TdB: Spill the Tea | Paul Gregutt

My Latest Tête de Bulle interview:

Paul Gregutt | Paul Gregutt’s Wine Reviews

Interviewed by Lyn M. Archer

 

Welcome to TdB’s 2026 series ‘Spill the Tea.”

Each Tuesday, Tête de Bulle showcases fellow Substack authors as they spill about their noteworthy projects, pet peeves, and fave Substacks they follow.

Today, TdB meets up with writer, author and musician Paul Gregutt of Paul Gregutt’s Wine Guide.

(This interview has been edited for clarity and length.)

LMA: What is your Substack site?

PG: Paul Gregutt’s Wine Guide

LMA: What’s it about?

PG: Some background first. Between 1998 and 2022, I was a Contributing Editor and Tasting Panel reviewer for Wine Enthusiast. From 2002 to 2012 I wrote a weekly wine column in the Seattle Times.

During that same period, I authored two books on Washington wines, and contributed to several others. I also had a blog off and on.

So four years ago, when I left all of that behind, I decided to start fresh.

I did some serious thinking about what I wanted to write, and where to publish. After about a year, I stumbled across Substack.

As soon as I switched over, I felt unchained. No rules, no editors, no corporate guidelines. It was freeing – and also daunting.

After decades writing for respected publications, I found myself drifting in an ocean of influencers, bloggers and podcasters … as Dylan would put it, a complete unknown.

LMA: What was your impetus for starting it?

PG: I decided the best way to start over would be to return to my wine writing roots. Living here and writing about Northwest wine from the very beginnings of its modern industry was both an advantage and a calling card. So my Substack was named ‘Paul Gregutt’s NW Wine Guide’.

That focus worked well for the first few years, but eventually felt confining.

During the years I lived in Seattle, I tasted and wrote about all the wines of the world. I traveled to many of the great wine regions in Europe, South America and Australia.

I attended trade tastings and met with visiting winemakers almost daily, greatly expanding my knowledge, which improved my coverage of Washington and Oregon wines because I could place them in the context of the global wine industry.

So as of 2026, I am expanding my coverage once again, and have re-titled my Substack Paul Gregutt’s Wine Guide….READ MORE HERE.

 

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