The Wine Media Guild has voted Gerald Boyd into its Wine Writers’ Hall of Fame. Only 23 wine writers have been received this honor, which we believe is richly deserved by Gerald on grounds of his longstanding contributions to wine criticism and
appreciation. Distinguished by broad knowledge, a discerning palate, and unimpeachable integrity, I’ve admired Gerald since first meeting him in the mid-1990s, and am delighted to offer congratulations on behalf of all of us at Wine Review Online.
(As long as I’m waxing prideful, I might also note that Gerald will be joining two other WRO contributors in the select ranks of the Hall of Fame, namely, Mary Ewing-Mulligan and Ed McCarthy.)
Gerald could not be present in New York for his induction, but I’ve come into possession of the acceptance speech he sent to the event, which I’ll reprint here in its entirety. Once again, Gerald, congratulations!
* * *
"I’ve asked my old friend, Kevin Zraly, to read these few words tonight for two reasons: the first and most obvious is I am not here to do it myself. The second reason is Kevin and I share some history in the development of wine appreciation in the United States.
In the late 1960s, while living in Colorado, I decided to try my hand at wine writing. Only a handful of wine writers were active then, concentrated on both coasts, with the exception of America’s first woman wine writer, Ruth Ellen Church, in Chicago. Today, there’s no telling how many people are writing about the pleasures of wine; a positive sign that consumers are still thirsting for more knowledge and tasting experiences.
Eventually, with all that writing and exposure, the floodgate opened with wine flowing everywhere in America’s major cities. One person who knew a trend when he saw one is Kevin Zraly, founder of the Windows on the World wine course. In the late 1970s, Marvin Shanken, owner of The Wine Spectator and Kevin put their heads together and came up with the first major wine summit in the United States. I was the editor of The Wine Spectator then and I can tell you that I was impressed at how fast things were moving and how many people wanted to get on board the wine juggernaut.
It was the dawning of a new wine age and I was smack in the middle of it. In those days, The Wine Spectator was at the vanguard of wine publications, but it wasn’t the only journal striving to inform American wine consumers about the proliferation of wines that seemed to be emerging from every corner of the world. And I wanted to be part of that surge, so I returned to free-lance writing where I’ve been to this day.
There is one more chapter to my journey as a wine writer — electronic media. Among the members of my family and friends, I am known as a Luddite when it comes to embracing the digital world. But embrace I did by writing a column for the Internet site Wine Review Online. It was an easier transition than I had ever imagined, from the printed word to the electronic word, but for me it is almost a career come full circle.
So, it is with humility and pride that I accept this honor tonight, knowing that in some small way, I helped to teach Americans about wine and encouraged other writers to try their hand at wine writing. My thanks to the Wine Media Guild for recognizing my contributions and to Kevin Zraly for helping me to open one small window into wine’s past history. Thank you!"
1