Someone somewhere, at any hour of the day or evening, is expressing their thoughts on wine in a blog –the ubiquitous Web journal. Blogs provide a conversational, passionate, and unfiltered point of view. They can react to wine-related events faster than print media. You can keep tabs on dozens of wine blogs through Wine Blog Watch (wineblogwatch.arrr.net). Most wine blogs are full of ramblings and monotonous recitations about “wines I have tasted.” However, a select few stand out because of their quality and timely nature. These wine blogs represent the best and most diverse perspectives, from the obsessive wine enthusiast to the full-fledged professional.
The Wine Importer
Joe Dressner, a part-owner at Louis/Dressner Selections in the United States, is an American wine importer specializing in small producers. These are primarily French wines from well-known names such as Didier Barrouillet and Bernard Baudry. He publishes a blog that is one of the most humble on the Web when traveling worldwide for business. It is wise and direct, like in a blog post on the current state of wine tasting. “Wine should not be used for egomania or self-promotion. “All the great ‘tasters’ I’ve known can submerge their pride and truly understand what’s in the bottle.
Vinography
Alder Yarrow, a San Francisco-based high-tech consultant and wine enthusiast, runs Vinography — the Web’s largest and most comprehensive wine blog. He’s also obsessed with his “second career,” as many bloggers are. He says that he blogs instead of watching television. I believe telling stories about wine can help it escape the high-status realm where we only know its price. Vinography also includes Yarrow’s restaurant reviews. He raves, for example, about the salad with quince and duck, the ravioli, and yes, even the wine list at Quince, San Francisco. The site also includes links to articles from magazines, newspapers, and blogs.
Jamie Goode Blog
Jamie Goode is a Brit who writes for well-known English magazines about wine and runs Wine Anorak, a website that offers excellent articles on wine travel, winemakers, and wine tasting. His blog is where he writes more casually and gives a refreshingly honest account of the life of a professional winemaker. We’ve seen a massive increase in samples arriving at Goode…The problem is your focus on a skewed sample population–those wines that people are eager to sell.
Dr. Vino’s Blog
Dr. Vino, a.k.a. Tyler Colman, is a doctor. He wrote his dissertation at Northwestern University on the political economy in France and the United States wine industries. After two years of teaching political science, Tyler Colman settled down to wine writing and education full-time. His blog, which is part of Dr. Colman, intelligently explores the intersection between wine, politics, and business on his blog (a part of Dr. He recently explained in clear and compelling terms how the Costco case that the Seattle federal district courts heard could result in an even greater dismantling than the Supreme Court’s recent decision regarding interstate shipping of wine.
Veritas in Vino
Alice Feiring, the wine and travel writer for Time magazine, shares her opinions on her blog about everything from biodynamic wines to pairing wild ramps with red Burgundy. She writes in her mission statement: “I am looking for the Leontrovskys, Philip Roths and Chaucers of the wine world.” I want my wine to tell a story. “I want them to be natural, and I most importantly, like my friends, I would want them speak the truth, even if they disagree with me.
VinoCibo.com
Craig Camp, an ex-Italian-wine-importer, moved to Oregon recently to work at Anne Amie Vineyards. He maintains a blog that is the most comprehensive and informed on Italian wine. The blog contains tasting notes and valuable profiles on producers, including Fattoria Zerbina from Romagna. He also writes about restaurants, comparing Boccondivino in Milan to a museum and ending with the cheerful: “I love Art.
Vineyards and Wine Tasting in France
Bertrand Celce, a French photographer, travels along the wine routes in his country. He records his encounters with vignerons that he meets on the way through vivid photographs and a slightly stuttering English. Celce, for example, profiles Junko Arai, a Japanese importer of wine who has recently begun making wine in the Loire. He describes her efforts to obtain appellation status. Celce offers insight into everything from corks to the best Parisian wine bars.
