsistent rating system is not going to entice a consumer to seek out a bottle of wine.
Magazines make money on their advertising. Perhaps the editorial content, writing style, ratings system etc did not appeal to top tier advertisers. Money is money and you're going to spend it the best way you see fit. The advertisers obviously chose to spend their money elsewhere.
I personally read and subscribe to all of the domestic wine publications and a few international. While some may say ratings and scores are controlled by advertising dollars or that one or two publications retail too much control over wine ratings, at least these publications inform, educate and cover the world of wine in a sophisticated, literate, and intelligent manner. Every time I read Wine X I felt that I was being pandered to and was ashamed that the editors and publisher felt that the offbeat and inconsistent writing style was a way to “reach” 20-somethings. As a 20-something then, and an older 20-something now, I always thought the writing and story topics were amateurish and frankly, was embarrassed that this was aimed at my age range.
In terms of Roberts' comments that the wine industry ignores the youth market, I am always saddened when I hear that old argument. Who says we have to target the youth market? Since when did marketing wine become indistinguishable from marketing soft drinks? Aren't we missing the point? Ask any winemaker and they do it for the love of their craft- they don't do it for the most ideal “demographic”.
If the millennials aren't drinking wine now, don't worry, we don't need rock star advertising campaigns to get them to start. Let them age a little. By their 30's they catch up and start making up for buying beer in their 20's. They always do.
Lisa Weeks, Los Angeles, California, USA
The post from Paul Stroh best describes my feelings about Wine X. I think young people see through fakeness, and non-intelligent treatment of subjects just as well as us old farts, perhaps better. I could predict the response from my 15 year olds upon seeing a copy of the magazine: “This is stupid!” I never felt an element of honesty in it. I applaud the intent, it just missed at too many levels.
Dan Lee
Mr. Roberts assertion that the Wine Industry did not support his publication, thus it's demise, is just so absurd. Any publication, wine or otherwise, is dependent upon it's readership for support not the industry that it reports on. Granted, had Wine X been able to build a credible following of subscribers then those who advertise would have surely seen fit to swing advertising dollars his way. But the content and the erratic cycle of publishing obviously did not strike a cord with readers and thus the magazines demise. Mr. Roberts is a whiner and his blame game is simply sour grapes.
John Skupny, St. Helena, California, USA
They DO have a holier than thou attitude. We're a PR company in Asia, and given any budget we give suggestions where our clients should advertise. Previously we sent Wine X a press release, and we got quite an attitude filled response back. Another magazine gave us a good response, and so we pushed all the advertising there.
I think I would have appreciated it more if they just ignored the release. No wonder they're not getting any 'support'.
WinePR in 20s
I really can't comment on Wine X, as I've never seen it. Suffice it to say, however, that young people, at least here in the States, aren't what I'd call avid readers. Witness the fact that so many daily newspapers here are on the decline, with readership down dramatically. MTV, I Pods, Video Games, Internet? Yes. Reading in general, NO. It was a bad idea from the start.
Tom Karczewski, NBC Action News, USA
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While I regret the death of any publication that strives for individualism, I am not in the least surprised that Wine X is tanking. I thought it was dead years ago. Despite an obligatory vein of seriousness, the magazine was so over-hip, so calculatedly quirky, that substantively much of it could be unreadable, and I dropped it.
