Comments on: My Disappointing Review http://www.beendoonsolong.com/2009/09/my-disappointing-review/ A Randall Grahm Vinthology Fri, 27 Aug 2010 05:06:15 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: johng http://www.beendoonsolong.com/2009/09/my-disappointing-review/comment-page-1/#comment-32 johng Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:53:04 +0000 http://www.beendoonsolong.com/?p=434#comment-32 Is the Enthusiast #3? I have no idea what the circulation numbers are but I would think that in terms of how desirable and influential a good review is, Tanzer and Wine & Spirits both rank above it. Is the Enthusiast #3? I have no idea what the circulation numbers are but I would think that in terms of how desirable and influential a good review is, Tanzer and Wine & Spirits both rank above it.

]]> By: Paul Mabray http://www.beendoonsolong.com/2009/09/my-disappointing-review/comment-page-1/#comment-31 Paul Mabray Mon, 28 Sep 2009 22:16:02 +0000 http://www.beendoonsolong.com/?p=434#comment-31 Steve - Just a note to say again, I have tremendous respect for you and the Enthusiast. The review was fine (even if it is not all positive) I just found it ironic that the same Grendel you both are fighting is the reason you found flaws in the book. In fact, Randall is one of the best knights to take on both of them even at the expense of his own brand and should be praised for his bravery. You should be proud of the Enthusiast as well as your battle against the two giants but attacking one of the bravest allies in the battle for it is probably less effective than just creating a better value proposition and marketing effort to defeat the hegemony that you so dislike. Steve – Just a note to say again, I have tremendous respect for you and the Enthusiast. The review was fine (even if it is not all positive) I just found it ironic that the same Grendel you both are fighting is the reason you found flaws in the book. In fact, Randall is one of the best knights to take on both of them even at the expense of his own brand and should be praised for his bravery.

You should be proud of the Enthusiast as well as your battle against the two giants but attacking one of the bravest allies in the battle for it is probably less effective than just creating a better value proposition and marketing effort to defeat the hegemony that you so dislike.

]]> By: Steve Heimoff http://www.beendoonsolong.com/2009/09/my-disappointing-review/comment-page-1/#comment-30 Steve Heimoff Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:07:05 +0000 http://www.beendoonsolong.com/?p=434#comment-30 I should mention, and am happy to, that I've been a fan of Randall's newsletter since just about the beginning. And of Randall, too, whom I've know for a long time. And of his wines, to which I give consistently good reviews. I just had some problems with the book, is all. And as to Paul's psychographics, hell yes I am defensive about Parker and Spectator hegemony. Hell yes I want Enthusiast to be mentioned in the same context. I have fought against the hegemony for years now, because it's wrong for those 2 to be so dominant and because I want to promote Enthusiast right up there beside them. Nothing wrong with a little pride in your business! I should mention, and am happy to, that I’ve been a fan of Randall’s newsletter since just about the beginning. And of Randall, too, whom I’ve know for a long time. And of his wines, to which I give consistently good reviews. I just had some problems with the book, is all. And as to Paul’s psychographics, hell yes I am defensive about Parker and Spectator hegemony. Hell yes I want Enthusiast to be mentioned in the same context. I have fought against the hegemony for years now, because it’s wrong for those 2 to be so dominant and because I want to promote Enthusiast right up there beside them. Nothing wrong with a little pride in your business!

]]> By: Jo Diaz http://www.beendoonsolong.com/2009/09/my-disappointing-review/comment-page-1/#comment-29 Jo Diaz Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:02:47 +0000 http://www.beendoonsolong.com/?p=434#comment-29 One person's poison is another person's pleasure. I look forward to the read... One person’s poison is another person’s pleasure. I look forward to the read…

]]> By: 1WineDude http://www.beendoonsolong.com/2009/09/my-disappointing-review/comment-page-1/#comment-28 1WineDude Mon, 28 Sep 2009 19:28:04 +0000 http://www.beendoonsolong.com/?p=434#comment-28 Well, my interest in the book has certainly been piqued by this discussion! I suppose we shouldn't expect all reviews to be positive - that's the nature of criticism, after all. Well, my interest in the book has certainly been piqued by this discussion!

I suppose we shouldn’t expect all reviews to be positive – that’s the nature of criticism, after all.

]]> By: Paul Mabray http://www.beendoonsolong.com/2009/09/my-disappointing-review/comment-page-1/#comment-26 Paul Mabray Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:47:05 +0000 http://www.beendoonsolong.com/?p=434#comment-26 I had trouble with Steve’s review at first. I have a lot of respect for Steve, but sometimes find his blog to be rather “point, shoot, aim” in its execution. Perhaps a lack of an editor in the blogging process? I struggled with the review, trying to understand Steve's magnified attention to Randall’s psychic struggles and his (Randall's) personal obsession with Parker and Spectator. But when Steve commented on the latter, I felt that he finally “jumped the shark (http://bit.ly/3cT8XX).” Essentially his comments made me believe that his review may have been as much a reflection of Steve’s own personal battles with Parker and Spectator and of his periodical being #3 in the mind of the some consumers. What Steve is essentially saying is “because you didn’t mention us or fight with the Enthusiast, your personal battle with Spectator/Parker represents a deficiency in the book and in yourself as a winermaker.” It is as if Randall choice of nemeses (owing to his pathology) created an echoic pathology in Steve that muddied his ability to review the book fairly. Steve’s emotional overlay of his own personal obsessions and battles with the same publications oddly mirrors Randall’s demons discussed in the book. You can almost take Steve’s words and turn them into a review of his review (note my change of names): “The repeated references (I stopped counting after a while), both direct and indirect in the form of satire, to Wine Spectator and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate gave me pause. Heimoff puts them down so thoroughly and savagely, you have to wonder why he’s so obsessed with them. He’s like a crime victim who can’t stop thinking about his tormentor. Or perhaps the Stockholm Syndrome explains this curious fetish.” The rest of his review shows Steve to be someone who does not quite precisely align with the intellectual/parody/cultural psychographics of the archetypal Randall Grahm fan. (Perfectly acceptable if a critic doesn’t like the work). Not everyone will be delighted with the literary shenanigans or puns or prodigious footnotes. But those of us who do will find them delicious morsels to savor over and over. I found this book to be a great insight into a very complex man and a lens to view his trials and tribulations in creating the wine brand and culture that is Bonny Doon. To me it was the story of a man who struggles with the persona he has adopted compared to the person he aspires to be. It is the journey of an artist, complete with plaguing demons but also relieved by parody and wit, the weapons Randall chooses to fight his own personal Grendel. This becomes the inspiration for the entire culture that permeates his winery. Maybe not so ironically, throughout this journey the demon Randall seems to actually be battling is himself, with all of his ambivalence towards "success." The heart of the book is an interesting view into an artist and visionary. It is almost as if he has (at least partially) unzipped his ego and brain and shown you a magical portal into his thoughts, fears, hopes, and demons, heavily footnoted, lest you miss you on any detail. Although at is at times, the book can be slightly self-serving (rather expected in an autobiographical work that uses elements of his past marketing collateral), the book made me laugh many, many times, owing to his insider's understanding of our very particular industry, as well as to his odd humor in general). Randall is also an incredible wordsmith and uses a plethora of literary devices to create additional layers of depth to the humor and the story. What I ultimately derived from Been Doon So Long it is that when you attempt to create a dream, the road is not direct and the greatest impediment to success is often yourself. Disclosure – I’ve been lucky enough to do some work with Randall (because of Alina being one of the VinTank 8 lately and have gotten to know him on a personal and professional level. I had trouble with Steve’s review at first. I have a lot of respect for Steve, but sometimes find his blog to be rather “point, shoot, aim” in its execution. Perhaps a lack of an editor in the blogging process? I struggled with the review, trying to understand Steve’s magnified attention to Randall’s psychic struggles and his (Randall’s) personal obsession with Parker and Spectator. But when Steve commented on the latter, I felt that he finally “jumped the shark (http://bit.ly/3cT8XX).” Essentially his comments made me believe that his review may have been as much a reflection of Steve’s own personal battles with Parker and Spectator and of his periodical being #3 in the mind of the some consumers. What Steve is essentially saying is “because you didn’t mention us or fight with the Enthusiast, your personal battle with Spectator/Parker represents a deficiency in the book and in yourself as a winermaker.” It is as if Randall choice of nemeses (owing to his pathology) created an echoic pathology in Steve that muddied his ability to review the book fairly. Steve’s emotional overlay of his own personal obsessions and battles with the same publications oddly mirrors Randall’s demons discussed in the book. You can almost take Steve’s words and turn them into a review of his review (note my change of names):
“The repeated references (I stopped counting after a while), both direct and indirect in the form of satire, to Wine Spectator and Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate gave me pause. Heimoff puts them down so thoroughly and savagely, you have to wonder why he’s so obsessed with them. He’s like a crime victim who can’t stop thinking about his tormentor. Or perhaps the Stockholm Syndrome explains this curious fetish.”

The rest of his review shows Steve to be someone who does not quite precisely align with the intellectual/parody/cultural psychographics of the archetypal Randall Grahm fan. (Perfectly acceptable if a critic doesn’t like the work). Not everyone will be delighted with the literary shenanigans or puns or prodigious footnotes. But those of us who do will find them delicious morsels to savor over and over. I found this book to be a great insight into a very complex man and a lens to view his trials and tribulations in creating the wine brand and culture that is Bonny Doon. To me it was the story of a man who struggles with the persona he has adopted compared to the person he aspires to be. It is the journey of an artist, complete with plaguing demons but also relieved by parody and wit, the weapons Randall chooses to fight his own personal Grendel. This becomes the inspiration for the entire culture that permeates his winery. Maybe not so ironically, throughout this journey the demon Randall seems to actually be battling is himself, with all of his ambivalence towards “success.” The heart of the book is an interesting view into an artist and visionary. It is almost as if he has (at least partially) unzipped his ego and brain and shown you a magical portal into his thoughts, fears, hopes, and demons, heavily footnoted, lest you miss you on any detail. Although at is at times, the book can be slightly self-serving (rather expected in an autobiographical work that uses elements of his past marketing collateral), the book made me laugh many, many times, owing to his insider’s understanding of our very particular industry, as well as to his odd humor in general). Randall is also an incredible wordsmith and uses a plethora of literary devices to create additional layers of depth to the humor and the story. What I ultimately derived from Been Doon So Long it is that when you attempt to create a dream, the road is not direct and the greatest impediment to success is often yourself.
Disclosure – I’ve been lucky enough to do some work with Randall (because of Alina being one of the VinTank 8 lately and have gotten to know him on a personal and professional level.

]]> By: Katie http://www.beendoonsolong.com/2009/09/my-disappointing-review/comment-page-1/#comment-24 Katie Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:57:59 +0000 http://www.beendoonsolong.com/?p=434#comment-24 In no way do I read it as an endorsement of those periodicals. That's the equivalent of reading Alice Feiring's rants about Parker influences on winemaking as an endorsement of it. In no way do I read it as an endorsement of those periodicals. That’s the equivalent of reading Alice Feiring’s rants about Parker influences on winemaking as an endorsement of it.

]]> By: Steve Heimoff http://www.beendoonsolong.com/2009/09/my-disappointing-review/comment-page-1/#comment-23 Steve Heimoff Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:02:54 +0000 http://www.beendoonsolong.com/?p=434#comment-23 I guess my problem with your obsession with P&S is that you barely mention any other periodical in the world, and Lord knows there are plenty of worthy ones, including Wine Enthusiast. In 12-step parlance, you are in a co-dependency relationship with P&S. You need to understand that when people hear you going on and on about P&S, they subconsciously read that as an endorsement of those periodicals, regardless of what you say. This co-dependency exists throughout much of the wine industry, and has resulted in the current, unhealthy hegemony of P&S. I guess my problem with your obsession with P&S is that you barely mention any other periodical in the world, and Lord knows there are plenty of worthy ones, including Wine Enthusiast. In 12-step parlance, you are in a co-dependency relationship with P&S. You need to understand that when people hear you going on and on about P&S, they subconsciously read that as an endorsement of those periodicals, regardless of what you say. This co-dependency exists throughout much of the wine industry, and has resulted in the current, unhealthy hegemony of P&S.

]]> By: Katie http://www.beendoonsolong.com/2009/09/my-disappointing-review/comment-page-1/#comment-22 Katie Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:01:11 +0000 http://www.beendoonsolong.com/?p=434#comment-22 He lost me after the introductory paragraph to be quite honest. "Finnigan’s Wake” and the “The Divine Comedy" are, in fact, amazing pieces of literature, and though admittedly not everyone can get through them because they simply don't "get" it, those that DO get it (much like getting and appreciating the value of terroir) are perpetually accused of being posers by those that DON'T get it. And yes, I triple-checked that to make sure that it made sense, just in case you were wondering. He lost me after the introductory paragraph to be quite honest. “Finnigan’s Wake” and the “The Divine Comedy” are, in fact, amazing pieces of literature, and though admittedly not everyone can get through them because they simply don’t “get” it, those that DO get it (much like getting and appreciating the value of terroir) are perpetually accused of being posers by those that DON’T get it.

And yes, I triple-checked that to make sure that it made sense, just in case you were wondering.

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