And I found this blog post from August where, voila, I discovered I wasn’t the only one who wanted to see Wine Blogging Wednesday revived.
Seems Tim Elliot was wondering the same thing and eight or so wine bloggers commented. Inqvine even suggested a theme: “Fungus Among-us” on botrytis wines.
“I would love to see WBW start up again,” Alleigh of A Glass after Work said in the comments. “It was a wonderful way to really become part of the wine blogging community. It was particularly interesting to see how other wine bloggers approached the same topic or the same wines. Inevitably, I learned something new. Now, as a more comfortable wine blogger, I think WBW would still a great way to meet new bloggers and taste new wines, but it always would be a chance to have further discussions about wine with other bloggers and not just my regular readers.”
So, I propose we get Wine Blogging Wednesday rolling again! I think we need to Continue reading →
This was what I was wondering this winter Wednesday night: whatever happened to Wine Blogging Wednesday?
Tonight I aim to find out and see what I could do to get the ball rolling again–while enjoying the wine of a fellow Wine Blogging Wednesday participant, Jeff Stai from Twisted Oak’s El Bloggo Torcido!
So here’s the back story:
When I started wine blogging back in 2007 (yes!), I poked around the web to find out who was doing what and discovered Wine Blogging Wednesday posts.
And then I was offered a job doing social media and other wine writing (a job which unfortunately went down with the economy in 2008–before I even started–for a company that is now in bankruptcy proceedings–ouch!) But I went to the first Wine Blogger’s Conference in 2008 anyway where I figured I’d find out the secret to participating in Wine Blogging Wednesday (and more, of course!)
On the last morning of the conference, I joined a table of men who were all 5-15 years younger than me. Why? Because they all had their laptops and smartphones out–AND they had bottles of wine on the table.
I didn’t know it then, but I was sitting with the Young Turks of wine blogging and social media: Continue reading →
How do you plan to celebrate Global Zinfandel Day, Friday November 19, 2010 from midnight to midnight?
All you have to do is open a bottle of zin and enjoy it! I tell you, I am such a zin fan I’m ready to pop a cork at midnight and begin tweeting! (After all, I cut my wine “teeth” working at Ridge!)
If you want to get social, use the #Zinfandel hashtag to connect with other zin lovers on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Gowalla, blogs, etc. You can also search the hash tag on social sites to see what others are drinking and read what they’re saying allowing you to connect and chat with other Zin drinkers around the world.
When I heard about the benefit concert for VCCool Saturday, August 28th at Zanzilla (2750 East Main Street, Ventura), I offered to contact Frei Brothers Winery to see whether they would donate wine for the event.
Why Frei Brothers? Because VCCool works on issues of sustainablity for people and planet, including bicycle safety, local food policy, natural building, sustainable community planning, and so much more. VCCOOL is a global warming or climate change activist group. They promote ways to reduce your carbon footprint and they organize events like the bike rodeo. VCCOOL Members live consciously and purchase food, wine and products that are produced sustainably. The VCCOOL fund raising concert will offer traditional, old time good time music and room to dance for $20. Members are making treats and there will be non-alcoholic drinks as well as wine pours for $5 each from Frei Brothers.
And so why Frei Brothers? Because at the Wine Blogger’s Conference 2009 in Santa Rosa CA, I tasted the Frei Brothers syrah (yum!) and learned about their pro-environment policies. For a rather large organization (200,000 cases), Frei is trying its best to be good to the land that the brothers have been responsible for for for over 100 years.
Frei Brothers is driven by an “overriding principle to conduct business in a manner that will protect and preserve the environment.” This includes exceeding government regulations and setting aside an acre of land for every one planted with vines to protect the natural environment in which indigenous animals live. This blog post by Rob Bralow includes an interview with Chief Viticulturist Jim Collins discussing specifics. Not to mention that Frei makes great wine; just to make sure, I tested out a glass of the chardonnay last night–nice and balanced, it will be a pleaser today chilled down!
So enjoy Frei Brothers Reserve Wine while mingling with friends new and old, and getting down with the music of: The Jug or Nots (jug band), the Rachel Morris Little Big Band ( original works including “Earth Day” and “White Trash Boy”), and Mule Skynner (classic rock). The VCCool Benefit concert is held in yoga studio of Zan Ferris who graciously donated her gorgeous space for this event. This hidden oasis and the music too, can be found below Smart and Final off Main. Directions
Frei Brothers generously donated four cases (two syrah, one chardonnay, and one cabernet) so there will wine for an upcoming pro-arts and cycling event also Sept 3 at Art City. Thank You Frei Brothers, for doing right by the land and for your donation!
When Jo Diaz of Juicy Tales aka Wine Blog Org told me I was runner-up for her contest to win a trip to Portugal with her as the guest of Enoforum Wines, I felt great. Then when winner Sonadora aka Wanna Be Wino had to cancel at the last minute, within days, before I could even catch my breath from jumping around with excitement, I was on a plane to Portugal.
Although we had each attended the North American Wine Bloggers Conferences in Santa Rosa, Jo and I didn’t know each other. But once in Portugal, we came to know each other well. As we explored the castles and countryside, the wineries and the vineyards, she kept catching me and taking photographs of me in the craziest spots taking photographs or the view. She warned me that she was going to do a slide show blog post “Where’s Gwendolyn?” taken after the “Where’s Waldo?” books.
I didn’t know that she was going to feature my blog in her “Wine Blogs Worth Celebrating” and use that opportunity to present a video of her photos of me in Portugal!
Gwendolyn Alley, of Wine Predator and Art Predator, was my traveling companion to the European Wine Bloggers Conference and to visit Enoforum Wines in Portugal last fall. We shared nine days of our lives together… strangers in a strange land (only as it relates to the United States). She’s continued to reflect on our experiences. And, I don’t know anyone else who throws his or her entire body into taking photographs the way Gwendolyn does. She’s always writing about her passions of art and wine, and has a unique skill that I always enjoy.
Wow, huh! And I’m in great company: Jo’s list included
Joe (and Amy!) Power from Houston who I met on the WBC or Bust bus last month; they’re great generous people who write Another Wine Blog
At the Wine Blogger’s Conference last month in Walla Walla, Catavino (aka Ryan and Gabriella Opaz) invited me to sit for an interview with documentary film maker and photographer Zev Robinson. He’s doing a film on the Wine Bloggers Conferences with a focus on European WBC organizers Gabriella and Ryan Opaz and Catavino. They wanted me to discuss my experiences at the three North American Wine Bloggers Conferences as well as the European one.
So although I knew I might miss some of the final tasting of the conference, the one that paired 10 tidbits with various wines, we took that time for an interview where I spoke honestly and passionately. I compared the conferences I’d attended and discussed the wine blogging community in general. Some of what I had to say I knew when I said it might be controversial. I come to wine writing from a career in academia and journalism, and that shapes my perceptions and experiences. I come to wine blogging from being active in online poetry writing communities which obsessively debates similar topics: how to guide people to find the “real” deal, the wine writers or poets who really know something about the topic.
Watch the video to get my opinion on that controversial topic! This is just a teaser! He plans to do more shooting at the European Wine Bloggers Conference in Vienna in October where he’ll get some video with the always outspoken and provocative Ken Payton of the blog Reign of Terroir.
Anybody got a spare plane ticket to Europe by the way? I’d really like to go to Vienna to this year’s Wine Bloggers Conference there!
The. video above gives you a taste of what a Wine Bloggers Conference is like and why I am applying for a scholarship to attend this year’s conference in Walla Walla, Washington where the emphasis on tasting, tours, and education will be on Washington wines. As a Californian who lives near the Santa Barbara wine region, I have access to tasting and purchasing an abundance of excellent California wines. Being near LA, I am also invited to industry events and wine tastings and can learn about wines from other regions.
But there is nothing like a Wine Bloggers Conference to really get to know the wines of the region that is being showcased. In recent weeks, in order to learn more about Washington wines and to write about them in the hopes of winning a ride on the WBC-Or-Bust bus (see the badge on the side bar?), I’ve been trying to find and taste Washington wines and have come up woefully and surprisingly short. Trader Joe’s and Vons offer little in the way of Washington wines (they offer mostly the same ones!), and my favorite wine store, the Ventura Wine Company, carries mostly California wines with only a smattering of wines from other places, and very few from Washington. And I’m not one of those wine bloggers being bombarded with wine samples either!
Even a trip on my own to Washington wouldn’t provide me with anything close to what the Wine Bloggers Conference can do when it comes to tasting a large variety of Washington wines, getting to know the different regions and what they have to offer, meeting the wine makers, and touring the facilities.
Yesterday, in Part 1, I was musing about whatever happened to Wine Blogging Wednesday so I took my wondering self to the world wide web to see if anyone else was missing it.
When I heard about the benefit concert for VCCool Saturday, August 28th
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 