A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend various events at Taste Washington as a member of the wine media. This was the first year I had gone to Taste Washington as a wine blogger, which made the experience truly extraordinary. Why? In years past, I had been to the event as either a wine consumer or winery volunteer. While both roles offered enjoyable experiences, they pale in comparison to the treatment I received as a wine blogger covering the weekend's events.

Winemakers or winery staff who might have just poured me a glass were now talking my ear off about their wines. It took me by surprise the first time a winemaker asked if he could send me some wine to try. And it took a while getting used to this offer being made many times throughout the weekend. After politely declining these invitations, I started to realize firsthand the privileges that come with being a member of the wine media.

Not all winemakers or wineries are like this, but there are those that seem eager to engage the media about their wines. As a result, you are offered special access to people, places and wines that the average consumer would rarely experience. I can see how this treatment could create bias (if not entitlement), encouraging a reviewer to write only positive things about their experiences tasting a wine or visiting a winery.

At the same time, I was reminded how the privileges of access can serve the consumer well by offering broader context behind the who, what and where of wine. For example, at the Saturday tasting seminar, An Ode to David Lake, the panel's moderator, Paul Gregutt, shared a variety of stories about David, his wines, and the vineyards he sourced his fruit.

As a member of the media, Paul was provided with unique access to David and his wines these last two decades, enabling him to better understand what was going into each bottle. While tasting each wine during the seminar, these stories were shared, providing a richer, more meaningful experience with each glass. It would have been just another lackluster tasting had it not been for Paul's and other panelists stories about David and his wines.

This brings me to another level of understanding on reviewing wines through blind tastings, a topic I commented on last month. After tasting through various flights at the Taste Washington seminars and hearing directly from winemakers, viticulturists and other folks close to the wine, I now understand Paul Gregutt's point about the need for context and how this can be supplied with access to these folks.

Without panelist input at each seminar's tasting, I would have been robbed of valuable context, making the experience much less meaningful. As a result, I now understand Paul's comment to Andy Perdue on the topic of blind tastings. And I have to adjust my opinion on this matter, for I too would rather review a wine knowing what it is than doing so blind, which is the approach taken here with any wine review.

As subjective as wine tasting is, a reviewer can achieve a certain level of objectivity through a blind or double blind tasting. But then again, I rarely read tasting reviews, let along buy wine based on them. Instead, I seek sources that can help me learn more about the people and places behind a wine, so I can better understand the winemaking style and vineyard practices going into each bottle. It is from these learnings that I am guided down the path to a new wine.

This is the broader context I am seeking, from those that grow the grapes, craft the fruit, or even write about a wine after tasting it alongside a viticulturist or winemaker. Which brings me full circle to the topic of access having its privileges, for context can be achieved through access.

With this goal in mind, I intend to visit certain wineries in the coming months as a member of the media to learn even more about the people and places behind their wines. Along the way, I will continue to visit wineries, restaurants, wine bars, and events without disclosing my affiliation with this blog. With either approach, you can be assured that full disclosure will continue, when and where applicable.