Yes, I am actually going there.

No, I don’t expect everyone to like it, which is why I am asking you what you think about it.  Here’s the skinny:

What It Is

• A grade I would give any wine reviewed on 1WineDude.com (and on the mini-wine review twitter feed).
• The grade would follow the ‘report card’ format: highest compliment is an “A+” and lowest is an “F” (maybe an “F-“ if the wine really, really, really sucks donkey bong).

What It Ain’t

• It is NOT a numerical rating system (we know where I stand on that stuff, right?).  For those of you who like to ‘post scan’ and then comment: Please do NOT comment on how I am a sellout because I’m giving a wine a number.  Because I’m not giving it a number.  Actually, why am I writing that since you post-scanners aren’t reading it.  Whatever.
• It does NOT mean a change to how I cover wines on the blog. Same approach (detailed coverage, a story about and behind the wine, not just a tasting impression), just add the grade to the end of it.

Why The F— I Am Doing This

• I know that there are many wine-lovin’ people out there who probably don’t take a lot of stock in a numerical score, but still want a quick way to take it all in when it comes to a wine’s value for money, it’s overall sensory impressions, it’s raison de’tre (is that raisin de’tre for Amarone? sorry, couldn’t help myself).  I’m just not sure if those folks are reading this blog.  Hence the poll below.

Feel free to give me your thoughts on this, and comment away if you love it or hate it.  I’m a big boy – I can take it.

Cheers!

It’s almost 2010, and you know what that means.

It means we need to get in at least one cheesy end-of-year-summary post!

What I decided to do was to completely forgo my personal favorite 1WineDude.com articles of the past year, and instead present the articles form 2009 that garnered the most reaction by YOU, the readers, since you’re what makes the 1WineDude.com wheel go ‘round.  The logical way was to pull together the most-commented posts from 2009, which I present below for your recap-ing pleasure.

As for the most-viewed posts, I figured I didn’t have a great way to measure that for the full year, having moved over to a new blogging platform and a new analytics platform in 2009. And more importantly, I didn’t think that measure would be as interesting as seeing which articles you actually felt were worth the contribution of your opinions – now that measure seemed like fun to me.

What did I learn from pulling this list together?

You people seem to love controversy!

9 out of the top 10 most commented posts of 2009 cover controversial topics – from blogger-bashing by wine media big-wigs, to hot topics in the wine-writing/blogging, wine consumption, and wine appreciation, you folks like to state your opinions… and I love ya for it!…

Read the rest of this stuff »

Earlier this week, the talented writer Jeff Lefevere (I’ll stop short of calling him “stunningly handsome”) – mastermind behind the excellent blog GoodGrape.com and contributor to other wine writing fare such as Mutineer Magazine – published his 2009 Best of Wine Online Awards Pt. I.

Jeff named 1WineDude.com Best Wine Blog in the Consumer category for 2009, here’s what he had to say about our little virtual space in the wine blog-o-world:

“Joe Roberts at 1WineDude (http://www.1winedude.com).  I pay close attention to traffic for top wine blogs and Joe has ascended into the very upper echelon in 2009.  Traffic is one thing, but the really impressive thing about Joe’s blog is he has grown his site free of agenda and with an engagement-oriented, populace-style approach that isn’t replicated by other top bloggers. Plus, he does frequently laugh out loud funny posts. Named top wine blog by FoodBuzz and mentioned in Forbes this year, Joe is one to watch.”

Thanks, bro!  I’ve got no idea what he’s on about regarding the mention by Forbes (I can confirm that I am not yet among the 500 richest men in the world).

I’m touched and humbled to be part of the lineup that Jeff has mentioned for his 2009 nods, the list is chock full of awesome online wine writing and all of his mentions are well worth your time (if you’re not already a frequent reader of the bloggers he mentions).  The nodto 1WineDude.com is particularly fulfilling for me, because Jeff possesses a keen mind and an even keener pen, and his award-winning blog writing has been an inspiration for me for the last few years.  I just hope that I can continue to fool smart people like Jeff… live up to the high expectations that folks like Jeff have for little blogs like mine!

Jeff has added a Part II as well, in which he goes beyond the wine blog-o-world to highlight his take on other bests in the wine industry at large for 2009.  It’s an even more compelling list than Part I, and includes Jeff’s best wine / winery of the year – check it out.

Cheers!

A hearty shout-out to Randy and Kaz, the hosts of the excellent KVSY radio program and on-line podcast Wine Biz Radio, were very kind in mentioning and discussing my recent post on how to better appreciate wine despite the light-speed pace of how we consumers tend to evaluate our purchases these days.  The WBR podcast also includes an in-studio interview with August Sebastiani, and a phone interview with uber-social media man Gary Vaynerchuk to discuss his best-seller book Crush It – so it’s worth a listen even if you have no interest in what they they had to say about my recent article (of course, if you have no interest in what they had to say about my recent article then I’d seriously question why you’re spending any time reading this article, but hey, it’s your time…).

The podcast is titled Leaving The Nest, in reference to the Sebastiani boys going out on their on in terms of their wine brands, but I found it eerily suitable to the short discussion that Kaz and Randy had about my post.  Randy called it “the best wine blog post ever” – a bit too superlative, even for me, but I was honored and touched by the sentiment.  Especially considering that I almost didn’t run the article because I felt I didn’t quite catch the vibe and continuity in it that I was aiming for – so it almost became a throwaway piece. 

Leaving The Nest – that really sums up how I feel after publishing the posts on the virtual pages of 1WineDude.com, because I never really know where the conversation is going to lead after an article has gone live.  And I love that.  I love that I could never, ever predict a reaction like Randy’s, or the types of challenges, stories, anecdotes, questions, and insights that I consistently read from the comments made by 1WineDude readers.  By people like YOU.

Honestly, it’s the dialog with you that keeps me going on this blog. That and the opportunity to drink nice wine while outlaying the smallest amount of cash possible.

I mean, I try to respond to as many comments as I can, because the main difference between wine blogging and printed wine media is the fact that no article is “finished” when it’s posted on a blog – it’s a discussion, and evolution in which you take part and in which your role is essential to teasing out the most interesting aspects.  It’s an aspect that is impossible in printed media, it’s what makes blogging unique, and it turns an otherwise “finished” statement into a jazz composition – I lay out the framework, and you guys and gals add the solos, the tempo and key changes; YOU are the ones who really make it come alive.

So, whenever you get the chance this week, when you’re sipping some wine with dinner or are out at a bar with friends, let’s raise a glass together – Here’s to the opportunity to continue to make kick-ass, beautiful wine blogging music with you for a long time to come!

THANKS!