A writing career spanning three decades
All modesty aside, it's been a lot of fun!
What did we used to say about turning 30? Something about reaching old age, if I recall.
Well, this writing side gig of mine has now reached three decades. I don’t like writing about myself, but such an anniversary calls for some omphaloskepsis.1 Wine has changed a lot during this time, and it has been my honor to chronicle and play a small part in it.
I’ll even use my least favorite format — the list.
October 11, 1995: My first published article appeared in The Washington Post Food section. titled “A Pinch of Politics: Spice Traders Deal With a Changing World.” I explored how international politics affected the availability of herbs and spices. I interviewed Bill Penzey, then operating a mail-order business out of Wisconsin, who was happy President Clinton had established diplomatic relations with Vietnam, making the world’s best cinnamon available to the U.S. market. Penzey was already using his business to do good in the world, and now that he oversees a nationwide network of brick-and-mortar stores, he’s still very vocal and active in progressive causes. And his spices and blends make my cooking more delicious every day. I contributed several articles over the next two years, including one on Maryland’s efforts to crack down on wineries and retailers shipping wine to Maryland residents — one of the first articles on the direct-shipping issue.
For the next 13 years, I wrote for a variety of traditional and online publications. Online included Sidewalk DC, a short-lived Microsoft effort to provide local lifestyle content before banner ads made the internet profitable, and WineToday.com, a New York Times website out of the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat. My editors included Tom Sietsema, Tim Fish and Leslie Sbrocco, three luminaries of food and wine writing today. I also wrote a three-part series for The Washington Post’s Home section on how my family dealt with the aftermath of a house fire. I contributed restaurant reviews and wine articles to DC Modern Luxury and Washingtonian magazines. Linda Murphy commissioned two features for the San Francisco Chronicle’s Wine section, and Tim Moriarty, then editor of Wine Enthusiast, let me write about Chesapeake Bay cuisine as a way to sneak in references to Virginia and Maryland wines. He also published my satire of masculine language in wine reviews, titled “Chateau Viagra.” I should resurrect that one. I don’t think it’s on their website.
I started Dave McIntyre’s WineLine in late 1999 as an email newsletter, before “blog” became a word and the leading way for writers to publish themselves. I was recognized in 2004 by the International Association of Culinary Professionals for an article on the advent of screwcaps. I added to WineLine fitfully over the years, because I was busy writing articles people paid me for. I wish I was organized enough to recognize original subscribers who are still with me.
You’ll find my name in tiny print on the contributors pages of various works, including Oz Clarke’s Pocket Guides when he was writing them, as well as the Lonely Planet’s Wine Trails of the United States and Canada and the latest editions of the World Atlas of Wine and the Oxford Companion to Wine.
On October 1, 2008, The Post introduced me as its new weekly wine columnist. I wrote about minerality, under the title, “Sometimes, Minerality Rocks.” A controversial concept then and perhaps out of favor now, but to some degree I think the piece holds up today. I tried to capture how wine makes us more aware of the world around us, and how — however subjectively — we can taste that in our glass.
“At the Clos des Goisses, the premier vineyard of Champagne Philipponnat, I picked up a chalk pebble and scratched my daughter’s name on the vineyard wall. At that moment, I intuitively understood minerality in a way no wine essay, including this one, could ever convey.”
Over the 16 years I wrote The Post’s wine column, I’d highlight these three accomplishments:
Consistently pointing readers to wines punching above their price. These were often, though not exclusively, from small family-owned wineries and small local importers. I did this while avoiding the typical wine column template of “I tried 120 wines and these are the 10 you should buy.” Alas, Search Engine Optimization favors such rote repetition.
Promoting local wines. I urged readers to visit local wineries and co-founded Drink Local Wine, urging readers and other writers to pay attention to wines “from around here, wherever ‘here’ happens to be.” I wrote about wines from Michigan, Texas, Ohio, New York and British Columbia as well as developments in Virginia and Maryland. Don’t worry. California, Oregon and Washington were not neglected.
Highlighting eco-conscious wineries. We’re all seeing the effects of climate change now, but winegrowers felt it earlier than most. We can parse sustainable, organic, biodynamic and regenerative certifications, but a focus on the environment is positive for both producers and consumers. I also championed lighter bottles and alternative packaging as ways to reduce carbon footprint (and wrist injuries).
Our attitudes toward wine have changed over the past three decades. I started writing in the full flush of the 1991 60 Minutes episode on the French Paradox. Demand for wine was soaring, and even my father, an abstemious health nut, reluctantly sipped a glass of resveratrol at holiday gatherings. “They say it’s good for you,” he’d mutter, as if he needed an excuse. This was the era of “demystifying” wine, trying to eliminate the snobbery and elitism and make wine accessible to the Bud Lite crowd as an everyday tipple. Just as in real life, of course, there was a wealth gap in wine: Napa Valley became a playground for the rich who wanted to “connect with the land” and produce the next cult cabernet. Prices soared for the world’s most venerated Bordeaux, Burgundies and Barolos. Today’s aspiring wine geek needs to befriend a generous collector to have any chance at experiencing what were once known as the classic wines.
Wine is re-embracing its status as a luxury product. Large companies such as Constellation Brands are shedding lower-priced wines to focus on more “premium” labels. Wines costing $50 are often marketed as “affordable.” Wine is becoming a special-occasion drink, or maybe a weekend treat. Demand is down as the world recovers from its pandemic lockdown binge. And the forces of Prohibition are again rising, trying to change the discussion from responsible moderate consumption to “no safe level.”
Five decades ago, when Americans were beginning to discover a thirst for wine, Robert M. Parker Jr. established himself as a reliable guide to wines worth spending our money on. Even with wine regaining its specialized nature, I can’t see a single similar authoritative voice emerging. The internet has made us all wine critics, bloggers, influencers. There are a lot of voices out there. I’m grateful for all of you who have read my writings for the past 30 years. Tonight, I will raise a special glass in your honor.
This entire piece brought a blush of joy to me, a chronicle of brilliance, passion and timeliness. Thank you for all of it, all of what you have brought to the world of wine. So grateful for you!🥂🤗❤️
You're not unlike The Wire; the cop drama that never bothered to explain things. Forcing viewers who stuck with it, to figure it out for themselves; and we did. That's what McIntyre did by using such an obtuse word. Keep on truckin' Dave.