Feb 13, 2009
My Dearest Readers: I am still shocked to have found you and to have you in my life. I never really expected it, nor thought I deserved it. Your presence in my life is a gift that sustains me; an ongoing delight that I will always cherish. I'll never forget the first time we met. Out of nowhere you appeared. And from the first time I noticed you I was in love. It was not one thing, not your equal…
Feb 10, 2009
The Furrowed Brow seems to be the official wine industry response to the new social media tools. And why shouldn't this be the reaction? If you've been in the industry for even only a few years these new tools are so untested, so new and so unlike previous marketing tools that few people understand anything about them. VinTank is hoping to unfurrow a few brows. Vintank is a new company formed by Paul Mabray, founder of Inertia Beverage Group, and…
Jan 29, 2009
With the American Wine Blog Awards coming up soon, I've been thinking a great deal about the function of wine blogs. But today I've been thinking about their function not for the reader, but for the writer. Jeff of The Good Grape blog notes in the comments section of this post of mine that he sees "a thematic current running through your posts lately, similar to an authors "period" whereby their mood imparts an imprint on their work, unbeknownst to…
Jan 21, 2009
Watching and listening to the ceremonies surrounding the 44th President of the United States take the oath of office, I was struck by many things. But chief among them was the power of words. President's Obama's address to the nation was powerful, compelling and infused with imagery with the ability to galvanize an active mind around ideas: "we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united." The poet…
Jan 7, 2009
WINE ROCKS is a blog written by a wine industry insider. It has been around now since July of 2008. I like it a lot. Wine Rocks is not pretty to look at. It doesn't have a blogroll and there is no indication anywhere of who is writing beyond this notation: "I work in the wine industry and have been known to have an opinion or two." It's a shame the writer hasn't revealed their identity. I'm sure there is…