More on the 2007 Vintage
We had a bit of a discussion here on LENNDEVOURS a couple weeks ago about the 2007 vintage and a column written by Howard Goldberg of the New York Times. At times it got personal, which isn’t good, but discussions are still useful.
Well, it looks like the Wine Spectator agrees with grape growers that Long Island had a stellar growing season. Mitch Franks sent me this think earlier today and it sure speaks well of the 2007 vintage in New York State and on Long Island in particular.
As you can see, Long Island was one of only two regions that got an "A" (along with Washington State). Napa, Sonoma, and Central Coast all got B+.
Like I said in the comments of the previous post, this obviously doesn’t mean that the resulting wines will absolutely be "A" quality, or consistently so. But, the growing season, by all accounts, was one for the ages on Long Island.
On Dec. 7, after distinctly objectionable commentary was directed at me you wrote me personally: “I guess I need to write up a formal comment policy and post it.” You offered a similar sentiment on your blog.
Here we are at Dec. 19 and, unless I am missing something, I have not yet seen such a posting. The debate over my caveat-emptor column on the 2007 vintage seems to have receded into the memory hole of your searchable archive. I hope your professed good intentions have not gone there, too.
By now, the absence of a civility policy, prominently and permanently posted in a marquee place, raises a legitimate question of whether one was sincerely intended and, if it was, why is it taking two weeks to create. The Internet is rich with guidelines that can nurture a sound statement of principles.
Such a posted policy, which should be a priority in a blog supposedly given to discourse, could have led to a potentially very informed exchange stimulated by Jason Feulner’s Dec. 17 article “The Politics of New York Wine,’ which offered a lot of substance to chew on. I myself would happily have weighed in knowledgeably.
But in the absence of a policy of etiquette — an old-fashioned but not outdated word and idea— I decided not to waste time and thought if one-linerism was going to be a Lenndevours value. If that’s the future, the “devours” part — with the implication of chew up and spit out — may be destined to prevail.
If it does, you lose. Potential contributors won’t; they can go elsewhere. And possibly do. A bottom line is evident to readers: Scroll through what’s on screen and count the number of entries that say “Comments (0)” and “Comments (1).”
Mr. Feulner’s content and tone warranted a debate that should have continued through today.
Howard, thank you for the comment. The comment policy is still in the works, but honestly it just hasn’t been a priority for me.
As I think you know, I have a full-time, non-wine job and an 11-month old son at home.
Not only will there be a formal commenting policy, it will be posted in the upper right under “About Us” a very prominent location that appears on every page of the blog.
It is my intent to have it finalized by the end of the calendar year.
In the meantime, I invite you to comment on Jason’s post. Even without a formal policy, I still reserve the right to delete objectionable comments and will be doing so going forward.
Mr. Goldberg,
By all means comment on the story. I purposely made the tone of my article leaning a bit toward the cynical because of the nature of government committees, the presence of Constellation, etc. If someone has additional information to which I am not privy, I hope they take the time to contribute.
I think most rational people should have a a “wait and see” attitude about these things. In this case, I’d like you to convince me I’m wrong!