Editorial Policy
Sending a bottle does not guarantee coverage. Neither is an invitation to an event, a press trip, or a collaboration proposal. What I write about is determined by what I find genuinely interesting — not by who asks.
How I source wines
Most of the wines I cover, I buy myself. When a producer, importer, or PR contact sends a sample or extends an invitation, I note that in the relevant article—every time, without exception. Receiving a sample does not influence my assessment, nor create an obligation to publish.
The three categories I work with:
- Purchased — bought independently, no producer involvement
- Press sample — received for review purposes, disclosed in the article
- Invitation — tasted at a producer visit, event, or press trip, disclosed in the article
Editorial independence
No producer has editorial control over what I write. Copy is not shared for approval before publication. A positive relationship with a producer does not produce a positive review, and a critical note does not disappear because someone asks nicely.
Commercial partnerships
Occasionally, I work with brands on commercial projects — sponsored event coverage, branded content, or collaboration campaigns. These are always clearly labelled. I comply with Dutch advertising standards and EC Directive 2005/29/EC on commercial communications.
A partnership can look like this: a producer sponsors an event I’m covering, or commissions a branded content piece published with a clear sponsorship label. What it never looks like: paying for a positive review, requesting changes to a tasting note, or buying guaranteed coverage. Those conversations end quickly.
For information on collaboration options, see the Collaborate page.
Before publication
Producer claims — vintage yields, harvest dates, ageing periods — get checked against publicly available sources where possible. Scores are final at the moment of writing, but I revisit them when a wine develops significantly in the bottle. If a re-taste changes my assessment, the article gets updated with a note explaining the revision and when it happened.
For full details on how I taste and score, see the Tasting Methodology page.
Tasting conditions
Wines are tasted at controlled temperatures using ISO-standard glassware, with no food, coffee, or fragrance in the hours leading up to it. For a full breakdown of the evaluation process, see the Tasting Methodology page.
Corrections
When a factual error makes it into a published piece, I correct it promptly and add a dated note directly in the article: “Correction [date]: [what changed and why].” The original incorrect text is not silently removed. I’d rather show the correction than pretend the mistake didn’t happen. If you spot something that needs fixing, the contact page is the fastest route to me.
Last updated: March 2026