DISQUS

That Wines from Spain newsletter is truly sad and pathetic. But Ryan, you're right. Their ineptitude and cluelessness just creates more of an opening for Catavino to flourish!

Good post. As a business journalist I can tell you that one has to be mighty vigilant to make sure one doesn't get "spun" by all the pr and marketing types out there. They realize the effectiveness of word-of-mouth marketing over conventional advertising and they know that the type of third-party endorsement that comes from an impartial blog will hold a whole lot more weight and influence with some wine lovers than the typical ad campaign. A lot of pr and marketing reps think that they are so clever by not giving full disclosure not realizing that they ultimately do more damage to themselves and whatever client they're promoting by not being fully honest. The truth always comes out. Also, I think in Spain, the "enchufe" mentality is so strong, a lot of people don't see anything wrong by not being fully upfront and honest.

Lesson learned. Always ask people what their connection is to the product/company they're touting and then ask again to make sure you don't get used.