Tom Wark
Encyclopedia
Tom Wark is an American
wine
blog
ger, a public relations professional in the California wine
industry, and founder of the American Wine Blog Awards.
He has been described by Mike Steinberger
as the wine world's first muckraker
, using his blog "to expose the absurdity of america’s three-tiered distribution system and the money politics that perpetuates it". His blogging may explore interstate wine shipping laws, restrictions on what is allowed to be labeled champagne or “old vines”, or feature interviews other wine bloggers, though some find its appeal in its unpredictability. In 2011 Wark's blog was named Best Industry Wine Blog and Best Overall Wine Blog at the Wine Blog Awards in Charlottesville, VA.
Wark is also executive director of the Specialty Wine Retailers Association
(SWRA), a role which has positioned him in a public dispute with the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America
(WSWA) over the three-tier alcohol distribution system
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger, a public relations professional in the California wine
California wine
California wine has a long and continuing history, and in the late twentieth century became recognized as producing some of the world's finest wine. While wine is made in all fifty U.S. states, up to 90% of American wine is produced in the state...
industry, and founder of the American Wine Blog Awards.
He has been described by Mike Steinberger
Michael Steinberger
Michael Steinberger is an American author and journalist, and was the wine columnist of the internet magazine Slate from 2002 to 2011. He has been described as "one of the greatest wine writers on the planet", and to possess a "blessedly trustworthy voice and palate"...
as the wine world's first muckraker
Muckraker
The term muckraker is closely associated with reform-oriented journalists who wrote largely for popular magazines, continued a tradition of investigative journalism reporting, and emerged in the United States after 1900 and continued to be influential until World War I, when through a combination...
, using his blog "to expose the absurdity of america’s three-tiered distribution system and the money politics that perpetuates it". His blogging may explore interstate wine shipping laws, restrictions on what is allowed to be labeled champagne or “old vines”, or feature interviews other wine bloggers, though some find its appeal in its unpredictability. In 2011 Wark's blog was named Best Industry Wine Blog and Best Overall Wine Blog at the Wine Blog Awards in Charlottesville, VA.
Wark is also executive director of the Specialty Wine Retailers Association
Specialty Wine Retailers Association
The Specialty Wine Retailers Association is a group representing the wine retail industry who work for the free movement of wine across state lines, whose stated goal is that any adult consumer in any state should be allowed to legally purchase and have shipped to them any wine from any retailer...
(SWRA), a role which has positioned him in a public dispute with the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America
Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America
Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, Inc. is the industry trade group representing wine and spirits wholesalers in the United States. WSWA is headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1943 and has 360 member companies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia...
(WSWA) over the three-tier alcohol distribution system
Three-tier (alcohol distribution)
The three-tier system of alcohol distribution is the system for distributing alcoholic beverages set up in the United States after the repeal of Prohibition. The three tiers are producers, distributors, and retailers. The basic premise of the system is that producers must sell only to...
.