Jan 17, 2012
"How do you possibly post to you blog so frequently and where do you get your ideas on what to write about?" The query was submitted by a newish wine blogger who called me and wanted to get some advice. What he didn't know was that when he asked the question, I found myself, and still find myself, with a severe case of writers blog. The irony didn't sit well with me. The idea of writers block is pretty foreign…
Jan 16, 2012
“We are marrying the authority of print to the authenticity of experience.” This is how Diane Malloy, the new publisher of the venerable Ladies Home Journal, explained to the New York Times that publication's transformation to a magazine that will be primarily created with user/reader generated content. It got me wondering a few things. First, would wine lovers support a magazine primarily made up of reader/user-generated content and, second, when marrying the "authority of print" with the "authenticity of experience,…
Jan 13, 2012
Stop The Presses!!! Pull Back The Wagons!! Scientists report that drinking alcohol produces feelings of pleasure! Actually, the headline in the Sidney Morning Herald reporting on newly released findings of a study was: "Science Proves Alcohol is Fun". This headline isn't exactly accurate is it. A more accurate headline would be "Science Discovers Why Alcohol is fun". We all already knew that alcohol was "fun" and produced feelings of pleasure. But now we learn that upon drinking alcohol endorphins are…
Dec 20, 2011
I don't like the idea of taking issue with Jamie Goode. He's smarter than me. He's a better writer than me. And he's better looking than me. But on this issue of "Authentic Wine", the topic of his latest book, Jamie gets it wrong. In fact, it's the very premise of his and Sam Harrop's "Authentic Wine: Toward Natural and Sustainable Winemaking" that can't be justified. In their introduction they write: "Wine is now at a metaphorical fork in the…
Dec 19, 2011
Believe it or not, it's much more difficult to list the best wine gifts than it is the worst wine gifts. The worst ones stand out like bruised, battered and worn out soar thumbs. You can't miss them. But the best wine gifts is a subject that requires much more nuanced appraisals of the needs of wine consumers and the recipient. It's good to know, for example, just how much of a wine fiend the recipient is and just how…