Substack for Writers

Now available in the Circle of Wine Writers Circular, December 2025 issue:

“Substack for Wine Writers”

Is Substack the future of wine writing?

In CWW chair Meg Maker’s article “Substack for Wine Writers,” writer Lyn M. Archer explains her own preference for the Substack platform.

Maker posits, “It’s certainly possible to use Substack like WordPress, managing it like a magazine. It’s even possible to create multi-department, multi-author publications (Narratively does this well).

But the baked-in fact of periodic emails means authors can alternatively treat it as, simply, a newsletter, more like a conversation, sharing what’s top of mind, getting feedback, and building a story over time…

Unsurprisingly, a number of Circle members are also active on Substack, and I reached out to a few to get their impressions. I wanted to know how it’s been working as a tool in their writerly quiver.

Lyn Archer launched her Substack, Tête de Bulle, as a companion to her main author site (hosted on WordPress). Her newsletter shares insights on “traditional method sparkling wines from untraditional places,” and offers a bonus paid tier with interviews of industry leaders. She likes Substack’s “immediacy, authenticity, and community,” and adds that “writers get to share their authentic voices… without editors, SEO, or algorithmic dilutions.” Success, she says, comes from being intentional, consistent, and respectful of readers: “The more you put into it, the more you get out of it.”

Randy Caparoso publishes three different Substacks (unusual but not unheard of), about the wine industry, wine in restaurants, and photography. Randy doesn’t view Substack as his main platform, and doesn’t expect to make much money from any of his efforts. There is some overlap in subscribers to his three publications, he says, and praises Substack’s “efficient, built-in mechanics for expanding readership” so that “you feel like your writing has a little more impact” than on other platforms…” READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.

Subscribe to Tête de Bulle here.