Sample Policy

The following should go without saying, but due to recent foofarah about bloggers, ethics, etc., here goes:

Almost all of the wines, beers, and spirits featured on this blog I have bought myself. I expect that it will continue to be that way, much to my wallet’s chagrin.

Readers: I do accept samples for tasting. My accepting a sample in no way guarantees a favorable tasting note. When time and resources permit, I will try to taste samples I receive blind (for example, comparing to other wines made from the same grape variety, vintage, etc.) However, I can’t afford to just pop 6 bottles every weekend and taste them all blind, so some samples may be tasted non-blind (just like I taste almost everything else). Transparency is the key here and I will ALWAYS note when any wine that I review was received as a sample, whether I blinded it or not.

Producers: If you do send a sample, I will do my best to taste in a controlled environment and give constructive feedback. While sample influx is currently somewhat low, it’s pretty likely that your sample will merit a full-on review on the blog. However, since this blog’s primary purpose is education, technically interesting wines will increase the chances of a review. For example, uncommon grape varieties, novel or interesting winemaking techniques, interesting closures, or even flaws would be good fodder for a “Science” section in a review. You are encouraged to provide detailed information about the winemaking process and statistics on the wine, including (if relevant) percentage of grape varieties included, residual sugar, pH/TA, Brix at harvest, crop yield, oak regimen, type of oak, cases produced, etc. The more information I get about the wine, the better. If I determine that the wine is flawed (corked, oxidized, VA, ladybug taint, etc.), I will be sure to let you know, and I might write about the flaw.

If you’ve read all this and still want to send a sample, contact me at ithacork [at] gmail.com for more information.