alentejo vineyard aerial view

Pitching guide

Write for ClubOenologique.com

Club Oenologique connects people to the joys of the world through the lens of wine, spirits and other interesting drinks. Our website stories aim to engage with social drinkers of all knowledge levels. Through our digital editorial coverage, we’re providing information, inspiration, and recommendations to help guide readers to quality drinks and experiences – backed by the expertise of our sister brand, the IWSC.

We’re also sharing insights into the worlds of food and travel – since an interest in these pursuits is often all part and parcel of a drink lover’s outlook. While wine and spirits can mean a lean towards luxury lifestyle, at ClubOenologique.com, we’re most interested in celebrating the authentic, artistic and artisanal within our daily coverage. And while we’re based in London, UK, we’re interested in engaging with drink enthusiasts all over the world.

Our contributors are some of the best-known experts in wine and spirits – but we’re also on the lookout for new voices and are keen to commission writers of all backgrounds. If that’s you, we’d love to hear from you. Here’s more on how to pitch to Club Oenologique…

What stories does ClubOenologique.com publish?

  • Trends: and the people driving them forward. We’re keen to explore emerging or growing styles of wine and spirits – through the people and brands that are doing it best. This could be news-led for topical relevance, or based on tangible insights and observations
  • Names to know: a look at a region or drink style and the producers who are making waves within it – this could be the rising stars or the figureheads; the emerging scenes or the more established categories
  • Drink-related service features and area guides: helping wine and spirit lovers, and food and travel enthusiasts, in their passions and pursuits. From this guide to gin distilleries to this exploration of Franschoek’s best restaurants and this look at the best natural wine bars in Lisbon
  • Behind the Bottle: what it takes to make the most-loved drinks on the shelves – from the liquid to the label. See this recent example on Zacal mezcal (please note, we are commissioning these out, but planning for the producers we will feature is largely taking place in-house)

The following formats are compiled in-house… 

What we’re not looking for…

  • Tasting notes from an event/tasting
  • Area guides based on group press trips with a shared itinerary – we prefer to commission local experts or regular visitors
  • Listicles. For our service features, we’re looking to include insights from experts to help intelligently dissect the trend
  • Stories focusing on a single producer or brand that stray close to advertorial content
  • News-led stories that are industry-focused/lack broad consumer appeal, such as one winery buying another, corporate restructures etc

How to pitch to ClubOenologique.com

Email our Editor inbox with ‘pitch’ included in the subject line, and include an introduction to who you are, what you do and examples of recent work you’ve had published (please include links where applicable). If you’re yet to have work published, please provide an example of your writing in attachment.

Share your idea along with why it’s of interest to Club Oenologique’s audience and why you should be the person to cover it. Please include any indication of experts you’d be calling on for insight within the piece. Explain the format you think will best suit your story idea (please consult the above list for guidance).

Please be patient – it may take a few days for us to respond to your pitch. If you haven’t heard back within a week, please follow up on the same thread.

Our rates are based around 40p/word and invoices are paid 30 days after submission.

For PR companies, producers and partners…

  • We work with a core team of freelance contributors. If a journalist contacts on behalf of Club Oenologique, please feel free to contact us to check their credentials.
  • We will never request samples unless the Club Oenologique team and its contributors are planning a tasting or feature on the subject. We do not accept unsolicited samples; please contact us if you wish to send samples to avoid unnecessary expenses.
  • We will never accept press trips unless the Club Oenologique team and its contributors plan to cover them on the website.