Can 1,129 Postings on wine be fun? YES!!
I sure hope my fellow wine bloggers are having as much fun as I am!
This day marks the 2nd anniversary of my first blog post. This very short amount of time, the 1,129 posts, the countless typos, the three different URLs, the ongoing interaction with a readership far more astute than I and the chance to deliver my own brand of hubris into the blogosphere all adds up to GREAT FUN.
What’s next for Fermentation?
Certainly more of the same. After all, the way in which wine, culture and I mix never ceases to amaze me. But I have been thinking about this question.
Maybe I’ll find a reputable palate that reviews wine for Fermentation.
Maybe I’ll attempt to organize wine bloggers and bring them together.
Maybe I’ll take it upon myself to evangelize on behalf of wine bloggers using ads and PR.
Maybe I’ll produce an annual learning conference on wine blogging for wineries and bloggers.
Maybe I’ll ask my readership, what should be next for Fermentation. Yes, that’s it!!
Here’s the question:
What would you like to see happen, evolve, change, be added to or be promoted here at Fermentation?
Tell me!
In the meantime, I want every reader of Fermentation, even those who arrive here after a search at google for "sex in the back seat", to know how grateful I am for your attention.
Tom,
Happy blog birthday my friend. Your’s is one of my daily (okay, semi-hourly) reads.
Personally, I think you’d be fine just doing what you’re doing. I think your readers (as well as other members of the wine blogosphere) appreciate your insight, opinions and devotion to actual fact and research.
I don’t think people want to see wine reviews here, but bringing bloggers together and getting the word out…that is something I’d love to work on with you.
Cheers! What are we drinking tonight to celebrate the blog birthday?
By now, Tom, you’ve checked your stats and seen that I’ve clicked the Google link you so graciously supplied! (I’ve got fond memories of the back of my dad’s ’71 Ford Country Squire station wagon. Sooner or later, I’ll evolve, too).
Meanwhile, I echo Lenn’s responses here — those are all good next steps, and very much worth evolving toward. Prost! Twice!
I’d be terribly interested in a conference on wine blogging for wineries. It would legitimize wine blogging as a means to an economic and branding end — something I struggle with every day.
Happy Blogday, Tom.
1) Perhaps wine bloggers could get together periodically for wine tastings. Each participant would provide bottle(s) from Winery X, and the results would be posted on your fine site. Conditions for wines might include whether estate grown, under 5000 cases a year, specific varietals, or those not reviewed, a specific vintage anyway, by WS or Mr. Parker. Or the reverse. The idea is to promote diversity.
2) A wine tasting calender page. Bloggers and readers could post dates and times for tastings in their area.
3) A page dedicated to artisanal wineries, ones visits and experiences. Again, posting would be the responsibility of the contributor. Room for photos?
Of course, fradulent or self-serving posts would be a constant bother, but perhaps a vigilant, knowledgeable administrator could weed them out.
Keep up the good work.
Congrats!
I second all three of the above and would ammend it with this:
We, all of us, winemakers, wineries, marketing firms, pr firms, wholesalers, distributors, importers, writers, bloggers and anyone else who wants to get in the back of the wagon, we all NEED to work together.
There are two very important components of this business, the farmer and the person who is putting the bottle of wine on their table tonight. All the rest of us need to work to that end, to help the farmer and to help the wine lover.
Let’s work together!
Congrats on 2 years Tom! I agree with Lenn, and think that your writing style and topics are much more interesting than wine reviews. But I think you are on to something with organizing and bringing together wine bloggers. The current fragmentation has its charm, but there has to be an intelligent way to pull it all together. Definitely food for thought. You are providing a great service by just bringing up these discussions, so keep it up!
I have a request.
To see more photos of YOU on your blog.
You are very handsome!
Happy Blog-Birthday Baby!!
Tom–And a fine two years it has been, congrats! Two suggestions: 1. Consider an occasional blog exchange with someone from the industry, say a question and answer with Steve Clifton about his Italian varietals in SB County; 2. Guest bloggers that run with a story line or issue that you introduce. I also like you own suggestion where you have someone with a serious palate do tasting notes on a vintage. Anyway, thanks for the though provoking posts.
Tim
Tom – I can’t say enough how our entire company and the industry benefits from your blog and hard work. You have major kung foo and mad kudos to you for all your efforts.
Shameless plug – Tom is a great blogger but the BEST wine PR guy in the industry.
Inertia – Powering the Wine Revolution
—Paul Mabray
Congrats, Tom! I consider Fermentation daily reading (it’s right under the NYT in my reader). Don’t change anything–you are a voice of sanity in a sometimes insane world. If you want ideas on what to do with your free time (!) I loved your quiz, and found the results fascinating, so more of them would be great. And I think you could do the blog world a real service by drawing bloggers together. Perhaps hosting a monthly blogging event like WBW but geared more to op ed pieces than tasting notes and reviews of wine? You keep me up to date on so many aspects of the biz that I have strong opinions about, but by the time I sort them out your post is ancient history. You could pose a question or a theme (high alcohol wines has hit a nerve, also points and scoring) and give us a date to all post pieces on that topic. I think it would be great, and get us all to stretch our writing a bit.
Jeez, I hate to agree with Lenn, but … I agree with Lenn. Leave the reviews to other blogs and keep trying to achieve the “herding-cats” feat of uniting wine bloggers and promoting their profile. And leave yourself time for a quick stir of the pot every now and then, of course …
Congratulations, Tom, and cheers!
Mark
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