(Editorial team)
Two years of Wineparty. Two years of journalistic responsibility in opposition to the uniformity that has long since afflicted large parts of today’s wine journalism. Two years of texts without regard for PR-speak, points diplomacy or that sterile propriety which is now spreading throughout the world of enjoyment, as it is in all areas of society. Hiding away and simply not wanting to cause offence. We do not want that. We want to cause offence; we want to be awkward. We want to practise real, free journalism. Because none of us has ever been, or is, merely a wine journalist – and we never want to be wine journalists alone. That would do wine and winegrowers a disservice.
Wineparty was conceived as a counter-model from the very beginning. As a platform for free, objective and also subjective, sometimes polemical, sometimes euphoric, but always independent wine journalism. For texts that do not think first about SEO, affiliate marketing, algorithms or advertisers. But about language, conviction, debate, enjoyment, culture and freedom.
The problem, of course, is this: freedom does not pay for itself.
Wineparty still exists as an “appendage”, as an accompanying project of a strategy and market agency that also works on other topics and which, apart from Wineparty, otherwise has nothing to do with wine. For now, this project is being neutrally observed and cross-subsidised from there. For now, we can afford the luxury of offering all content free of charge because we believe that independent wine and enjoyment journalism needs a public. A real public, not merely often-anonymous reach.
But we are now approaching the end of our second free year. And gradually, it must be decided whether Wineparty can stand on its own. The hour of economic reality has arrived. It is about Wineparty’s independent financing, with the project covering its own fixed costs. Regarding the fixed costs, it should be mentioned that the editor-in-chief and management will continue to work pro bono – in other words, for no fee – and consequently are not part of the fixed costs either.
Good journalism does not emerge from nothing. Texts take time. Research takes time. Travel costs money. Conversations, tastings, photography, technical infrastructure, editing, design – none of this simply exists by magic in the digital space, just because readers have become accustomed to free content.
Here, one of the fundamental problems of our present day is becoming apparent: free journalism seems to be worth nothing to many people as long as it remains available for free. Only behind a paywall does the realisation suddenly arise that work is being done here. That texts do not fall from the sky like algorithmic content rubbish on social media.
We would actually like to avoid this route.
Wineparty was deliberately meant to remain open. Accessible. Readable. Shareable. A platform that does not greet its readers first with paywalls. Yet entirely without its own economic foundation, without cross-subsidisation as is currently the case, an independent media outlet cannot be operated permanently – least of all one that deliberately operates outside the traditional logic of PR and advertising.
That is why we are saying this openly now, and without false modesty:
If you welcome Wineparty remaining what it is, then support this project. Not out of sympathy. Not out of charity. But because you want there still to be a journalistic voice that cannot be smoothed over. A voice that does not want to sound overly polished, that does not reduce its writing to press-release level and that does not dutifully applaud every trend of the present day.
Because that is precisely what is disappearing in many places at the moment.
The media world is becoming increasingly cautious, smooth and predictable. Wine journalism is often being reduced to product administration or lifestyle decoration. Conflicts are avoided, language watered down, criticism diplomatised. Wineparty was created precisely in opposition to this.
That is why it would be a shame to have to put this project behind a hard paywall at some point.
If enough readers are willing to support Wineparty voluntarily and, in return, use one of the offers provided here in the link (if the supporters are winegrowers or wine merchants, we will certainly not judge them by the amount of their support), this project can continue to grow independently – perhaps even become larger, with more reports, more travel, more essays, more investigative stories and more of the kind of texts that have long since found no place elsewhere. Please click here if required: https://wineparty.hdghbgghgfhfhgf/subscription/. We thank every supporter.