Midwest Wine Press

Big Blogger Accepting Midwest Wines

by · January 3, 2014

Tom Wark of Fermentation wine blog fame is starting to come around to regional wine.  Although Wark is surpassed only by Blake Gray of the The Gray Report in his use of the first person pronoun “I,” a lot of people read Wark’s blog and there is no debating his wine knowledge.

Wark, like of a lot of establishment wine writers, is not quite ready to say he likes regional wine.  But, as Bob Dylan said, you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wine blows.  So Wark plays it safe with comments like, regional wines “cannot be ignored.”  While this is faint praise, it’s still positive PR for Midwest wine from a Napa Valley sophisticate who carries some figurative weight.  (Wark might even have a bottle of Concord hidden in his desk.)

See: The Subtle and Important Change Coming to Wine 

 

 

Mark Ganchiff

Mark Ganchiff is the publisher of Midwest Wine Press, the leading source of news on the growing wine industry in the central United States. Mark has been a wine judge at the 2012 and 2014 INDY International Wine Competition, the 2014 Cold Climate Wine Competition, the 2013 Mid-American Wine Competition, the 2012 Illinois State Fair Wine Competition and the 2013 Michigan Wine Competition. He also enjoys speaking at wine events including the Cold Climate Wine Conference, the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association Annual Meeting, the Midwest Grape and Wine Conference and the Wisconsin Fruit and Vegetable Conference. Mark's articles about regional wine have appeared in Vineyard & Winery Management, WineMaker and several regional magazines. Mark is a Level One Sommelier in the Court of Master Sommeliers. He lives in Louisville, but also has a residence in Chicago.

You may also like...

2 Responses

  1. Jill Hermes says:
    April 8, 2014 at 10:57 am

    Hi Mark,

    I’ve been traveling throught the midwest for the last 4 years, tasting regional wines. I’ve been reading Midwest Wine Press for more than 3 years now. I started my wine tasting while living in CA in the 80’s. I went all over Sonoma and Napa for the 8 years I lived there. Coming home to the Chicago area I developed an interest in the wines of our region. As I started visiting more and more wineries in the Midwest, I realized my dream would be to open a small wine bar featuring the best of Midwest wines. I want to know even more about the wine business in the Midwest. I want more knowledge before I make the leap to open my wine bar. Can you guide me to some other sources for knowledge?
    Thank you for your time!

    p.s. Do you need an apprentice? 🙂

    • Mark Ganchiff says:
      April 8, 2014 at 5:40 pm

      Jill,

      Thanks for your note, let’s talk offline. There are now regional wine bars in the Midwest. The best example is the Michigan By The Bottle Tasting Room near Detroit.

      Mark G.