About The Drop

The Drop Mission Statement

The Drop is an online wine discovery magazine for the wine-curious: Those interested in the stories of the people, places, and traditions behind wine and not just the recitable, searchable facts. Our mission is to connect people to wines they’ll love in an unpretentious yet authoritative style that breaks unique stories and buries old wine tropes. Whether we’re myth-busting, trendspotting, or sharing up-and-coming winemakers and regions, our writers ask provocative questions in service of our readers’ thirst for knowledge. 

The Drop is the editorial arm of Pix, the wine discovery platform. Led by media professionals, The Drop is an entity in its own right, free of commercial interference of any kind.

Pix Ethics Guidelines

Pix is a wine discovery platform that also publishes content via The Drop. Through our search engine and actionable articles, we directly connect wine buyers and sellers. And we cannot succeed without maintaining the trust of all parties.

Many wine industry veterans are investors in Pix; however, so that Pix can operate independently and avoid conflicts of interest, no single wine company is a majority shareholder. Shareholders do not receive editorial coverage in exchange for investing.

Many of our creative contributors also have ties to the wine industry, which is inevitable, as this gives them the insider knowledge that makes our editorial so credible. These ties will always be disclosed. If or when we determine there is a conflict of interest, we will not commission from that content creator.

Disclosures

Pix earns revenue through wine sellers’ advertising; however, sellers do not receive any preferential editorial placement on the platform. We do not offer editorial content in return for advertising.

Likewise, individuals and brands do not need to be Pix customers to be considered for editorial coverage. 

Keyword Advertising and Ads: Ads will be differentiated by their design. The advertiser will be plainly apparent.

Sponsored Content: Pix does not offer sponsored content. Our revenue comes from keyword advertising.

The Firewall: Pix has a strict separation between sales and editorial. The editorial direction is decided solely by the editorial team, and is not influenced by commercial decisions.

The Drop Editorial Ethics

Reporters, photographers, and illustrators working for Pix must maintain high standards of independence and integrity, producing their content free of external advertiser or sponsor pressure. Any potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed before work begins.

Occasionally, the editors will consider material arising from press trips or wine events. The story must be approved in advance and any travel or hospitality received will be disclosed as an asterisked footnote in the article. Attendance on a press trip does not guarantee an article will be published, and editors reserve the right to withhold a story if it does not meet editorial or ethical standards.

Contributors may not solicit trips or hospitality on behalf of Pix.

Interviewees and public relations professionals may not authorize quotes, view material before publication, or demand changes of any kind unless there is a clear error. In the case of a factual error, Pix will correct the error as soon as we are aware of it and make a public note of the correction.

Wineries interested in sending samples to editors or contributors should contact those sources individually to gauge their interest in receiving them.