John Stimpfig
‘ Decanter will not be vacating Europe’s vineyards’
‘In success you deserve it, and in defeat you need it.’ so said sir Winston churchill about champagne. you wonder what the greatest Briton of all time (as chosen in a BBc poll in 2002) would have made of the uK’s Brexit vote? Given that he led Britain to victory in World War II and then argued fervently in favour of european integration, I suspect he’d have been appalled. However, there would be no doubt as to his choice of fizz to drown his sorrows or toast his triumph. Pol Roger was his daily tipple – preferably served from imperial pints!
over the last few weeks, the main topic of conversation in the uK has been the post-referendum fallout. But it will be business as usual at Decanter. As a British-based magazine, we will not be vacating europe’s vineyards or turning our back on the continent’s winemakers in any shape or form. you can rest assured that europe’s best and most interesting wines will continue to feature front and centre in these pages.
equally, we are a us-owned, international publication with a growing number of readers in the Americas and right across Asia. Moreover, this global reach and approach manifests itself in many forms, via our Decanter World Wine Awards and Decanter Asia Wine Awards, as well as our uK and overseas events. Last year, there were 69 Decanter events across the globe, including in Japan, Mexico and china. 2017 will see more of the same.
our new-look, redesigned websites, Decanter.com and DecanterChina.com, continue to go from strength to strength. In the past year, the former has more than doubled its traffic (source: Google Analytics, June 2016) and is now the largest wine media website in the uK (similarWeb, June 2016). our us audience has also expanded strongly. outside of the uK and us, our monthly audience numbers give us the largest global reach of any wine media website (similarWeb, April 2016). Meanwhile, DecanterChina.com continues to establish itself as the go-to site for china’s wine-thinking consumers.
While we mourn and regret our political and economic departure from europe, the uK’s decision will have no impact on our range of events, awards, content, quality or level of editorial output. Whether you regarded the recent referendum as victory or defeat, Decanter, life and wine will continue to go on regardless. And that has to be worth celebrating; especially with a glass of champagne.