It’s been twelve issues and about three years since the first issue of OnWine. With that experience under my belt it’s time not so much for a major facelift, but for a refinement of the publication’s concept. I began OnWine with a wish to do things a little better and with a little more detail than a journalist can usually get away with in a newspaper or glossy magazine, where space is paramount and the links between advertising and editorial can sometimes direct subject matter, if not the opinions expressed. I guess that beneath every journalist there lurks a frustrated editor who reckons he can do it better. Three years on and I’m now (finally) more aware of what I believe my subscribers want to know and what insight I want to deliver. While it might be said that OnWine has sometimes struggled to discover an identity between a glossy magazine, a wine industry news report and a soapbox from which I can comment on issues facing wine in Australia, I’m very excited to be able to re-launch it as Jeremy Oliver’s OnWine Report. The OnWine Report will deliver you regular updates of what you need to know to maximise your opportunities to buy the best wine in Australia and to keep in touch with the industry and its key players. It’s going to have more of an insider’s edge, it will focus more on key wines before their release and will break news of direct relevance to wine buyers. It will be no less opinionated than in the past, for it’s simply not within my nature to feel strongly about something and not deliver my views to others. Agree or disagree with me, but at least I will give you something to think about. The OnWine Report is not a magazine for anyone interested in Australian wine, as I have indeed described the initial OnWine concept. It’s a straightforward, no-nonsense report which I am clearly going to focus at the most serious and committed wine buyers. It’s not going to tell you the difference between Australian shiraz and cabernet, for instance, but it will tell you which ones to buy and give you the reasons why you might do so. This issue features three very different expressions of premium Australian shiraz. Again, I’m upgrading my Internet presence to offer a full database of previously published stories and tasting notes, both of which will be equipped with full search and sort facilities. It’s my expectation to have this in place by November. But I’ve also decided not to continue to offer the option of downloading the report over the Net, since experience has shown this to be too difficult to achieve reliably, given the endless number of hardware and software incompatibility issues I have faced over the last three years which are totally outside my control. I hope you enjoy this new issue of the OnWine Report. I couldn’t be more serious about this project and believe that its refocussing has given it a brand-new lease of life. I’m also very keen to hear what you think, since your opinion matters hugely to me. Mail me at [email protected] with any constructive views. Jeremy Oliver.
