An Apology to OW Loeb

As most of you know, I run a wine shop and write on this blog in my spare time. One of my suppliers, OW Loeb, has expressed objections to an article I wrote regarding a case of wine samples they sent to the company I work for. Their objections were as follows

a) That as these were sample bottles for the company I work for, I should not write about them on The Tasting Note.

b) That the comments were not complimentary

c) That the article was not well written.

Firstly, let me apologise unreservedly to OW Loeb, regarding the first point. As these bottles were indeed sample bottles sent to my workplace for evaluation, it was perhaps a little silly of me to write them up without warning OW Loeb that they were going to appear. I will be, therefore, contacting all of my suppliers and asking them to confirm in writing that they will allow me to comment on any wines they send me as samples.

Secondly, the comments made in the article were, as with all my articles, my opinions. For these I do not apologise. If I find a wine is good, I will say so, like all critics do. However, unlike most wine critics, I also publish the bad reviews. I appreciate that this might annoy some people in the wine trade, retailers, importers and producers, but if I don't like a wine I'm going to say so. That isn't to say anybody should pay any attention to me. The statements I made are my view and I am allowed to like a wine just as much as I am allowed not to like a wine, and it is open for anyone to disagree with what I say - make a comment on the blog telling me I am an idiot and don't know what I am talking about if you must, I won't delete it - everyone's opinion is valid and anybody who says that my view is wrong has a right to their opinion. So for my actual comments on the wine, I stand by what I said.

Thirdly, that the article was not well written. I deliberately have mentioned this to show I am not above criticism myself and do not hide away from it and complain when people say bad things about me. I get some regular readers, and they appear to like my writing style, but the representative from OW Loeb didn't, which is fine. I am not claiming to be a wonderful scribe, with the finesse and polished grammar of a professional writer. I am aiming to entertain and bring a little fun to the wine world, and most importantly, tell my views of wine and spirits. If OW Loeb didn't like my article, thank you for the feedback, it is appreciated.

I have deleted the offending article from this blog, and hope that all suppliers and producers around the world, realise that if they use the press and internet to their own benefit, when something critical is written about a product, they have to accept it. I crossed a blurred line between my work and my blog - for that, I apologise to OW Loeb.