TdB ‘Spill the Tea’ | Tom Wark

Tête de Bulle Launches “Spill the Tea”

Featuring Tom Wark of  “Fermentation” & “The Spill”

Interviewed by Lyn M. Archer

Welcome to the inaugural edition of TdB’s 2026 series ‘Spill the Tea’ Tuesday.

The series showcases fellow Substack authors as they spill about their noteworthy projects, pet peeves, and fave Substacks they follow.

Today, TdB talks with industry thought leader and self-described ‘muckraker’ Tom Wark, author of FERMENTATION and The Spill. (This interview has been edited for clarity and length.)

LMA: What are your Substack sites, and what are they about?

TW: My Substack is FERMENTATION.

I write about the intersection of the wine business with politics, culture and media.

It is written primarily for the wine and alcohol trade, and also for very geeky wine people who have an interest in the broader cultural and political implications of wine.

LMA: What was your impetus for starting it?

TW: I’ve actually been writing and publishing FERMENTATION consistently since 2004, when it was founded as one of the first wine blogs.

In January 2022 Idecided to migrate FERMENTATION to Substack, primarily to finally monetize my writing, but also to take advantage of the Substack ecosystem, which appeared to me to be saturated with both writers and dedicated readers.

However, my older blog still exists and all 3,500 posts can still be read.

LMA: Any current project you’re working on that excites you most?

TW: I’m always working on a variety of different projects.

With my FERMENTATION Substack, I’m currently paying close attention to, and writing about, the anti-alcohol cabal that is aiming to inflict significant restrictions on alcohol sales and marketing.

I’m also reporting closely on the the circumstances that are at the foundation of the downturn in sales: consumption patterns, economic inputs, the impact of GPL-1 drugs on alcohol consumption, the impact of cannabis use on alcohol consumption, and how use of screens and social media impact alcohol consumption.

Finally, I’m very interested in the long-term impact of artificial intelligence on the wine industry and wine writing. READ MORE HERE.

Read more TdB here.