According to their website, “LE PAN is a new and commanding global voice in fine wine, cuisine and lifestyle. Launching in June 2015, it will be published in separate English-language and Simplified Chinese editions. LE PAN will also have a dynamic, authoritative website. The magazine will be sold at bookstores, wine shops and newsstands globally.”
Interesting positioning, like a more serious/exclusive Wine Spectator or a more lifestyle-oriented World of Fine Wine? Looks like they have some credible writers and editors involved. My question is does the world need another one of these, and is that position real/sustainable/marketable?
Appears to be a pretty decent publication and $45 seems pretty reasonable. I hope the focus will be on the wine articles and not the
scoring of dozens & dozens of wines (“drinking from the firehose of scores” as JonBonne termed it).
I may subscribe.
Tom
Ran across a hard-copy of this mag in Barnes&Noble in KC last weekend. Spent about 15 min browsing thru it. Many of the wine articles, written by some
very good writers, are quite good. But they only constitute a fraction of the publication. The food articles are not particularly noteworthy. The rest of the
publication is, indeed, a lifestyle magazine…even more over-the-top than the WineSpec. It seemed like just another WineSpec, except it had some
wine writers w/ some competence.
Bottom line…I’m not subscribing. Especially if you can access the wine articles on-line for free.
Tom
My wife got me a copy of an issue and it is a really nicely done magazine. I am not sure i will subscribe, but the wines they review and the interviews they have are certainly more geared towards people who are more than just mildly interested in wine. Members of communities like wineberserkers have to be more of their target audience.
I also bought the magazine a few weeks ago to read while traveling. I enjoyed it, but I do not think I will subscribe. A lot of the wine portion of the issue was centered around Bordeaux, and there were ratings from 2014 along with a small retrospective of 2000 Bordeaux, as well as some older vintages, and 2010 Brunello. The food and travel articles did not interest me too much and there were a lot of glossy ads.
One short article I really enjoyed was a tasting that featured vintages of Ridge Monte Bello, Zin and Petite back to the 70’s, as well as some Gemello Cab and Zin from the 70’s. That would have been a fun tasting to attend!
Yup, Ed…that was what kinda turned me off to the publication.
It looks like the wine content is available free on-line. Don’t see a need to suscribe.
Tom
Kevin, that is the same thing someone said about my publication when I launched it in 2011 and I am still here working on my 18th issue. There is a niche audience for everything out there. I am certain this will appeal to eclectic enthusiasts who want a bit of lifestyle with their wine. Does the magazine contain any advertising? From my own experience I know that the cost of producing print, plus distribution of heavy bound paper isn’t trivial. Compensating the writers and production team needs to be supported by some sustainable revenue stream.