The Passing of the American Wine Blog Awards
This is probably as good as time as any to make a little announcement.
This will be the last year I host the American Wine Blog Awards.
Upon their conclusion this year, I will pass ownership on to the OpenWine Consortium, which will both own the rights to them and be responsible for their administration if they choose to continue them.
It's not a matter of the American Wine Blog Awards being too difficult to administer. Nor it is a matter of them taking too much time to administer. It's a matter of my belief that they can be better administered and grow in significance and grow in purpose if they are administered by an organization like OpenWine Consortium.
If I'm correct, and I'm sure I am, then their beginnings here at FERMENTATION: The Daily Wine Blog can be seen as an incubation period; a period when they didn't necessarily grow, but had a chance to find their footing and survive. Outside FERMENTATION, at OpenWine Consortium, my hope is that the Awards will grow, develop and evolve into something more…and different.
Tom,
Everything must pass, including Wine Blog Awards and their close kin, kidney stones. You deserve a gigantic thank you, a big pat on the back, a hearty handshake and a wet kiss from the blogger of your choice for your dedication and inspiration.
Does this mean you can win next year?
I agree that this is a good move, and it shows how far the community has come over at OWC, as well.
Thanks, Tom – btw, I will NOT be providing that blogger kiss mentioned by Ron above (but I am sure you won’t mind!) 🙂
Tom,
You’ve been an excellent guardian of the AWBA, an honest broker and promoter of the work of hundreds in the exciting field of wine and its fascinating culture.
I believe it passes into good hands, the OWC.
I do hope this means you will now be eligible for an award yourself! I will be the first to toss your name into the hat!
I certainly enjoy and fully participate in OWC. A great resource. But let’s be clear on the pass off of the baton which is going from Tom Wark to Joel Vincent. While the Open Wine Consortium may sound like an organization or association, and has some boilerplate on its website to that effect, it’s really “Joel’s Network.” Joel makes all the decisions, with some feedback of course. Fortunately, he is a very enlightened despot ;^P
@epicuria – I am working diligently to change that but point taken and thanks (I think ;).
Thanks Tom. I hope we can keep this going with all the momentum and attention it deserves.