F.T.C. Disclosure Page

This page to clarify all sponsor relationships and fulfill my blogger requirement under the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations for bloggers and social media. 

 

I will not lie to my audience.  Everything that I am writing is my own opinion or is true to the best of my knowledge.

All posts since August 5, 2023 were written under the following disclosures.

  1. I am currently self employed and working on my own projects.

  2. I will, from time to time, review products and supply affiliate links. I will disclose those specifically in the post.

  3. The wineries, winemakers, and basically everyone who isn't me, are expressing their own opinions in the videos or podcasts. Their opinions aren't necessarily mine, but I'm presenting them because I find them interesting.

  4. It is literally illegal for me to produce a video of a person or brand without their permission in advance. However, they don't control what I shoot, write, or edit. This isn't an ad for them, but instead my own perspective.

All posts between July 18, 2016 and August 4, 2023 were written under the following disclosures.

  1. I am currently the Vice President of Marketing for Cutting Edge Selections. However, this website in entirely independent of my job with them. My contract allows me complete freedom to post anything I wish to say. I may speak completely freely about any aspect of the wine industry without fear of punishment or opportunity for reward. I do not work on it on company time. This website is my own personal property and reflects my own opinions only.

  2. When traveling in wine country, I often get access to wineries that is not available to the general public. This is normal for professionals in the wine business and also does not compromise my judgement or affect what I write. I almost always receive free tastings and generous industry discounts on purchases. This is normal for the wine business.

  3. I sometimes receive free items from wineries because of my job. If I should ever write about anything received free, I will make it obvious from the specific blog post.

  4. I will, from time to time, review products and supply affiliate links. I will disclose those specifically in the post.

  5. The wineries, winemakers, and basically everyone who isn't me, are expressing their own opinions in the videos or podcasts. Their opinions aren't necessarily mine, but I'm presenting them because I find them interesting.

  6. It is literally illegal for me to produce a video of a person or brand without their permission in advance. However, they don't control what I shoot, write, or edit. This isn't an ad for them, but instead my own perspective.

All posts between July 15, 2015 and July 18, 2016 were written under the following disclosures.

  1. I am currently the Director of Marketing for Bonny Doon Vineyard. However, this website in entirely independent of my job with them. My contract allows me complete freedom to post anything I wish to say. I may speak completely freely about any aspect of the wine industry without fear of punishment or opportunity for reward. I do not work on it on company time. This website is my own personal property and reflects my own opinions only.

  2. There is considerable content about Bonny Doon Vineyard and Randall Grahm on this website. It will remain. It was all produced before my employment and with no reason to believe that I would ever work for Bonny Doon Vineyard. In retrospect, it is possible that my videos contributed to my job offer, but they were not produced with that objective.

  3. When traveling in wine country, I often get access to wineries that is not available to the general public. This is normal for professionals in the wine business and also does not compromise my judgement or affect what I write. I almost always receive free tastings and generous industry discounts on purchases. This is normal for the California wine business.

  4. I rarely receive anything free from wineries or distributors other than their time. If I should ever write about anything received free, I will make it obvious from the specific blog post.

  5. I will, from time to time, review products and supply affiliate links. I will disclose those specifically in the post.

  6. The wineries, winemakers, and basically everyone who isn't me, are expressing their own opinions in the videos or podcasts. Their opinions aren't necessarily mine, but I'm presenting them because I find them interesting.

  7. It is literally illegal for me to produce a video of a person or brand without their permission in advance. However, they don't control what I shoot, write, or edit. This isn't an ad for them, but instead my own perspective.

All posts before July 15, 2015 were written under the following disclosures.

  1. I work at Walt Churchill's Market in Maumee, Ohio as the Wine Manager. I will reference the store, discuss wines tasted while at the store, and link to its website, but www.austinbeeman.com is my own website. It isn't sponsored by WCM. I do not work on it on company time. This website is my own personal property and reflects my own opinions only.

  2. During the course of my job, I taste many wines from distributors who want me to purchase their wines for the store. I know that tasting wine for free sounds like a really cool thing, but truthfully, it is just part of doing my job as a wine professional. It helps me educate myself, but does not compromise my judgement. It is not considered sponsorship of this blog or any post.

  3. When traveling in wine country, I often get access to wineries that is not available to the general public. This is normal for professionals in the wine business and also does not compromise my judgement or affect what I write.

  4. I rarely receive anything free from wineries or distributors other than their time. If I should ever write about anything received free, I will make it obvious from the specific blog post.

  5. I will, from time to time, review products and supply affiliate links. I will disclose those specifically in the post.

  6. The wineries, winemakers, and basically everyone who isn't me, are expressing their own opinions in the videos or podcasts. Their opinions aren't necessarily mine, but I'm presenting them because I find them interesting.

  7. It is literally illegal for me to produce a video of a person or brand without their permission in advance. However, they don't control what I shoot, write, or edit. This isn't an ad for them, but instead my own perspective.