A letter from Editor-in-Chief of Terroir Sense Wine Review

Establishing a wine review

Anything in life that is truly worthwhile depends on the quality of the people and processes that are involved in its creation. For this reason, at Terroir Sense we have a purposely chosen a small writing staff of internationally renowned wine experts who write all the reviews. Unlike what others might think, I respectfully submit that good wine writers are not a dime a dozen: it is a job and like every other job that is well-done, it requires a great deal of study, commitment, dedication, time, hard work, honesty, experience and knowledge.

What we can promise

Ever since I started writing about wine, the existence of potentially serious conflicts of interest has been apparent to me. For this reason, nobody writing for Terroir Sense accepts sponsored trips or accommodations, paying for all of his or her meals and travel expenses. Occasionally we can engage in lunch or dinner activities related to work, but will not accept anything more than reasonably simple, work-related, lunches and dinners in likewise establishments. Lunch or dinner in multi-starred, famous establishments will be paid for out of pocket by the staff writer, as I have done in countless occasions in the last thirty years spent writing about wine. In many instances, I have actually paid dinner for some of the world’s richest men and women; and as hilarious as that may sound, it is the way I want it to be.

I also firmly believe that a wine review cannot and should not cover only those wines belonging to the wine jet set. Clearly, a wine review needs to write about those wines that most pique the interest of readers; but I believe that wine writing is very much about education too, and for this reason I have always included in all my articles less well-known wineries that may not yet have big export markets but the wines of which are, as well as the grape varieties with which they are made and the places they are from, deserving to be better known.

Ultimately wine is about passion and spending time with people you care about. At Terroir Sense we would like our readers to go beyond the scores assigned to wines but to hopefully read and enjoy our articles in their entirety. After all, they are written with the express intention of providing an educational, interesting and hopefully fun moment too.

Our strategic ambition at Terroir Sense is to forever strengthen the bond with our subscribers thanks to our website and mobile applications that will allow readers to have a huge database of wine tasting notes, scores and articles at their fingertips. Any input from our subscribers will always be welcome: feel free to tell us what you think, as we are here to serve you. Wine is about joy, fun, passion, friendship, togetherness, learning, philosophy, sharing.

All of which is what Terroir Sense wants to be about.

Cheers!

Ian D’Agata
Editor-in-Chief of Terroir Sense Wine Review