First Quarter Reflections

Looking back on my first three months as a substacker, a thank you and a request for your feedback.

Navel gazing isn’t my style, but today I’ll make an exception. Three months ago, I made a life changing decision. No, it wasn’t to get married, change my pronouns or start putting milk in my coffee.

I decided to start charging for my work.

Maybe that sounds a bit fatuous. After all, I’ve been working as a writer or journalist for a decade. And of course I get paid, sometimes handsomely, mostly not. But my personal website or blog, where it all started, was always free to read.

When I launched The Morning Claret in 2011, it was just a plaything. It developed into an amateur blog, then gradually got ideas above its station. When I started writing for magazines, a dilemma presented itself. If I pitched all the best stories to other publications, what was left to put on my own site?

Over the years, the amount I published at themorningclaret.com dwindled, and so of course did the readership. My motivation evaporated too. During 2023, I published just four original articles on the site. It was time to call it a day or make some radical changes.

Platforms like Medium and Substack have changed the game when it comes to subscription-based websites. They’ve largely removed the technical and financial barriers to entry but also normalised the idea that content cannot always be free. I finally took the plunge after a period of soul-searching between Christmas and New Year 2024. It wasn’t an easy decision. Putting content behind a paywall takes confidence, and is bound to alienate some proportion of an audience. I had to look my impostor syndrome squarely in the eye and tell it politely to get lost.

Three months on, and the only question is why I didn’t do this sooner. The Substack model sounds deceptively simple, but because it is subscriber and mailing list driven, it feels much more engaged and personal. I am incredibly grateful to the nearly-2,000 of you who signed up so far, because you gave me back my motivation for writing. I feel once more that my work is valued, because I can see solid viewing figures, comments and other interactions. The financial side is vital to the site’s survival, and to my feeling of self-worth. An industry-standard 10% of you already have paid subscriptions. It’s a solid start, and all I can say is THANK YOU.

It speaks volumes that I published 19 articles here during the first quarter of 2024, compared to a measly two in the last quarter of 2023. A few of them are summarised below.

But first: I still need your help. If you enjoy and value my work, here are three small things you can do today that would mean the world:

1. Tell me your opinion. How do you like the rebooted TMC so far? What would you like to see on the site? What would make you put your money down (if you didn’t already)? Would you prefer more or fewer emails? Hit “reply” to this newsletter to email me directly, or leave a comment and make your feedback public. Either works for me.

2. Share TMC with two or three of your wine loving friends or colleagues who didn’t yet discover it.

3. If you’re a free subscriber, consider upgrading to a monthly (€7) or annual (€50) subscription. Know that you are supporting independent journalism and writing, and you will have my eternal gratitude. If you can’t afford it, email me and let me know what you can afford.

OK, begging over. Here’s a brief rundown of what you might have missed this year:

In January, I visited Czechia for the first time. I published two producer profiles, a report from the Bottled Alive fair (free to read) that took place in Tabor and a more general piece about the natural wine scene.

Two more polemical pieces got a lot of attention:

More recently, I’ve also written about Lisbon, the Croatian Uplands, Blaufränkisch and Friuli.

Next week, I’ll publish a guest post from Felicity Carter, who recently published one of the most chilling but essential reads of the year. Highly recommended reading. She’ll be offering her response to my Future of Wine piece.

Also coming up: an exclusive interview with one of the most innovative natural wine retail businesses in Europe. In May, I’ll be in Austria for Karakterre and then Vie Vinum, Austria’s biennial wine summation. Expect detailed reporting from both, including new discoveries, on the fly interviews and more.

Further into the future, I have some exciting tastings/buying guides planned. I can promise they’ll be unlike anything you’ve seen before.

I plan to continue making around 25% of my content free for all to read - roughly one article per month is without a paywall. As a paying subscriber, you will always be able to access everything.

Thank you again, and I can’t wait to read your feedback.

Simon.