Do Wine Writers Actually Buy Wine?
Some of us do, here's how I roll
I’m not going to lie. Wine writers and journalists like myself get sent free wine. Maybe that sounds like a dream come true. It is and it isn’t. There are two main challenges:
The wines you get sent are rarely the wines you want to drink. Come and take a look at the bottle graveyard in my office store cupboard if you don’t believe me.
A media sample (the industry’s fancy term for free wine) comes with responsibilities. Whoever sent it expects feedback, promotion, and ideally a few sentences published somewhere. I can’t just drink the bottle indiscriminately with friends. I need to taste it in quiet conditions with full concentration, take a nice photo and make some notes.
My address details aren’t public, so I don’t receive unsolicited samples. I’m told this is a major hazard if you review wines for a national newspaper. Wineries often contact me to ask if they can send bottles to review or taste. I politely refuse unless I can see that the wines fit my interests (natural, organic, biodynamic, orange, central Europe etc).
Partly due to the reasons above, I buy a fair amount of wine. The real perk of my job is not the freebies but rather that these purchases can be declared as a business expense. After all, anything I consume might inspire a future article. It’s research. Honest to God!
Jamie Goode’s recent post piqued my interest - particularly the comment that there are many wine writers who don’t buy wine. It’s true - I’ve met bloggers and hacks so addicted to the freebies that they became allergic to getting their wallets out. You don’t want to drink with these people, trust me.
Jamie’s list is eclectic. I wouldn’t have guessed he was a Bolly fan. I approve of Thymiopoulos, one of Naoussa’s best producers. Nice to see Vino Gross and Claus Preisinger there too. South Africa and Australia aren’t my strong suits and I didn’t recognise any of the names. Partida Creus is one of those natural wine names that has become ubiquitous. I avoid it just because it’s everywhere, not necessarily because I don’t like it.
Jamie suggested in a previous post that he’d be interested to read which wines his colleagues purchase. So here’s a list of everything I bought so far in 2026. This is just retail, I didn’t have time to go through all my restaurant purchases. And it’s maybe 90% complete, I sometimes fail to adequately document things.
These are all bottles that I paid for, not stuff I was given or sent for free. The list is sequential from January 2026. It’s a bit random, normally you would expect to see something from Austria. I guess I was already well stocked on that front.
🔴 Burja (Primož Lavrenčič) - Reddo 2023 (x3) Vipava, Slovenia
🟠 Burja (Primož Lavrenčič) - Grašica 2024 (x3) Vipava, Slovenia
Purchased at the winery, my two regular favourites from this producer.
🔴 El Castro de Ventosa - Valtuille Cepas Centenarias 2019 (x2) Bierzo, Spain
⚪ JM Sélèque - Quintette 2019 (Magnum) Champagne, France
Bought online from Latimer Vintners, my gift to my niece for her pre-wedding family dinner.
