On Five Years of Wine Blogging

Posted by Tom Wark on Nov 30, 2009

Time is the enemy.

Time always moves faster than we think it will and in the end it more than anything else is responsible for dashing hopes, destroying lives, ending strong bids and shutting the door on alternatives.

But what makes Time that really sneaky devil dressed in a cool white dress is that for a while it is the primary source of wonderful developments. I don't have to describe how this might be where wine is concerned do I? While the enemy will ultimately destroy a wine, it first lifts it to new heights.

And where FERMENTATION: The Daily Wine Blog is concerned, today Time is a friend.

Today marks the 5th Anniversary of this blog.

What does this mean? Nominally, it means:

1,961 posts (more than one post for every day of its existence)

-11,600+ comments–

Over 100,000 references on the Internet

-An estimated 58,000 minutes writing blog posts

-Three Years of  American Wine Blog Awards

In the Time span of five years, FERMENTATION has grown into something I never expected it to become: A vessel that held the content that would redefine (or, simply, define) Tom Wark in my eyes and in the eyes of many in the wine industry. But five years of wine blogging has done more than that for me. It has introduced me to people I never would have known otherwise. It has opened doors to educational experiences. It has given me the chance to promote causes and people in much more positive and active ways, and it helped play an important roll in staying smoke free. It has been, in a word, a blessing.

And yet even after 1.074 posts per day for five years, wine blogging remains primarily a hobby. The vast majority of my professional life is focused on serving the communication and marketing needs of my clients via a practice I founded 15 years ago when Wark Communications opened its doors. Wark Communications pays nearly all my bills, provides me with all my opportunity and is likely to be the source of my professional identity for many years to come.

And yet, on this fifth anniversary of pursuing a hobby, I have fantasies of my hobby becoming a profession. Nearly every time I sit and craft a blog post, in the back of my mind I imagine making a living as a wine blogger; I imagine generating six figures worth of income by blogging about wine. The fantasy has at times been so intense that I've spent good chunks of time examining various models that might allow this fantasy to come true. Alas, I've yet to find the model or circumstances that would make this happen without an infusion of serious investment funds.

Be that as it may, today, while Time has not yet taken a severe toll on me or this blog, I celebrate five years of wine blogging. It is an accomplishment of sorts. I'm proud of it. And I hope to one, unfortunately all too soon, celebrate a decade of blogging at FERMENTATION.