Matt Kramer (wine writer)
Encyclopedia
Matt Kramer is an American
wine
critic
since 1976. He is a columnist for The Oregonian
, was a columnist for The New York Sun before its demise in 2008, and previously for Los Angeles Times
, and since 1985 is a regular contributor to Wine Spectator
. He has been described as "perhaps the most un-American of all America's wine writers", by Mike Steinberger
as "one of the more insightful and entertaining wine writers around", and by Hugh Johnson as "an intellectual guerrilla among wine writers".
Among his publications are the books Making Sense of Wine (1989), Making Sense of Burgundy (1990), Making Sense of California Wine, (1992), Making Sense of Italian Wine (2006) and Matt Kramer on Wine.
, Kramer is credited with defining the term as a wine’s "somewhereness", a frequently quoted definition.
Kramer has, like Allen Meadows
, expressed concern on what they consider over-reliance among California
Pinot noir
growers on using limited variation series of Burgundy
clones from Dijon
in their practice, citing this as one reason that so many California pinot noirs have similar taste and lack complexity, and have urged growers to aim for a more varied mix of clones.
On the debate on wine cellar
humidity
, Kramer states in Making Sense of Wine, "the precept that a home cellar should be humid is a relic of the past" due to the inherent humidity within the bottles themselves, and are "impervious to moisture or humidity-laden air", concluding, "humidity in the home cellar is an irrelevancy".
Kramer was the target of criticism by Australian wine writer James Halliday who stated Kramer was "even more misguided than Robert Parker
". Halliday spoke in reaction to what he perceived to be "Kramer's suggestions of big company taste fixing", which he called "farcical".
Reacting to a statement by Jancis Robinson
who reported the result of a PROP
test that suggested she might be a supertaster
, and a following admission by Robert Parker that he does not care for mildly spicy or seasoned food, lead Kramer to criticize wine critics in his New York Sun column, pointing to "almost desperate attempt by some of today's wine tasting potentates to bolster their credibility by suggesting a physical superiority". Kramer summarized that, "suggesting a linkage of taste buds to wine judgment is like confusing eyesight with insight". Robinson later addressed the issue in an article that suggested Kramer may not have read Robinson's own account before publishing his column, stressing that to suggest physical superiority "was the last thing [she] was attempting".
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...
critic
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
since 1976. He is a columnist for The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
, was a columnist for The New York Sun before its demise in 2008, and previously for Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, and since 1985 is a regular contributor to Wine Spectator
Wine Spectator
Wine Spectator is a lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertainment pieces...
. He has been described as "perhaps the most un-American of all America's wine writers", 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 "one of the more insightful and entertaining wine writers around", and by Hugh Johnson as "an intellectual guerrilla among wine writers".
Among his publications are the books Making Sense of Wine (1989), Making Sense of Burgundy (1990), Making Sense of California Wine, (1992), Making Sense of Italian Wine (2006) and Matt Kramer on Wine.
Career
Kramer describes in Making Sense of Wine how he began his career as a wine writer in 1976, then a food writer of a weekly paper, in a meeting with his publisher. As the advertising department had altered the food page contents to include a "wine of the week" column, to the advertisers' approval, Kramer was told that he would write this new column. Kramer resisted, saying, "But I don't know anything about wine", but the publisher replied, "That's all right. Neither does anyone else".Contentions
Considered an advocate of the concept of terroirTerroir
Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties...
, Kramer is credited with defining the term as a wine’s "somewhereness", a frequently quoted definition.
Kramer has, like Allen Meadows
Allen Meadows
Allen Meadows is an American wine critic and publisher of the Burghound.com quarterly newsletter and website. A financial executive and private wine collector until a profile published in Wine Spectator in 1997 led him to decide to follow his passion for wine...
, expressed concern on what they consider over-reliance among California
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...
Pinot noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
growers on using limited variation series of Burgundy
Burgundy wine
Burgundy wine is wine made in the Burgundy region in eastern France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône River, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here - those commonly referred to as "Burgundies" - are red wines made from Pinot Noir grapes or white wines made from...
clones from Dijon
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
in their practice, citing this as one reason that so many California pinot noirs have similar taste and lack complexity, and have urged growers to aim for a more varied mix of clones.
On the debate on wine cellar
Wine cellar
A wine cellar is a storage room for wine in bottles or barrels, or more rarely in carboys, amphorae or plastic containers. In an active wine cellar, important factors such as temperature and humidity are maintained by a climate control system. In contrast, passive wine cellars are not...
humidity
Humidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
, Kramer states in Making Sense of Wine, "the precept that a home cellar should be humid is a relic of the past" due to the inherent humidity within the bottles themselves, and are "impervious to moisture or humidity-laden air", concluding, "humidity in the home cellar is an irrelevancy".
Kramer was the target of criticism by Australian wine writer James Halliday who stated Kramer was "even more misguided than Robert Parker
Robert M. Parker, Jr.
Robert M. Parker, Jr. is a leading U.S. wine critic with an international influence. His wine ratings on a 100-point scale and his newsletter The Wine Advocate, with his particular stylistic preferences and notetaking vocabulary, have become very influential in American wine buying and are...
". Halliday spoke in reaction to what he perceived to be "Kramer's suggestions of big company taste fixing", which he called "farcical".
Reacting to a statement by Jancis Robinson
Jancis Robinson
Jancis Mary Robinson OBE, MW is a British wine critic, journalist and editor of wine literature. She currently writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, and writes for her website jancisrobinson.com...
who reported the result of a PROP
Propylthiouracil
Propylthiouracil or 6-n-Propylthiouracil is a thioamide drug used to treat hyperthyroidism by decreasing the amount of thyroid hormone produced by the thyroid gland...
test that suggested she might be a supertaster
Supertaster
A supertaster is a person who experiences the sense of taste with far greater intensity than average. Women are more likely to be supertasters, as are individuals of Asian and African descent. The cause of this heightened response is currently unknown, although it is thought to be, at least in...
, and a following admission by Robert Parker that he does not care for mildly spicy or seasoned food, lead Kramer to criticize wine critics in his New York Sun column, pointing to "almost desperate attempt by some of today's wine tasting potentates to bolster their credibility by suggesting a physical superiority". Kramer summarized that, "suggesting a linkage of taste buds to wine judgment is like confusing eyesight with insight". Robinson later addressed the issue in an article that suggested Kramer may not have read Robinson's own account before publishing his column, stressing that to suggest physical superiority "was the last thing [she] was attempting".