Who is Marc Hanes?
Who is Marc Hanes? A middle aged [sic] wine lover who has dabbled in the wine industry in many forms since 1999 and thus gets to sample some wine for free and keep his finger on the pulse of what’s new and happening in the wacky world of wine. He swallows and never spits. Hanes has a Master’s Degree in philosophy. Hanes is a native Manhattanite, lived from July 2008 to June 2012 in Charlotte, North Carolina and now resides in northern New Jersey. If you simply cannot get enough of Hanes (and who can?) there’s more about Hanes and his non-wine interests here.
Why should you listen to anything Hanes says? Hanes is one of the most anal retentive people you will ever meet. Combine this with his penchant for uncompromising candor and overall perceptive nature and you have a nice recipe for wine advice with integrity. Yeah, Hanes is still learning about wine, but this keeps him on the edge, looking for undiscovered gems and performing due diligence on the advice of the “real professionals.” He thirsts for complete knowledge (he is a former philosopher after all) and you get to learn with him. In moments of drunken delusion (and there are many), Hanes thinks he can point out the steals to be had and unmask the puffery all-too-common to the world of wine. But, let it be known, Hanes accepts the label of wine snob. There will be no false humility here, mes amis.
What does Hanes get out of all this? Hanes prefers to keep the commercial end of things to a minimum. But he does need to make income somehow lest the IRS repossess his wine collection. How this will turn out, who knows. In the meanwhile, Hanes gets to drink wine and share what he learns. Most of the time that is enough for him. However, if there are any wine-lovin’ supermodels out there who would like to support Hanes he is open to all possibilities...
What is the background of The Hanes Wine Review? Started on a whim in 1999, it was a way to share his notes with friends (who ill advisably actually asked for his notes). Hanes even predates the blog phenomenon. The review grew in proportion to Hanes’s knowledge of wine. “Bloated” is probably a better word. Currently, it is read by literally hundreds of people of all sophistication levels from wine beginners to collectors to wine industry professionals. It usually contains anywhere from 30 to 100 wine reviews each month depending entirely on how many wines Hanes gets to taste and scribble on. No marketing is done and “word of mouth” is the sole manner in which the review reaches a broader readership. If you like it, recommend it to others!
It’s polite to say that all feedback is welcomed so “all feedback is welcomed”...