Evan Dawson: Rattling Sabres: James Suckling, Robert Parker, Wine Writer Ethics and Bullying

Evan Dawson@the 4th EWBC in Brescia 

Interesting and topical piece by Evan Dawson on threats to sue for libel made by Robert Parker and James Suckling posted on here on Palate Press. 

'Rattling Sabres: James Suckling, Robert Parker, Wine Writer Ethics and Bullying

April 24, 2012 by Evan Dawson  
Filed under Columnists, Evan Dawson, FCG, Wine Spotlight

'Thankfully, the Pew Research Center has more important things to do than to figure out what the public thinks about wine writers. I fear that if they undertook the task, they would find that many people view wine writing with some degree of scorn.' 

A link to a report on the James Suckling in Quebec controversy, which includes a link to the three videos for which SAQ (La Société des Alcools du Quebec) say they paid Suckling $18,000.      

Summer in a Glass by Ewan Dawson

Evan Dawson: Summer in a Glass

At last October’s European Wine Bloggers Conference in Brescia I was very impressed by Ewan Dawson, who was one of the speakers. I asked if he could arrange a review copy of Summer in a Glass – the coming of age of winemaking in the Finger Lakes (published by Sterling Epicure). He did but unfortunately it took a long time to get to me. It wasn’t until yesterday that I got my hands on a copy and started into it.

Although I’m only about a fifth of the way through I can thoroughly recommend it even if you know nothing about the wines from the New York Finger Lakes. Evan is a natural storyteller and focuses very much on the personalities involved – on the winemakers who have change the style and reputation of these wines – most notably Riesling. Like Benjamin Wallace (The Billionaire's Vinegar) he makes you want to turn the page.

Evan now has an updated paperback version now out.

Summer in a Glass –$19.95 (US), $23.95 (Can)