Here we go again! It’s time for the 2015 edition of the Most Interesting Wines of the Year. Yeah, it’s late, but given that this list is an indulgent exercise in subjective arbitrariness (or is that arbitrary subjectivity?), who cares?

A few teasers: the 2015 MIW list includes four dessert wines, is heavily dominated by Old World beauties, is technically a list of 11 wines instead of 10 (because we had a tie), and has an average bottle price at a whopping $157 (sorry)!

It’s a bit difficult for me to fully come to terms with this, but 2015 marks the eighth incarnation of this annual round-up. If you want to check out the MIW history, see the versions from 2014, 2013 (parts 1 & 2), 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 & 2008.

Since not a damned thing about how this list is inspired has changed since 2014, I quote last year’s preamble/background on how the wines were selected:

“These are not the “best” or “highest rated” wines, they are the wines I tasted which most stuck with me during the entire year, those that I felt offered the most geeky, thought-provoking experiences. Please note, these are not necessarily wines released during the year, they are releases that I tasted during the year. Also, I once again attempted to select only wines that you’d have at least some modicum of hope of obtaining.” I’ll only add that the final ranking is my own, and is totally subjective.

So, in the immortal words of Joseph II of Austria, “there it is.” Let’s get to it!…

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Normally for these year-in-review recaps, I start by going into some details about my life over the last twelve months.

F*ck that sh*t this time. I’m focused full steam ahead on the future, baby.

If you need a summary, 2015 was the year that I gifted myself my freedom. The results are much more positive than I’d expected: while far from being perfect, generally speaking my life is great. Most importantly, my kid is doing great. And what I do for a living is still, well, great (although, from here anything else would be a pretty serious letdown, unless I could finagle a paying gig as a hammock nap tester).

So this year I am skipping the detailed recap, and getting right to the good stuff (you’re welcome!).

Here are the top ten most popular 1WD articles published in 2015, as measured by visits (if I’m utilizing my website analytic skills correctly, that is… which is a seriously sizable if)…

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As we come to the close of 2014… well, I’m kind of in a weird place looking back on it. The year has had a lot of ups and downs for me, but I’m happy to write that the professional side of things has been almost exclusively UP for me in 2014.

But that has not come without some serious effort, and right now, I just can’t wait for the f*cking year to be over!

And so, I might be taking a bit of an extended break (a couple of weeks, I suspect) from posting here. We’ll see if I can actually stay away; I’m not promising anything!

Anyway…

This seems as good a time as any to take a quick gander back on 2014 here on 1WD, and see what articles you all decided were worth reading the most. In some cases (ok, several cases), I am somewhat shocked as to what pieces of content turned out to have the most views. You might be less surprised, but I’ll bet you’re stilling willing to give me crap  express your well-considered opinions on the merit of each of the articles listed below.

Here’s to another year together, folks!

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