Jul 14, 2009
I read recently that the most popular dog breed in France is the Poodle. Here in the U.S. it is the Labrador Retriever. This difference alone isn't quite enough to force Americans to be suspicious of the French. But it makes you think. We (wine lovers) should also be forced to think about the French today, on the day of their national celebration of their Republic: Bastille Day. There's no denying that the American wine industry in its modern form…
Jul 12, 2009
The relationship between wine, this blog and penis enlargement seems to be growing. (And I suspect the previous sentence will only increase the size and frequency of comments on this blog about the “devices that gain 1-3 inches in your penis size”.) Now, as everyone knows, size doesn’t matter, whether we are talking about penises or wine. This is a fact despite all the growth in concern over penis size expressed on a number of blogs and the tendency over…
Jul 2, 2009
The best source of independent, web-only wine writing will no longer be free beginning July 6th. That's right, Appellation America recently and quietly announced it would be transitioning to a subscription format on that date. Though this move will significantly reduce its readership, it undoubtedly will have a much more active and dedicated readership and one that demonstrates real appreciation for outstanding content. And yet the bottom line is that the work of Appellation America, including its features, tastings and…
Jun 30, 2009
One of the greatest joys of working in wine public relations has been the remarkably collegial, helpful and generally encouraging attitude of my peers. In the 20 some odd years I've worked in this area of the wine industry I can't recall a single instance in which I was disappointed with my personal interaction with other wine PR folks. And I can't count the number of times other PR people have helped me in significant ways. Still, there is something…
Jun 29, 2009
I count 2004 as the birth year of wine blogs. Given that only slightly arbitrary date, the wine industry finds itself with only five years under it's belt of dealing with this somewhat chaotic, but impactful form of communication. And on the eve of the second North American Wine Bloggers Conference I have some questions and thoughts about wine blogs. 1. HAS OR WILL THE WINE BLOG TAKE DOWN PRINT MEDIA AS THE PRIMARY FORM OF WINE INFORMATION FOR CONSUMERS…