Of wine media & wine Substacks

What we read & what we like & where we're at.

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It’s time for a new look at the current state of wine media, taking into account the large upswing in people creating their own, independent newsletters, which has resulted in very new version of, The List.

If you’ll recall, back in 2022, I wrote about the rise of independent wine media platforms which just that short time ago, was something rather novel. I know it very well as like several others before me, I’d taken the plunge back in September, 2019 thus making this the 6th anniversary for Hudin.com!

The reasons for various individuals launching their own sites were due to the crumbling state of wine media and the need for independence in a changing landscape. Spoiler alert, that specific sack of cookies continues to crumble and the landscape is more landslide than having reached any degree of stability.

There are some seemingly safe publications at the moment such as Decanter and Club Oenologique which always have the backing of lucrative awards behind them.

Others, aren’t faring as well and since the last update in 2024, we’ve said goodbye to three: The New Wine Review, Wine & Spirits, as well as JeremyOliver.com, although it seems like that will be relaunched under a different name. Chris Kissack was close to folding his long-lived Wine Doctor into The Wine Independent when he took over editorial duties, but then backed out shortly after. As for The Wine Independent we’ll see how that continues to fare as we only need so many publications covering Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Napa…