I sure wish that Levi was as productive now as he was five, six years ago. His podcasts have been instrumental in my wine education.
When I found the podcast I thought I had struck gold. I mostly worked backwards going to the names that I was most familiar with and then jumping around to other things that caught my interest. Some I’ve listened to several times - I often have a 5 or 12 hour drive alone and I’ll listen to the Becky Wasserman one to walk through Burgundy or become rapt in James Conaway’s broken twang. Obvious differences aside, I really like Levi’s interview style & two of my other favorite interviewers are Terri Gross & Diane Rehm on NPR - they can let a story unfold in an organic way but still remain on track and in control.
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Wow…apparently Levi is that guy! Don’t understand it, but to echo his own words “sad, really.”
It’s sad that levi dalton does and gives these for free to the world and some people review it like they just paid for them. I agree Levi reacts a little to it on this forum but my guess the underlying reason is the man does all of this for free and then gets criticized. If I spent all of this free time to do this and then read a bunch of ignorant people criticize it as they listen for free I would probably react worse.
Levi, I’ve told multiple people in the last two years about your podcast and how you’ve evolved to using your past collection of world class interviews as a catalogue where you now bring in these past interviews for moments of current interviews to get multiple opinions on a certain person or subject. It’s genius and I think this technique will be a standard in how other podcasts will be done in the future.
The accomasso podcast was awesome. Do you have to mentally align yourself if your expecting a classic interview format - yes. But if you allow your mind to be free it is so enjoyable that the format is the way that it is. The fact is Levi only had like a half hour with the man that is not fully complete and Levi figured out a beautiful way to present it versus just posting a short audio file.
Levi, thank you for what you do. It is world class and every episode that we get is treasured by me and the future generations are privileged that you have given your free time to document many of the legends of wine.
In my opinion, I’ll Drink to That is a body of work rivaled by few, if any, for its depth of insight. A true stand-out and a monumental quality contribution from every perspective I can possibly think of. Hats off, nothing else to say.
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Here’s the analogy that I would use - Martino Manetti, who is a racist, also makes what some would say is one of the best Sangiovese-based wines in the world. Now there are a lot of people out there (I guess to Jonathan Loesberg’s point) who will say I don’t care what Manetti does in his personal life, that’s separate from his winemaking ability, and I as a wine consumer want to avail myself of the best wine Sangiovese can produce, so I’m going to buy Le Pergole Torte even though I don’t agree with his personal views.
To me, that kind of decision has always felt like a slippery slope - taken to it’s extreme, if Hitler had made a great Riesling, would you want it in your cellar?
So in a similar way we have Levi here - producing great content (and as David says, for free) from a wine education perspective, but apparently also unable to engage in social discourse if someone actually happens to disagree with something he writes. If you are able to divorce the one Levi from the other, that’s great for you. But why someone like David would conclude that anyone else who can’t do so is, in his words, ignorant - well, hell, that sounds like a page right out of Levi’s book of internet discussion techniques.
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
The OP was, at most, mildly critical. He said the episode was “unusual” for Levi and part of it was “meandering,” but also said how much he learned and that he was grateful Levi was producing material again. This was anything but a harsh review. And anything but ignorant. Being a public figure comes with criticism, whether the work is free or not and Levi is a public figure in the world of wine by nature of the high quality work he has produced. It is too bad he cannot take even very mild criticism.
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Damn David, have you read this thread?? I don’t think a single person here has critizied his work. It’s completely fair to call someone out when they react the way that Levi has to this and other casual posts. To say that everyone on this thread ignorant for their comments is…an ‘interesting’ choice.
Side note. I haven’t listened for a while…but didn’t there used to be paid ads at the beginning of each Podcast?
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Yes, Levi has supporters with ads he basically reads (sometimes there were recorded ads). We get to listen for free. That being said, there is also an option on the IDTT website to donate. It’s worth doing that if you enjoy Levi’s work. I know it’s worth it to me.
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To echo a few others I don’t think you actually read what anyone here is saying because you’re creating arguments that were not really made by anyone here. People, myself included, seemed to have the strongest reaction to Levi’s comments in this thread because they did not match (personality wise) what people have spent hours and hours listening to.
And let’s pump the brakes on the doing it for “free” thing. If you’re putting something out there to be consumed by the public and generating ad revenue off of it you still have to take criticism (again, no REAL criticism was levied in this thread).
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edit: deleted to not veer off topic
Please no politics. Please. This has gone so far off the rails.
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There may be good reasons for shunning artists and winemakers because of their beliefs or past bad actions. I do not remotely think a lack of good manners rises to that level. Levi is not a very good polemicist and he has very think skin. That may be a reason not to engage with him on these wine boards (though, I must say, I have found even in those exchanges, his knowledge often compensates for the exasperation he evokes). It is not even almost a good reason not to recognize the value of his podcast, if one finds it of value.
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Reading this, and still at a loss as to what some people seem to be upset about.
My “personal” perspective (not that anyone should care, everyone is free to disagree, different strokes for different folks, plus all other truisms and disclaimers included). Just something that popped up in my mind reading this thread…
There is a well-known mainstream critic who sometimes chips in here, often very quick to “protest too much” at the slightest hint of criticism or disagreement. Whenever he turns up here, the unsolicited fawning is, while by no means universal, still quite predominant. While I understand what he stands for and why people have a use for what he does, I personally think he’s essentially little more than a salesman (sorry… I meant “a consumers’ advocate”). Nothing wrong with that at all, but he also, for obvious reasons, spends an inordinate amount of time very zealously posturing as something that, by my definition, he is most definitely not (an authority, a leading expert etc.). Time that would be better spent doing what he does best: so well, in fact, that he is now virtually unrivaled. His public persona is mostly about not alienating actual or potential subscribers, but, somewhat inconsistently, also punctuated by a weird, somewhat irritable and patronizing tone, as well as a frequent need to invoke dubious alternative scenarios, which he then describes as “facts” or “history”.
Then you have Levi, who is certainly very outspoken (perhaps a bit of a short fuse, too, some people would say, but both people’s standards AND people’s tolerance thresholds for that vary wildly…), very articulate, and non-formulaic in his work, and, most of all, demonstrably a genuine student of wine (I really don’t think anyone would question that). I understand that there are people who may not have the required level of interest to delve quite as deep, but there can be no denying that Levi took a format and, at least in terms of wine discourse, redefined it and shaped it into something that stands as a true counterpoint to the prevailing banality that has, regrettably, long become the norm. In doing so, he has also managed to broaden and deepen both perspectives and the body of knowledge available. Moreover, what he does has very strong elements of originality, it’s not just about hashing up stuff that can easily be found elsewhere, and it’s not just an endless rigmarole of nauseatingly repetitive and formulaic tasting notes that, for the most part, seem to have come out of one of those funny tasting-note generators with some silly numbers attached. He has also, as far as I am aware, displayed admirable independence in his pursuit, which, I should imagine, must quite literally have come at some cost. And then, what? Sounds to some like he’s pissed off with people half the time at least? So what?
Different strokes for different folks, indeed.
Rails came off a long time ago…
Wish I hadn’t read this thread. I love listening to his podcast but Levi’s responses on here are like… huh? ![[scratch.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/42a16863a8714da3c1604419e3eb9206bb87aa50.gif "scratch"){kind=small}
Lots of wine professionals and ITB people on this board who have engaged kindly with criticism, provided lots of value, and educated me and many others. This augments their reputation in my view. The opposite is happening in this thread. I almost want to hope this is a troll and not the real Levi.
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My quick summary of the above is someone posted a review, Levi posted a sarcastic comment (my read) and then we have been having a debate on whether or not Levi takes criticism well (reacting to his reaction). How can we be surprised by his sarcastic response if the community’s response is to compare Levi to a racist? The leap from “doesn’t take criticism well” to “outright racist and bad human being” is… troubling. It seems like most people on here have difficulty reacting to criticism…
Back to the podcast…
I think the upfront history part of this podcast is unbelievably helpful in helping to understand the region. I wish this podcast had come out prior to my first visit to the region and frankly it helps give some historic context that helps to understand other podcasts that he has done with producers in the region. I know that kind of historical background is not for everyone, which is fine. If you are a lover of Piedmontese wines and haven’t listened to any of Levi’s podcast, I highly recommend listening to this first, then some of the back catalog.
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This thread really reinforces Levi’s point about this community being a clown circus. I find Rich’s review to be overwhelmingly positive and don’t understand at all why Levi responded as he did. Rich deserves an apology but Levi trolled some of y’all real good.
It makes me wonder what it must be like to invest thousands upon thousands of hours producing work that is countless times better than closest alternative in a media format that pays almost nothing? I think his body of work compares favorably against that of the greatest wine writers - Jancis Robinson, Hugh Johnson, take your pick. I really hope that everyone who listened to more than a handful of his episodes has sent him a donation. To say that the presence of sponsorships absolves the listener from this is as self-serving and sorry a rationalization as to say that you shouldn’t tip your server because they get a paycheck.
It is fair, too, to say that a rude server may not get tipped. I can understand not buying wine made by a racist or someone whose political views you find odious. But if you follow Levi on social media you will see that he is making a lot of effort to promote minority voices in the wine world. Reacting defensively to mild disagreement and trolling are quite different things from genocide. We are all imperfect creatures and I do not envy those who live in the spotlight. Many of my artistic heros have flaws. You have to weigh the good and bad. For me, the substance, scale, and sensitivity in his work significantly outweigh this aspect of his behavior and I will continue to donate to his project annually.
Honestly, I just hope he is ok. He seems like an otherwise nice guy.
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Ok, lots to react to here. First, this podcast has precedents. Grape Radio did some interesting stuff, but it was more loose goosey at times and did not get into the detail that Levi does with different people. A fun listen but more like a couple of guys at a bar entertaining you with stories and jokes. Not a bad thing in itself, but less educational. Of course Grape Radio is kaput for now while I can still get Levi’s stuff. I have spent many hours listening with great pleasure to the interview segments and I do think they have gotten much better over time. The latest episode, in my opinion, was fantastic. History influences every thing in life! How many times do we need to hear different fermentation methods? That can get tedious. On top of all that, this is an experimental medium that probably gets minimal monetary support…he ain’t getting rich on this guys and gals. So he can be testy, big deal. Anyone of the (mild or not) critics here want to start their own free podcast and then field comments from the peanut gallery? I only hear crickets …
This thread has accomplished one thing that is positive, I have been remiss in not contributing some cash to keep the podcast running. I suspect Mr Dalton would accept critical comments much more gracefully if you accompanied them with a portrait of President Jackson or President Grant…
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Still find it kinda strange that peeps basically are saying give the guy a pass for posting rude/unnecessary comments (here and on other social media) because the podcast is good and free?
I guess to me its similar to how most of us (myself included) stress that we like to support wineries that are run by great people, and avoid the ones that ‘don’t get it’. How is this any different? No matter what industry/medium, customer service/how people treat others, matters. Sure, its easier to separate the two when its something as simple as listening to a podcast…but i won’t, and this thread only supports my decision. Free or not, imma pass.
No skin off Levi’s back of course, but just my $0.02 from here in the cheap seats.
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