Receptionist: “Hello, Three Dollar Ultra Premium Wine Company; can I help you.”

Caller: “Hi there, can I speak to the owner, Mr Cranium I believe.”

Receptionist: “May I ask who is calling please?”

Caller: “Loda Flatulence from McPlonk Fine Wine Publishing.”

Receptionist: “I will see if he is in his office.” ……….. “Putting you through now.”

Owner: “Hello”

Caller: “Good morning Mr Cranium, my name is Loda Flatulence from McPlonk Fine Wine Publishing, how are you today?”

Owner: “Fine thank you Loda, what can I do you for?”

Loda: “Richard, I take it you are familiar with the top quality, bimonthly wine magazine called McPlonk Fine Wine; it’s the biggest magazine of its type with an audited circulation of 2.5 paid copies and our extensive readership base are the sort of wine buyers that would be interested in buying your wines too.

The reason for my call today Richard, is that we are doing a “feature” on your area and it will be restricted to a small number of carefully selected wineries and I was hoping you would be interested. It’s a unique opportunity and offers great value. Here is the deal. If you take out a half page advert in the June edition, as well as the advertising coverage, we will interview you about your winery and in that interview you will have the opportunity to say what ever you would like about your winery and we will report it. The normal list price of the advert is a squillion dollars, but for this feature, it will be discounted by 25% and you will get the free publicity in the story as well.

Now Richard, isn’t that an offer that is too good to refuse?”

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If this sounds like its far fetched, whilst I freely admit the parody and exaggeration, it’s based on fact. In my business I have had countless calls just like this one from my local newspaper.

The latest issue of Gourmet Traveller Wine magazine, which proudly boasts on its cover that it has been “voted worlds best drink magazine” got me thinking.

The magazine has some heavy hitters as contributors including Huon Hooke, Peter Bourne, Kieran Scott (NZ), as well as articles from Jane Skilton MW, Jeremy Oliver, Jancis Robinson, Bob Campbell MW, Andrew Caillard MW, James Halliday and Campbell Mattinson, so with a line up of authors like that, you would think the quality of the articles would be exemplary and in most cases that is correct.

As I live in the Southern Highlands of NSW, the Regional Report (page 46 of the April/May edition) that was written by Nick Ryan caught my eye, as it was about the wineries in my home area. There were two pages of text which included a history of the grape-growing highlights of the area as well as quotes from a number of wineries. There was a further page of pictures and then a list of “Top Cellar Doors” – nine were listed.

Towards the back of the same edition, on page 123 there is found “A Gourmet Traveller Wine Promotion” which is basically 4 pages of advertising for the Southern Highlands that is packaged so it look pretty and a bit more like an article, rather than just ordinary adverts. 

The Regional Report is where it gets interesting. In the “history section, the first winery mentioned, Joadja Estate, which is also quoted later in the story, has a third of a page advert in the “promotion section.”  Howards Lane, which is mentioned in the history section and had no quotes from the winery, did not have any advertising in the “promotion section.”  Centennial Vineyards, which is quoted extensively (relatively to the size of the article), has a full page advert in the promo section. The next winery with a brief quote, McVitty Grove has a half page advert. Mark Bourne, (from Cuttaway Hill) is quoted extensively, but much of his commentary is on behalf of the local Vigneron’s association, and there is no advert for his winery.

There is one exception, and it would be remiss of me to mention that Southern Highlands Wines have a full page advert in the promo section with no mention in the Regional Report. Is the Regional report influenced by advertising? I don’t know for sure but the relationship in this case is “interesting” and it certainly does happen in other publications.

Overall, Gourmet Traveller is a good read and there are many interesting articles that will captivate the wine enthusiast. Not for one minute am I suggesting that the wine reviews themselves are influenced by advertising, but this Southern Highlands feature did make me wonder how much advertising revenue does influence some portions of copy.