After nine and a half years, I am moving on from Wine Enthusiast.
I started at the magazine as a contributing editor at the beginning of 2013. Since that time, I have reviewed nearly 13,000 wines and authored over 90 articles for Enthusiast.
I began by covering parts of Washington along with Southern Oregon and Idaho. Since the beginning of 2015, I have covered Washington in its entirety. As of this year, I have also been covering all of Oregon and Canada for the magazine.
During my tenure, I have tried to cover the regions in my beat to the fullest of my abilities with the passion and integrity required of any critic. Given how fast the Pacific Northwest wine scene is evolving, doing the region justice has been no easy task. This is an extremely exciting time in the region. The wines have never been better than they are today. I have tried to reflect all this. It has been an honor to tell this story to the readers of Wine Enthusiast.
It has also been a great privilege to work with some of the finest wine writers and critics in the business over the last nine and a half years. In particular, I want to thank my colleague and friend Paul Gregutt for initially recommending me to Wine Enthusiast. I also want to thank Lauren Buzzeo for hiring me when she was tasting director and then continuing to support me as managing editor and earlier this year as executive editor.
Leaving Wine Enthusiast after so long is no doubt bittersweet, and I leave with some business unfinished. I want to offer my sincerest of apologies to producers in Oregon and Canada, who welcomed me with open arms when I took over covering these regions at the beginning of this year and also generously offered me their time over the last six months.
As I said to many people when I took the position, I very much understand how disruptive reviewer changes are for wineries and in fact entire wine regions. I do not take such changes lightly. For making another change this quickly, I am truly sorry. However, I guarantee you the time we spent together was not wasted.
My reasons for leaving Wine Enthusiast are professional, not personal. Some know I have had health issues over the years. I want everyone to know that my leaving Wine Enthusiast has nothing to do with that. I am fine.
I will have more to say about my plans going forward in the future. I will say for now, however, that this is not the end of my time writing about and reviewing Northwest wine. Rather it is the beginning of a new chapter.
I intend to continue writing about Pacific Northwest wineries and rating and reviewing the area’s wines as I have for the last 18 years. This includes wines from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia. More to come.
Note to producers: My intention is to review and score all wines that have been submitted prior to today’s date for Wine Enthusiast. Please contact me if you have any questions.
Looking forward to your next wine adventure. You are an important evenhanded voice for the industry. Keep it up!
Cheers to your future
Like Sean and those mentioned I moved on after 23 years of reviewing the wines of the Pacific NW for Wine Enthusiast. In the past year there have been wholesale changes in the magazine's editorial department from top to bottom, including the majority of the Contributing Editor/reviewers. Speaking just for myself, it was time for a change, and I have written in great detail about how I will continue to review and write about this marvelous wine region, now following my own specific tasting guidelines. I am confident that Michael Alberty will do a fine job following in the footsteps of Sean and myself. And I welcome the chance to once again cover all of the Pacific Northwest wine industry on http://www.paulgwine.com.
I reluctantly quit my subscription to WE after noticing changes I didn't like.
You did a great job. Gonna miss you. Wishing you the best future.
Cheers! 🥂 Glad you are well. See you on the flip side!
You’re an asset to PNW wine no matter where you are, Sean! I look forward to seeing what comes next. Cheers to a great career. 🥂
God speed Man!!
Looking forward to hearing what the future holds for you. Cheers 🥂