Michael Steinberger is an American journalist based in Delaware,^[1] and the wine columnist of the internet magazine Slate. He has been described as "one of the greatest wine writers on the planet",^[2] and to possess a "blessedly trustworthy voice and palate".^[3] Steinberger has himself stated his palate is Euro-centric, having been cultivated on French wine, with the wine from Bordeaux and Burgundy being his "touchstones".^[4]

Contents 1 Career 2 Responses 3 See also 4 References

[edit] Career

Steinberger has previously worked as a Hong Kong correspondent for Maclean's.^[1] He has also contributed to publications such as The New York Times,^[5][6] Saveur, Financial Times,^[7] The Economist, Food & Wine,^[8] New York Magazine, Wine Spectator,^[9] The World of Fine Wine,^[10] and Sommelier Journal.^[11]

Steinberger's book Au Revoir to All That was published in June, 2009.

[edit] Responses

Steinberger articles were no longer published in Wine Spectator after the Slate article "Grape Rot: The New Wine Spectator's Distinct Aroma of Fishiness" in 2002, which resulted in harsh response by Wine Spectator executive editor Tom Matthews who demanded a retraction of the article, while recommending that Slate "no longer accept Steinberger's unprofessional and potentially libelous contributions".^[12]

An article that revealed Steinberger's distaste for the Sauvignon blanc grape, "White Lies: Why Sauvignon Blanc is Overrated",^[13] was widely met with surprised response in the wine writers' community.^[14][15]

In a Slate article titled "Change We Can Taste", written in reference to an interview with White House food and beverage operations usher Daniel Shanks published on Bloomberg.com,^[16] Steinberger called for a new "wine policy" for the Obama presidency.^[17] While coining the term "Shafer-gate", in reference to ca. $250 bottles of "extravagant" 2003 Shafer Hillside Select served at a November 2008 emergency economic summit, the article described the Bush era tactics of "shock and awe" achieved with "fruit bombs", during which time the White House wine service has been "hostage to a profoundly misguided strategy", and pointed to Obama's "opportunity "to act swiftly and boldly on the wine front".^[17] When the article was described by Decanter.com to have "slammed the White House wine policy",^[18] its contents were quoted and reiterated without any element of satire.

[edit] See also

• List of wine personalities

[edit] References