How To Pitch VinePair

What We’re About

VinePair is the largest digital media company delivering accessible, entertaining, and inspiring content about drinks culture and important trends and topics in wine, beer, and spirits. We offer award-winning consumer coverage on VinePair and trade stories on VP Pro.  Our motto, “Drinking is Culture” means we celebrate the experiences you have and the connections you make with a glass in hand.

What We’re Looking For

  • Reported articles (both consumer and trade) that explore what’s happening in drinks culture and its communities.
  • News stories that are pertinent to drinks enthusiasts or industry members.
  • Features: Longform reported stories pertaining to wine, beer, or spirits trends
  • Short-form: Profiles, Q&As, and recurring columns including: Lucky Sevens (celebrities only); Need to Know; and We Asked. Note that we are not currently accepting pitches for the following columns: BIY – Brew It Yourself; Buy This Booze; Good Wine
  • Personal essays with greater social/political/cultural context and importance.
  • Cocktail Recipes: Developers must be professional bartenders, and the recipes must be offered for media publication only to VinePair.
  • Seasonal content should be pitched at least 1 month prior to the event or season.
  • What We’re Not Looking For: Press release writeups (or “book report writing”); pitches involving press trips to X, Y, or Z places; product reviews; National Tequila/Watermelon/Pancake Day (or other “hashtag holidays”).

How to Pitch: A Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Introduction: In an email, tell us who you are, and explain your relevant experience. Please include clips or links to past coverage of this topic or similar. If you have not been published: Show us something that demonstrates your writing ability, such as a blog post or essay.
  2. Idea: Tell us why this story will be interesting to our readership and/or why this is important for us to cover right now: How does this connect with our previous coverage and/or an emerging trend, event, or issue for wine, beer, and spirits enthusiasts?
  3. Format/style: Explain the format and length envisioned for the proposed article you are pitching. Is this a feature? Essay? Listicle?
  4. Deadline/rate: Offer a timeline of your reporting and/or propose a deadline for submission; and let us know what you typically charge for an article of this scope.

Rates vary depending on assignment, but this helps us get an idea of your proposed article and experience. If your pitch is timely, please make that clear in your subject line. Subject line should read as follows: Writer Pitch: [Your Story Idea in 5-10 Words]

Example of a successful pitch:

Subject: WRITER PITCH: The value of vermouth

[…]

Why every home bar needs vermouth and how it should be cared for and applied. So many folks just leave their aromatized wines at room temperature and it gets oxidative and nasty real quick. It’s crazy to me that two of the most popular cocktails of all time depend upon this ingredient, and yet it remains an afterthought in the minds of most consumers.

There has been a growing interest over the past few years in higher-priced entries — Lillet, Noilly Prat, Dolin from France. And from Italy, Carpano, Cocchi and other well-regarded Vermouth di Torino (which is a specific protected DO).

The article will be written through, with quotes from 2-3 experts, finishing off with a list of 5 vermouths to try (with tasting notes). Estimated 800 words.

 

And the resulting article that was published:

Why Vermouth Is the Under-Heralded Hero of the Home Bar

Pitches should be emailed to: [email protected]

Please be patient. It may take several days for us to see and respond to your pitch. If you do not hear back within a week’s time, please follow up in your original email thread. Thank you!