U.C.W.S. (ubiquitous circular wine stain).
August 5th, 2008
UCWS.
Recently, Alice Feiring, announced a re-design of her blog. She posted a mock-up of the new look and, lo and behold, there they were: UCWSs - the Ubiquitous Circular Wine Stains which adorn too many wine blogs to count.
Second in popularity only to the OTWGs (Omnipresent Tilted Wine Glasses - a sin of which I am guilty), the UCWSs are the staple design element of many wine blogs and sites. I don’t know if this is because it’s an easy image to get on iStockPhoto or if is bundled with a narrow set of master templates sourced by web and blog designers.
I don’t have anything against the UCWSs, per se, but with wine blogs sprouting up like mushrooms after a rainstorm, I guess it’s hard to come up with an original logo that can be iconified.
It may be the lack of originality in the use of UCWSs that irks me on a subconscious level here. It’s not originality of design and presentation that is the main issue here. At some level, the wide use of the UCWSs is emblematic of some uniformity of thought among a portion of wine blogers.
Alice, of all people, cannot be accused of being unoriginal, and there are plenty of bloggers who do have an original concept and a unique voice. Still, there is something about the presence of the UCWSs that reminds me of a uniformity of thinking about some ideas fundamental to wine writing and wine blogging.
Foremost among these is the notion of wine assessment as something that can never be objective and that wine is only subjective. That spins off different ways to review and rate wines. Those, in turn, spawn great disparity in opinions form people who are expected to KNOW wine and not just “know about wine” as pointed out by Thomas Pellechia on a recent discussion on Tom Wark’s Fermentation.
Perhaps there is a secondary symbolism of the shape of the UCWSs. Those circles make me think that until we agree that there is some commonality to the grape varieties, the sites and regions where they are grown - which transcend personal impressions, enjoyment and preferences - we will be going in circles when talking about wine quality and communicating about wine and only those profiting from wine will be better off for it.
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August 5th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
I applaud an absolute assessment of quality in wines - but the word quality in the strictest sense SHOULD be analytical, able to be established as meeting or not meeting set criteria. This is the definition of quality that is used in all other areas of production, food and industrial design. Either a product is suited to the purpose for which it is designed; will perform at a certain level, or it is not/does not. Imagine the quality standards for an inexpensive import subcompact commuter car and those for a top of the line Mercedes. They will be set to a different established standard, but they both should meet the quality guidelines established by the manufacturer for that particular vehicle/market segment. It performs to a defined standard / however the standard is certainly different for each.
For what my opinion is worth, most of what is done by the subjective wine writer seems to be a commentary on style, not really quality at all. Even wines that should be considered flawed by even the most basic standards of wine Quality may be (and are often) lauded as great stylistic successes. But overall, I do believe that average wine quality is much improved worldwide, even as some decry the loss of regional individuality (I’m not buying that argument; there is still huge regional difference and regional tradition everywhere you look!)
But you know what? I still enjoy reading these commentaries when I can. Particularly Parker does a great job of giving some of the context and background on the producers, not really reducing them to a mere number as some other publications can do. I enjoy reading several bloggers for the same reason - give me the lowdown, the story behind the region or the producer, or the wine itself. That is what is valuable and engaging, and what can drive people to build their own confidence and interest about the amazing array of wines in the world. And eventually, as they mature in their tastes, they can eventually leave the numbers behind and taste for themselves.
August 6th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Too bad the Olympic rings aren’t being done in circular wine stains!
September 15th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
I agree with you on wines needing an assement, if you (in my mind) are qualified to rate them, critique them and sway people to either buy them or not - you should also be qualified at the very least to be able to tell if a wine is technically sound or not.
That is prolly my biggest kvetch about wine critics, tasting room employees, wine educators etc etc etc. I honestly don’t care what their opinion of the wine is (jammy, with a medium finish) b/c I’m going to taste it for myself and come to my own opinions, but weeding out if it’s sound before hand, saves me from having to try those wines to begin with.
as for the wine stains, I think of them, like the people who all jumped on the band wagon over cupcakes being the new ‘party cake’ they lack imagination and individuality, the same people who boast about the books they’ve read or movies they’ve seen - as if they are the only person to think to pick up a book from the NYT best sellers list or a flick that was at sundance. Wow - so original, just like the rest of us.
September 25th, 2008 at 10:55 am
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