Why has Sonoma zin fallen off The Wine Advocate's radar?

You may have noticed another thread about why TWA “only” publishes 2 large reports per year, plus occasional smaller articles, on Bordeaux. 17.4% of the posts in that thread actually discuss that proposition.

In the meantime, I was poking around TWA’s website and noticed the following:

RIdge Geyserville and Lytton Springs - last vintage reviewed 2018
Carlisle Carlisle - same
Bedrock Bedrock - same
Limerick Lane 1910 - same
Once and Future Frank’s Block - LVR 2019

Turley, Louis Martini, Williams Selyem, and Martinelli (among a few others) have more recent reviews, but they appear to be exceptions and for the most part coverage of Sonoma zin ended, or at least paused, a few years ago. So, in the immortal words of Diondre Cole,

Whats Up With That Dancing GIF by Saturday Night Live

Do you know who was doing the reviews back then? Are they still employed by TWA?

Erin Brooks has the Sonoma beat and published the report that reviewed, for example, the 2018 Ridge zins, in 2021. She also has the Oregon beat and published a bunch of Oregon reviews a few weeks ago in late July.

Interesting . . .

My understanding is typically the reviewers have some leeway on who/what they want to cover. It often changes year over year. What you listed must not interest anybody.

Maybe you’re right; not wines people are interested in :laughing:

I suppose in one sense it’s true (at least it will be soon) that Carlisle is dead at retail…

Wineries have to submit too.

“Ooooohhhhh. Whats up with that!” Love that song.

I hear tell that Lindsay Buckingham is a huge Ridge zin fan.

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TWA just published an article on the 50th Anniversary of Ridge’s iconic bottling from the Lytton Springs vineyard, with notes on the winery’s current releases (across Sonoma, not just from the LS vineyard), and about as many older releases back to the first vintage of 1974 (though not correcting the 19-20-21 hole for LS or Geyserville), so that’s at least a bit of progress. Keep it up, please!

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I am ok with Sonoma zin flying under the radar. I buy and drink more zin than anything.

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