Why review U.S. wines in a trade war?
Wine reviewer discovers column’s global approach annoys some readers
This story is part of the Star’s trust initiative, where, every week, we take readers behind the scenes of our journalism. This week, we look at how the Star’s wine critic, Carolyn Evans Hammond, responded to reader inquiries about why she reviews American wines in the midst of a trade war with the U.S.
Late last month, the Star’s wine reviewer, Carolyn Evans Hammond, wrote an article in which two of the five wines she recommended were American.
Her review happened to come at a time when the Canada-U.S. trade war was reaching a fever pitch as Canada prepared to slap retaliatory tariffs on imports from its southern neighbours. Evans Hammond discovered that her recommendations of American wines did not sit well with some readers.
“I generally enjoy your Saturday columns in the Star, but in light of the current state of Canada/U.S. trade relations, I find it curious to find you recommending two out of five wines coming from the U.S. this week,” one reader wrote to her. “Surely, you have heard the gathering talk on boycotting U.S. wine (and many other products) coming from this side of the border in response to the bullying tactics from the U.S. regarding trade tariffs.”
“Surely there are enough great wines in the world that we do not need to promote those from the U.S. at this time” wrote another reader. “Is it possible for you to discontinue the review of U.S. wines?
One reader stated bluntly: “It’s time to stop pushing America wines in your Star column.” While Evans Hammond says she understands the concerns of these readers, she notes her job is to recommend wines based on value for money, relative to similar wines at that price point. And that means American wines are fair game, regardless of the political climate.
“From my perspective, I can’t not include wines because I don’t agree with a political situation going on in a region. That’s a huge kettle of fish,” she said in an interview.
Evans Hammond says if she were to start taking a nationalist stance on her reviews, she would be doing a disservice to wine consumers and producers.
“As a wine columnist, I recommend wines from all over the world based on those that offer the best value for money within the context of a respective column. It is up to individual readers whether they want to buy American wines,” she said.
“What’s important to know is this: fierce global competition in winemaking is constantly pushing quality up and prices down, so it’s a very exciting time to be a wine enthusiast.
“With that in mind, I try hard to keep abreast of what’s out there and to recommend only the wines I think offer the very best value for money. Then, I give each wine I recommend a score out of 100 and qualify that score with a lengthy tasting note to communicate what makes the wine special.” she said.
The Star’s public editor Kathy English said while the emails Evans Hammond received from readers were not unreasonable given the current trade situation between the U.S. and Canada, columnists, including Evans Hammond, are fully within their remit to choose what they write about.
“Columnists have the prerogative and latitude here to select the topics they write about, and in the case of reviewers, to select the products they review,” said English. “There are no policy issues at play here whatsoever.” Do you have any questions about how the Toronto Star does its journalism? What are some topics you’d like to read about? Send the Star’s Trust Project a note with your thoughts to trust@thestar.ca.