2020 is barely a week old, but as I’m calendaring the year’s prompts for #ItalianFWT, #WinePW, #Winophiles, winemaker lunches and trade tastings in LA as well as other activities like the Wine Media Conference in Oregon and wine travel to Europe and South America, I’m reflecting on what we accomplished here on Wine Predator in 2019– and trying to decide what to submit for the Born Digital Awards (see what articles I submitted to the Millesima contest here).

I’m not really sure how we found the time, but Sue and I participated in EVERY SINGLE monthly prompt for Italian Food Wine Travel aka #ItalianFWT, Wine Pairing Weekend aka #WinePW, and the French Winophiles #Winophiles.

We joined wine bloggers and influencers from around the world but mostly from the US as we tasted and wrote about wines together following prompts that the group developed and organized sometimes with samples, and sometimes not.

Here on Wine Predator, that means 36 posts altogether at 15-20k words each! That’s the word count of a good sized book!

For almost every single article, I researched the region, the wine, the winery, and Sue and I both researched the cuisine to come up with menus and pairing ideas. I learned a lot and some of the menus really challenged Sue as a chef.

Almost every meal was on a week night after work meaning that if WE can do these meal after work, so can you!

And we’re planning on doing the same in 2020!

• If you’re looking to learn about wine, this is a great place to start.
• If you’re looking for ideas for how to pair wines from around the world, this is a great place to start.
• f you’re looking to push the envelope in 2020, checking out what we did in 2019 is a great place to start OR follow along with us in 2019!
• I will update this post as the prompts morph over the course of the year AND to add the links to my articles!

This is what we did in 2019 for #ItalianFWT on the first Saturday of the month:

• January: Camilla M. Mann hosts “Italian Wines for Cold Winter Nights” with our contribution
  “4 Montepulciano Paired with Osso Bucco Warms Up Winter Italian Style plus #ItalianWFT plans for 2019”
• February: Jeff Burrows hosts “Umbria, with a focus on Sagrantino”– our post–
  “Get to Know Sagrantino #ItalianFWT”
• March: I hosted a Focus on Sustainable Agricultural Practices in Italy
  “La Maliosa Biodynamic Procanico and a Pasta Bar with Santa Barbara Uni and Mussels #ItalianFWT #WomensHistoryMonth”
• April: Jason Or Jill Barth hosts “Island Wines of Italy” and we contributed
  “Island Wines of Italy: 3 from Sicily paired with pizza #ItalianFWT”
• May: Lynn Gowdy Marche and the Pecorino grape
  “Pairing Pecorino d’Abuzzo from Ferzo: Lemon Caper Shrimp #ItalianFWT”
• June: Katarina Andersson hosts “Lambrusco” and we have
  “Bugno Martino’s Organic Lambrusco Defy Expectations #ItalianFWT”
• July: Camilla M. Mann hosts “Prosecco” and we have
  3 Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG and Calamari with Lemon Caper Sauce #ItalianFWT
• August: Kevin Gagnon hosts “Northeastern Italy” and we did
  “Celebrating Summer with 4 Wines from the NE Mountains of Italy with 4 Vegetarian Courses #ItalianFWT”
• September – Jennifer Gentile Martin hosts “Passito Wines” and we offered
  “Let Pasqua Put a Little Love in Your Life Appassimento Style #ItalianFWT”
• October – David Crowley hosts “Abruzzo” with our contribution
  “Beautiful Abruzzo: 3 Montepulciano and 1 Trebbiano with simple Italian cuisine #ItalianFWT”
• November: Wendy Klik hosts “Chianti” and we have
  “Tasting Tuscany: Tuna, Beans, EVOO, Chianti, Vermentino #ItalianFWT”
• December: Susannah Gold hosts “Lesser Known Wine Regions of Italy” and we offer up
  “3 Surprising Sparklers from Emilia-Romagna’s Terramossa”

In 2020 for #ItalianFWT, we plan to:

• January: Introduce a Friend to Italian Wine
  Post “4 to try in 2020: Italy’s Franciacorta, Friuli, Chianti, Mt Etna”
  hosted by Jeff Burrows
• February: Cooperatives in Italy (help! we need wine!)
  hosted by Kevin Gagnon
• March: Women in the Italian Wine Industry (very cool!)
  hosted by Pinny Tam
• April: Brachetto d’Acqui
  hosted by Cindy Lowe Rynning
• May: Wines of Campania
  hosted by Susannah Gold
• June: Sangiovese Around Italy
  hosted by Wendy Klik
• July: TBA
• August: Sagra degli Spaghetti all’Amatriciana (I have no idea about this one either!)
  hosted by Camilla M. Mann
• September: Sustainability and Climate Change
  hosted by Katarina Andersson
• October: Volcanic Wines (super excited about this one!)
  hosted by Jennifer Gentile Martin
• November: Primitivo: Godfather of Zinfandel
  hosted by us!
• December: Sparkling Wines of Italy for the Holidays
  hosted by us!

This is what we did in 2019 for #WinePW:

• January– Argentina
  post: Go Organic 2019: Argentina’s Santa Julia, Domaine Bousquet 
• February– Chile & Uruguay
  post: Uruguay Influenced by Immigrants plus 7 fun facts 
• March– Cab Franc Around the World
  post: Lamb Stew Paired with Cabernet Franc Created by Couples 
• April– Biodynamic wines of the world – I hosted and posted 3x including this post
• May–  Biodynamic Oregon wines
  post: Our land is our life and our life is our wine: Biodynamic Cooper Mountain Pinot 
  
• June– South Africa
  post: 3 Summer Wines from South Africa Shine for #CheninBlancDay #RoseDay #WinePW
  
• July– BBQ & Rioja
  post: # Rioja for Tempraillo Day 
  
• August — New Zealand
  post:NZ Sauvignon Blanc with zesty arugula kale pesto pizza 
  
• September — Brazil
  post: When A Poet Pairs Poetica: Brazilian Sparking Rose 
  
• October —
  #MerlotMe post: CA vs France With Squash Chard and Bow Tie Pasta
  
• November– Texas wines
  post: Don’t Mess with Texas: Two Reds from Bending Branch Winery Paired with Burgers
  
• December– Pet Nat
  post: 2 Biodynamic Loire Pet Nats: Free Mousse and Bulle Nature 

And in 2020 for #WinePW the calendar is a bit rough but here goes:

• Jan — Godforsaken Grapes with host Camilla M. Mann
• Feb — Savoie with host Jill Barth
• March– Cookbook theme
• April – Ancient World Pairings (this was actually my idea but it sure sounds weird)
• May – Orange Wine (fun!)
• June – Finger Lakes Linda Whipple
• July – Moldova Jeff Burrows
• August – Vinho Verde
• Sept- Harvest theme and we’re hosting
• Oct – #MerlotMe month Jeff
• Nov — Under the radar US regions 
• Dec – Cab Franc around the world

This is what we did for French #Winophiles:

• January 19, 2019: Biodynamic Wines of France
  Host: Gwendolyn Alley, Wine Predator
  Invite  Post: Winophiles Go Biodynamic 
  Preview Post: Winophiles Investigate Biodynamic Wines of France
  Post: Still and Sparkling: Two Biodynamic Wines from Alsace 
• February 16, 2019: Provence
  Host: Wendy Klik, A Day In The Life On The Farm
  Post: With Love from Provence: A Biodynamic Red and a Kosher Rose with Steak, Quiche, Salad
• March 16, 2019: Women of Champagne
  Host: Julia Coney, Julia Coney
  Post: Wonderful Women of Champagne and Halibut 3 Ways
• April 20, 2019: Chablis
  Host: Liz Barrett, What’s In That Bottle?
  Post: Chablis is … Chardonnay? Comparing 2 from France, 1 from CA Paired with Seafood Lasagna 
• May 18, 2019: Gérard Betrand Wines Languedoc- Roussillion
  Host: L.M. Archer, L.M. Archer
  Post: Bertrand’s Biodynamic Cigalus Paired with French Sausage
• June 15, 2019: French Cheese & Wine
  Host: Martin Redmond, ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
  Post: Did Someone Say French Wine and Grilled Cheese? 
• July 20, 2019: Loire
  Post: Off to Loire: Saumur-Champigny and Tritip Summer Salad 
• August 17, 2019: French Basque Country
  Host: Lynn Gowdy, Savor the Harvest
  Post: Madirin: French Basque Wine of Pyrenees with Pinxtos 
• September 21, 2019: Corsica
  Host: Payal Vora, Keep the Peas
  Post: Corsica Rose with Salmon Crespelle and Currant Clafoutis 
• October 19, 2019: Cahors
  Host: Nicole Ruiz Hudson, Somm’s Table
  Post: Organic Chateau du Cedre Malbec with French Charcouterie 
• November 16, 2019: Rasteau with Thanksgiving
  Host: Michelle Williams, Rockin Red Blog
  Post: Go Grenache Go Rasteau: 4 Paired with Lamb Daube
• December 21, 2019: Vouvray
  Host: Jeff Burrows, FoodWineClick
  Post: Careme  Organic Vouvray and Lunch at Chateau du Pray

What the French Winophiles plan to do in 2020:

• January: Newcomer’s Guide to French Wine
  with Jeff Burrows of Food Wine Click
• February: Indigenous French Grapes / Godforsaken Grapes
  with Camilla M. Mann of Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• March: Crémant de Bordeaux / Sparkling wine from Bordeaux
  with Pinny Tam of Chinese Food and Wine Pairings
• April: Northern Rhone
  with Rupal Desai Shankar the Syrah Queen
• May: Cru Beaujolais
  with Cindy Lowe Rynning of Grape Experiences
• June: “Unexpected Pleasures in Champagne– Still wines, biodynamic, or unusual grapes”
  with us!
• July: White Wines of Roussillon
  with Lynn Gowdy of Savor the Harvest
• August: TBA
  with Jill Barth
• September: Cotes du Rhone
  with Michelle Williams of Rockin Red Blog
• October: Jura
  with David Crowley of Cooking Chat
• November: TBA
  with Linda Whipple 
• December: Burgundian-tied Wines of Oregon (or Champagne)
  with LM Archer of LM Archer.

So what will I submit for the Born Digital Awards contest?

Categories:

BEST EDITORIAL WINE WRITING

BEST TOURISM CONTENT WITH A FOCUS ON WINE – TEXT OR VIDEO

BEST WINE AND FOOD CONTENT – TEXT OR VIDEO

BEST INTERVIEW – TEXT, VIDEO OR PODCAST

BEST VISUAL STORYTELLING – PHOTO, VIDEO OR IMAGE

I wonder if they include captions? If so I’d submit this photo essay.

They will choose the winner of :

SUSTAINABILITY AWARD

Plus there’s the–

INNOVATION AWARD BY VINVENTIONS

I’m still debating! Wish me luck!