The price of independence and free speech

As most readers of this Journal know I am not in the employ of Winestar and receive the princely sum of one free bottle of (average/good quality) wine for each journal entry I write. That same offer is open to anyone who writes a journal article that gets published.

I have no commercial association, tie up or vested interest in the wine industry and it’s for this reason that I can and do say what ever I like without fear of who or which wine companies I upset with my comments. Frankly, I don’t give a toss who I upset as long as the points I make in my writings are accurate and valid. You are unlikely to be sued for telling the truth (I hope – grin.)

My objective in these comments is to try and ensure the lovers of Australian wine get the best possible “treatment” from all companies involved in the wine business. Or to put it another way to provide a voice that tries to keep the “illegitimate Homo sapiens trustworthy.” (Or as Don Chip so succinctly put it “keep the bastards honest.”)

One of the reasons that I really enjoy writing this journal is that Bert gives me total free reign and has never suggested I modify my views or comments because I may be offending a company that he has to work with in the future.

Unfortunately I cannot say the same about some other Internet vehicles that openly profess to allow free speech but behind the scenes it’s a different story. There seems to be an increasing preponderance whereby some Internet sites (that shall remain nameless) who are trying to manipulate content of their sites to ensure that “interested parties” are not offended by comments that are not in the commercial interests of the “friends, associates or advertisers” of their site.

Some or doing it openly with “rules” and some are doing it covertly with behind the scenes activities that are as gentle as an email about an unrelated subject that ends up with a polite request in passing to “please be nice to xxxx party.”

On occasions the comments are much more blatant such as one from an unnamed Internet site where I posted something that did not exactly impress. In an email about the subject they said “I'm not really quite sure what to say over all this but I have to say that sharing the details of xxxx over the Internet seems a bit unprofessional to me.”

There is no doubt about it; according to the dictionary I am unprofessional. The Collins English Dictionary defines “professional” is ‘engaged in a specific occupation for pay’ and as I don’t earn a brass razoo for this labour of love, I take pride in being an amateur, or as some may call it an “unprofessional” person who is not afraid to speak their mind.

Be that as it may, at least when you read a wine review from me you know there is no hidden agenda or vested interest, I am calling the wine the way I see it. Likewise when I criticise a company’s actions or policies in this Journal you know I am doing so with a genuine regard from a wine lovers perspective. Nothing more and nothing less!

We should all be thankful that we have this Journal where no punches are pulled by anyone, including Bert.

Cheers