(Seattlepi) - I just finished reading a blog post by Steve Heimoff titled “18 tips for wineries on better communication.” What it should have been titled is…”Wineries… Wine writers are lazy, please make it easier for all of us!” I guess, since he is working for Kendall-Jackson now, he doesn’t have time for research.

I will be the first to say that wineries have some problems with dissemination of information. I am as amazed as Steve is that wineries seem to feel a need to make the alcohol level of the wine hard to find. I have wasted a few minutes of my time on You Tube searching for the alcohol level on the label. Not mentioned by Steve, but important to a lot of folks is mentioning on the label the grapes that are used in the wine, especially if it is a blend. I don’t care that much if they use percentages, but at least list the grapes. Even if it’s a Cabernet Sauvignon, and they decided to throw some Merlot and Cab Franc in there, that would be nice to know. Aside from that, if I want to know more about the wine and winery I am a writer, so I do the research.

I disagree with Steve that wineries should be expected to put a load of information on their website. Let’s face it, the only ones who care about most of that stuff are the writers or critics. Let me break out the fiddle and play “My heart bleeds for you.” If you are a writer worth your weight, you make a few phone calls (like any journalist) and get what you need. Public relation companies are for the most part very good about giving writers most of what they need to know. However, there are times I want more, so I call the wine maker or winery owner to find what I am looking for. Yes, it takes more time, but in the end you get a little better insight for your article. Steve I am assuming, doesn’t get much love from PR companies since he took the job at KJ….Now he is experiencing the vacuum, and I have a strong feeling he doesn’t like it.

So, my suggestion for wineries is… Make the alcohol content easier to find, and put the grapes used in the wine on the label. Easy. If you feel like putting more on your website, kudos to you. I do like it when I can go to a site and find information about the winery, wine maker and details on the vineyard. But, the average consumer doesn’t really care that much about the details. They just want a wine that is worth the money asked. The details would serve only the media or another wine maker that is geeking out on the internet. The media should do what any respectable journalist would do…Research