Ep. 360 Alison Napjus

Italian wine podcast. Chinchin with Italian wine people. Hello. This is the Italian wine podcast. My name is Monty Walden. My guest today is Allison Napias from the wine spectator. Welcome. Thank you. Okay. So you're not in New York then at the moment, or were you? No. I'm calling in from Tampa of Florida. I left New York in mid March, you know, just when things were starting to become I I'd say very grim and quite serious there. You know, where cases were on the rise in New York City, and I was lucky enough to be able to come down here to Tampa where my husband and I have a house. So I I've been here ever since March, but I am now making plans to go back to New York, so that will probably be sometime next month. How's it affected your work this, this COVID situation? It's been easy for you. Well, yeah. I mean, I I would say there's one aspect that is not easy. We conduct blind tastings in the wine spectator offices. So I have not done any official tastings since March. So that is one of the reasons that I will be going back so that I can start again with my tastings. And, but other than that, I think it's been a surprise for really all of us how effectively we've been able to continue to continue putting out issues and getting those to the printer, you know, more on our website all the time. So, it's actually, I think, been a very positive experience overall. Yeah. It's amazing how we all adapt. I mean, you know, the buoyant Spectators always struck me as an incredibly well oiled machine, you know, it has its critics, but, I mean, you can't fault its professionalism in them, and it really, I mean, the photography, the design, you know, the depth of of of of writing the the time that the writer have to stay in the region and really get to know things. I mean, you know, so I said that, I mean, it really is, it's a really it's a proper it's a proper journal of record. Well, thank you for that. That's great to hear. And, and, of course, yes, I I agree with you. We're definitely always trying to be really comprehensive and and think about every aspect of what we do and try and do it in the best way possible. And what have you got up your sleeve when things get back to normal in terms of, ankles or or areas that you want to explore? Would you have that sort of freedom, or do you do stick to a particular beat? Well, the way that we organize wine spectator in terms of our taster tastings is that each taster have what we call tasting beets. So I focus on wines from alsace and Champagne in France and then also Italian wines, as you know. I taste wines from throughout Italy, everything except for the big two, Piedmont and Tuscany, So, I mean, my focus really every year is to continue highlighting the people and wineries that are doing interesting things in all of those regions. Definitely want to keep bringing more Americans into the fact that there's so many wonderful Italian minds out there So thinking of different ways I can either focus in on a a certain region, or, you know, larger articles that might focus on, you know, white wines, etcetera. So, different different ways of approaching it, I would say. Mhmm. And when you're when you're setting yourself up for an article, are you is it just about the wine, or is it about the personalities and the history? Is it all encompassing? Is there any particular aspect that you that you love above all? And also, is it just the amalgam of everything that that that gets your juices flowing? I mean, I think it has to be everything altogether. Really, that is what wine spectator is about is taking the whole world around us and looking at it through the lens of a wine lover So that's, of course, the wines themselves, and that's probably where I personally start with a lot of my articles is the tastings that I do and who sings out to me in blind tastings, because I think it's, you know, a great way to put aside any preconceptions and just think about what's in your glass. And and then from there, you can dial into which wineries you liked in the tastings, and get to know the people behind them. And I think you have to have that storytelling aspect of it. It's it's really what everyone is interested in these days. So just what about what are the mechanics of a blind tasting? I mean, that sounds like a dumb sounds like a dumb question. I mean, you you've lined some glasses up with some bottles and you bought them, but but how is it actually set up? What's the nitty gritty at the the more spectator taste Yeah. Absolutely. Well, it's a great question, because I can give you the logistics, and then it also gives me a chance to talk a little bit about some of wine spectators unsung heroes or tasting coordinators. So logistically speaking, We receive wine samples to our New York or Napa offices. They are checked into a tasting database, that is specifically designed for our needs. And from there, the tasting coordinators decide which wines will be included in a flight for a taster. They take a bottle, they find its order in the lineup. They on a piece of tape on the bottle, they write a code. It goes into a brown paper bag with the same code. And when the tasing the taster sits down, They're looking at another screen in this tasting database that just has the bottle code, the vintage, and either the grape or the appylation or region. So they have some limited information about the line. They take their tasting note and their scores. Go through the whole flight. And then there's literally a button in the tasting database that says bags off. When they click that button, it locks the scores in place, and they can then unbag the wines and see what they have, in their flights. So, you know, as you said, it sounds fairly straightforward, but we're pretty rigorous about, how we set it up. We also include in every flight, what we call a ringer. So that's a wine that has been tasted previously on, you know, maybe two or three weeks ago a month ago. It was given a final score at that time, but it's something that helps the tasters to kind of, gauge as they unbag, they see, oh, this was my ringer. It was ninety one points last time. I was ninety one points again today. Great. You know? Or it was ninety one points last time, and I'm eighty two points today. And then that maybe not that that actually happens very often, but as a taster, it makes you rethink kind of, your whole flight and take the opportunity to go back and, ask for a second bottle of some of these other wines to be tasted again on a a future tasting in another day. So getting to my second point of that is the real, key thing is that the wines have to be set up in a way that makes sense for the tasting. And our goal at wine spectator is is not to tear wines down. It's to find things that are positive to say about these wines and that recommend them to people who love wine. So we really rely on our tasting coordinators to either have the knowledge about the vines or to know where to go find it and to set them up in a way that makes sense. So you're not, you know, tasting something that's lots of new oak and really extracted and then moving on to a lighter bodied right after it. So the tasting coordinators go above and beyond every day to really do the best that they can for the tasters and for the wines. Yeah. I mean, this all sounds like complete common sense. And do you think that everybody would do it this way? But there are you I mean, I know that I did did a lot of tastings, which are not set up in that way. And, again, coming back to, you know, the idea of this very, very thorough and logical and sensible way of doing the work you do. A is better for the wineries that send the wine in, and also it's better for you, I guess, as a taster because, you know, you're gonna be less tired and there are less things to go wrong and less frustrations. And, and I'm sure, again, that that It's it's just such an obvious way of working, and, it's great to hear you explain that in such clear, logical, and sensible detail. Fantastic. Okay. So the next question The hundred point rating scale, how to understand the hundred point rating scale? If you could give us a couple of words on that, I know it's obvious, but it would be great. Yeah. Well, I mean, I think that for, just human beings in general assigning some sort of rating to things, make makes things easier for them to understand and hundred points seem straightforward. But I I think the important thing that we try to talk about at wine spectator as well, and and that maybe we don't communicate as well or as much as we should is that we also think about wines and the wine rating skill in terms of score bands. So at your very top, you have what we consider to be classic wines, ninety five to a hundred points. And these are wines that just so impeccable balance on release but they have complexity and layers of flavor and kind of this tension and drive that will let them age for many years to come. So, you would think, okay, yes, everybody always wants. Why wouldn't you wanna drink a ninety eight point wine every day? But the reality of it is is that wine is not always about, you know, these these, for example, big bold examples, the seller worthy wines. We also all like to drink wine on a daily basis and as part of our daily life. So when I sit down to start cooking dinner and I'm chopping onions, I'm probably not gonna open a ninety eight point bottle of wine, even if, you know, I had all the money in the world to spend on wine anytime, and and maybe these are more expensive. More likely, I'm gonna look for what we can consider to be a very good mind, something from eighty five to eighty nine points. This is something that has good balance. Maybe it doesn't have the complexity and depth as those ninety eight point minds, and it it's not gonna be something that I'm gonna age a long time, but it's a lovely enjoyable wine, and oftentimes a good value. So, you know, we're we're looking at good wines, very good wines, outstanding classic wines, as well as the actual score or rating that goes with it. In terms of reviewing the the choice of the wines that you're gonna review or the the magazine is gonna review the region or the country. How is the selection for that made? Well, that is, I think we could all agree that in the last ten, twenty, thirty years. The world of wine has hugely expanded. So when I started at wine spectator in two thousand, pretty much any wine sample that was sent to us re reviewed in the magazine, fast forward to today, we use a much more complicated process or selection criteria. And we really say no to a a large number of lines that are proposed to us to review. And I I think that probably the easiest way to explain it It varies a little bit from taster to taster. But as to think of it in terms of our top one hundred wine list, each year in our December issue, we promote the top one hundred wines of the year that our tasters and editors have selected. And we use four criteria to select those wines. The first is quality based on the wine rating, then availability in terms of the number of cases of wine produced or available in the US. The price point and finally what we call x factor, what makes the wine really exciting and where the story is behind this wine. So when we're thinking about which wines we wanna taste, I mean, I think that the idea is that we hope that every wine we taste is going to be a top one hundred wine. So those variables are kind of a sliding scale. And, of course, you can't always know quality in advance, but maybe you can do some research and see what the winery is doing in the vineyard or in the cellar that might promote quality, and and get to know what the X factor might be. And it's kind of these are the overall guidelines that we're using every day when we're selecting lines. Okay. Obviously, COVID is the big issue at the moment. How has the magazine adjust did to, to the new normal? Well, as I said, we've been able to transition to working from home and continuing to do our print magazine. So we have right now, we're working on our September issue. We have a lot of great content for our fall issues will have two issues in October, November, and December. And then I where I really think that, we we've seen this great impact from COVID is on our online presence, our many contributors, staff contributors to the online content, but also our web team have just done this great job of not only reporting the news and how it affects wineries and restaurants, but also giving all of us something, all of us who are are people who are passionate about wanting something to connect to in a way to continue to explore that passion from home. You know, whether it's wine, education, one zero one, what other people are doing, how they're enjoying wine, you know, recipes, interviews, and profiles of people who also love wine or make wine, and, trying to keep everybody connected in that way. Okay. Talking out to keeping connected, Tell me something about Instagram live chats. Yes. That is, the other big push that we have or big change we've had during COVID. I don't know if that we were the first, but we were certainly one of the first in the wine industry industry to, jump on to the Instagram live chats. And and did it for exactly what I was speaking about before, the the chance to connect with people in the wine industry and to continue telling their stories and sharing their stories. So not only about how they're responding to COVID, but, you know, how personally they were handling sheltering in place, what they see for the future and and more. And just a way to actually see these faces, see our tasers interacting with them, and and to connect everybody in that way. Have you noticed any kind of shift in audience, since COVID reared its ugly head in terms of in terms of how they contact you also or also regarding social media initiatives? Well, you know, I actually, social media is not necessarily, my area of expertise at the magazine. And, to be honest, it's hard to do really a thorough analysis at this point. It's been a few months, but we definitely have seen much more traffic to our website. And certainly, a lot of that has been driven by our social media initiatives. Of course, any print publication needs to have a digital presence. We've had one for two decades at this point, but social media really allows us to go beyond our core readers and to maybe connect to some people who know about wine spectator, but don't really know that much. And we find that, you know, the different platforms for social media allow us to communicate in different ways. So, for example, on Twitter, news items are what really generates a lot of interest. So that drives people to our news content on the website. On Facebook, people kind of wanna learn about the lighter side of wine. So it'll be wine and pop culture or wine fun wine quizzes that we do. And then Instagram, as it's set up to do, is all about, you know, the gorgeous scenery, and engaging people visually and having them follow back to our website or maybe to an upcoming issue to learn more about that that beautiful image that we've just displayed. Okay. In terms of opera wine, what is in store for this year's opera wine? Yeah. Of course. So we are planning for opera wine on November twenty first. So rather than being the lead up to Vin Italy, which was obviously canceled for this year, and we'll see everyone next year in Verona, we are going to let Opera wine be the lead up to wine to wine, and I think it's going to basically be it I in fact, I know it will be the same wineries that we had previously announced and the wines that we were anticipating. All of the wineries have put those wines aside, and we're looking forward to another wonderful display of the diversity from Italy and just a great selection of top producers and beautiful wines. Cool. Will we see will you be coming over? That is the plan. Obviously, we're all always dealing with unknown variables so we'll have to see closer to that date. But at at this point, yes, my colleagues and I are planning to be there. Yeah. Be, lovely to see you again. Well, my passport has been on hiatus and has been on lockdown as well, and it's very sad. So I'm looking forward to a chance to come back as well. Gotta get moving. Yeah. Haven't we all Listen. It's really great to talk to you. I'm sure sorry. We can't do this face to face. But it's, lovely to hear your voice. And, you know, you clearly come across somebody that absolutely loves their job. Not only let you love it, but you're good at it, but you were a very exceptional person in my view. And it was very nice to meet you in face to face last time. And I'm very much looking forward to seeing you face to face again. You too. Thank you. Have a great day. Listen to the Italian wine podcast wherever you get your podcasts. We're on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, HimalIFM, and more. Don't forget to subscribe and rate the show. If you enjoy listening, please consider donating through Italian wine podcast dot com. Any amount helps cover equipment, production, and publication costs. Until next time, Chi.