Circle Chair Meg Maker explores the extremely diverse composition of the Circle of Wine Writers’ membership base, which has reached far beyond the realms of both wine and writing, as well as geographically, from its initial UK base.
In 1960, journalist, social historian, and wine commentator Cyril Ray convened a handful of British wine writing colleagues to form a new association. At the time, the climate of the UK wine trade was insular and narrow, and there were few publishing outlets for wine writers who took their craft, and reach, seriously. Ray’s aim was to provide camaraderie and networking for writers while legitimizing the discipline for industry groups and the mainstream press.
Membership was by invitation only and purposely selective, so the chosen name, ‘Circle of Wine Writers,’ seemed apt given both subject matter and scope. Just three years later, the Circle’s ranks had grown to 65 — not nearly as intimate but, especially as membership remained concentrated around London, still small enough to gather in person.
Today, the majority of our 260+ members do not live in Britain, and our meetings are virtual, with people logging in, sometimes bleary-eyed, from across the world’s time zones. We don’t so much circle a room as encircle the globe.
Still, I think the ‘Circle’ part of our name remains apt (if a bit poetic). But when I chat up Circle membership to non-member colleagues, I’m often met with puzzlement about our narrow scope. ‘You all — only write about wine?’
Not exactly. It’s true our roster is filled with wine experts, people with deep domain expertise in the world’s regions and styles. Some focus on wine growing or making, on the wine business, or wine and food pairing. We have specialists in sparkling wines, natural wine, Rioja, Sherry. It reaches beyond Vitis vinifera; Marie Cheong-Thong and Toshio Ueno, for example, cover sake.
But it’s not all wine. We have authorities in spirits, beer, cider, and cocktails. Committee colleague Billy Abbott focuses almost exclusively on whisky; Ian Wisniewski is another spirits specialist. Many of us do a mix.
And it’s not even all writing. Yes, we have freelance journalists, book authors, nonfiction writers, even poets; perhaps you’ve read verse by Judy O’Kane in World of Fine Wine. Some of us are principally researchers or academics, like Linda Johnson-Bell, Nathalie Spielmann, and José Vouillamoz. We have podcasters, vloggers, illustrators, and TV talent. We judge, lecture, teach; we run tours and organize tastings. Some of us don’t write at all: Patrick Eagar, Steven Morris, Mick Rock, Matt Wilson, and Jon Wyand are photographers.
The point is that we’re a diverse lot, and you can see for yourself by downloading the most recent member list from the Resources area of our website. Look in particular at the columns labeled ‘Descriptor’ (how members describe themselves) and ‘Top Three Specialties.’ Prepare to be humbled, and amazed.
Perhaps ‘Circle of Wine Writers’ no longer captures the full flavor of our merry band. On the other hand, ‘International Association of Beverage Communicators’ is quite a mouthful. At least our current name prompts conversation.