by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On
The blog is off today, but will be be back tomorrow with the monthly mini-reviews. Until then, enjoy the holiday and this video, courtesy of Bolitochrome at You Tube — another argument for screw caps:
by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On
Frankly, the Wine Curmudgeon couldn’t decide who should win the bottle of Tormaresca Neprica, part of the blog’s birthday celebration. So there are two winners — Ryan, for his inspired poetry, and Emily, who managed to combine wine, being a graduate student, and grading papers in the same answer.
Ryan, you didn’t leave an email address, so you’ll have to email me so I can get your contact information.
Thanks to everyone who entered. One reason why I enjoy doing this is because the readers and visitors make it so much fun.
by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On
The phone call two years ago caught me completely by surprise. The Star-Telegram newspaper in Fort Worth, where I had written a weekly wine column called The Wine Curmudgeon, was cutting back. My four articles a month would become one or two, and there was no guarantee of even that.
In other words, I had become a wine writer without a place to write.
I was worried. How was I going to continue writing about wine? My world view, shaped by 20-some years in the newspaper business and freelancing for newspapers and magazines, said writers needed to be published by companies that had printing presses, offices, and editors.
My world view, of course, was quite wrong. The world doesn't work that way anymore, and what I thought was a move in desperation turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to my wine writing career. That was starting this blog, and my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner.
My wine writing has flourished on-line in a way it never could have if I had stuck to the print side of the business. My work is better known, my audience is wider, and I can write about things that are important but that wouldn't necessarily appeal to newspaper editors. What this means, both to wine writing and to wine drinkers, after the jump:
by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On
As part of the Wine Curmudgeon's birthday celebration,
you can win a bottle of Tormaresca Neprica, the blog's most popular wine. Just leave a comment on the original post detailing why you
like the Neprica, and the best answer, as determined by the Wine Curmudgeon,
gets a bottle and a cork screw to open it with.
by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On
Today, the numbers — how many of you visit, what your favorite posts are, and the like. Tomorrow, why we're here and how well it has turned out, despite the misgivings of a fellow who started in this business when we used typewriters and carbon paper.
In the past 12 months, the number of visitors who stop by each month has increased 49 percent (and the agency that supplies the ads deposited $50 in my business account this summer). Since we started in November 2007, the monthly visitor count has increased more than tenfold.
For which I am very, very grateful. There is no reason to do this unless people read the blog, and you do. So what do you read when you visit? The top 10, after the jump:
by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On
This week marks the blog's second anniversary, which has grown so quickly over the past couple of years that the Wine Curmudgeon sometimes wonders how it has happened.
But I appreciate the growth, nevertheless. Which means that my posts on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be birthday-related, which means prizes and gifts. Make sure to read each day to find out what you have to do to win a Wine Curmudgeon gift pack.
On Wednesday, I'll review the current release of Tormaresca Neprica, which has been your favorite wine (based on the number of people who have read the review).
Thursday and Friday will feature the list of the best-read posts from the past two years, plus some thoughts on where we have been and where we are going.
by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On
There are two jobs in the wine business that the Wine Curmudgeon does not want to do. One is making wine, which is way too complicated. The other is doing wine public relations, since it means that I would have to deal with people like myself.
I mention this because the recession has not been kind to wine PR people, who are being asked to market wines that no one is buying, and they're being asked to do it by clients who don't always understand about the recession. As noted, I have seen an increase this summer and fall in cold calls from PR people, an excess of samples, and emails about wines and wineries that never would have contacted me in the past.
And the sad thing is that most of this extra activity hasn't helped. Most of the time, I'm no more inclined to write about their wine than I was before all the extra effort. I suppose, somewhere, there is someone who thinks $40 sparkling wine is affordable. But I don't, and it's a waste of time to try and convince me otherwise.
The emails and phone calls have increased over the past three or four weeks, as the holidays have pushed the PR world into hyper mode. But the problem is that these pitches, mostly for the holidays, haven't been very good. So, as a service to my friends who do this for a living, a few thoughts after the jump about what you can do to improve your efforts.
