About (Awards & Stuff)

Hi. My name is Joe, and I write this blog. Some people like it, to my continued surprise and gratitude. For now, it’s a one-person outfit (hence the name). I am deeply, madly in love with wine. That love drove me to create this website, in the hopes that it would provide “edu-tainment” for Intermediate wine lovers – but wine lovers of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds and levels of knowledge are welcome here. You can read more about all of that below. If you’re a PR or media type there’s some info for you at the bottom of the page. Whoever you are, I’m glad that you’re here!

The story behind the dude.

There’s a big problem with the wine world today. Most of the wine world is trying to tell you that in order to appreciate wine, you need to spend tons of money, memorize wine rating scores, and learn names that you can’t even spell let alone pronounce – otherwise, you will look like a total uncultured idiot.

The problem is that they’re wrong. You don’t need to do any of those things to appreciate wine.

This award-winning blog is trying to help solve that problem.

Author Joe Roberts, CSW knows how to solve this problem, because he did it himself. Joe used to be a total wine dunce. He is now a wine consultant and musician in the greater Philadelphia area.

Joe holds both the Level 2 (Intermediate, with Distinction) and Level 3 (Advanced, with Merit) Certificates in Wine & Spirits from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) based in England. He is also a member of the U.S.-based Society of Wine Educators, holding their Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) qualification, and belongs to the Wine Century Club. He more-or-less knows his wine stuff.

Praise for 1WineDude:

Winner: Best Overall Wine Blog – 2010 Wine Blog Awards
Winner: Best Wine Blog – 2009 Foodbuzz.com Blog Awards
Top 10 Wine Blogs 2009 - PostRank.com
Top 3 Wine Blogs – Wine Enthusiast
Foodista.com Featured Wine Blog
Top 100 Food / Living Blogs – Technorati
Top 100 Wine Blogs - alawine.com
Top 100 Wine Tweeters - alawine.com
Top Wine Blogs -wikio.com

“He pulls no punches, but he knows his subject, has enough self-deprecating humor to leaven the barbs and is quickly becoming an unofficial spokesman for the millennial blogger community. Always entertaining, often provocative.” - Seattle Times (Wine Adviser: Paul Gregutt’s top picks for navigating the sea of wine on the Web)

“Quick-witted and charming, Joe Roberts offers candid takes on wine news tidbits, impromptu tasting tweets and entertaining bottle reviews.” – Imbibe Magazine’s Cellar Chat: 10 wine blogs worth a click

“We love wine (really, who doesn’t?). We’ve been to Napa, and we can tell a Merlot from a Cab. But still, like so many others, it still intimidates the Shiraz out of us. That’s why we love 1WineDude.” – SacBee.com

“Under best blog by an emerging writer, I would cite both 1WINEDUDE and GOOD GRAPE, with the nod going to Dude because his range and confidence just ooze with ‘look at me, I am on my way’.” – Charles Olken (Connoisseurs’ Guide to California Wine)

“A great writer. One of the best wine bloggers.” – Steve Heimoff (Wine Enthusiast)

“A great blog.” - Gary Vaynerchuk (Best-Selling Author & Founder of WineLibrary.TV)

“1WineDude is one of those blogs you want to check every day, because the day that you miss will be the day Roberts drops the kind of blog that can draw 100+ comments creating a digital melee of wit and wisdom.” – Mutineer Magazine’s “Blogs You Should Be Reading”

“Joe Roberts is smart, often clever, funny, unusually insightful, and always interesting to read.” – TwiTip.com’s “THE Must-Follow Wine People on Twitter”

“Joe Roberts is witty, smart and one of the most interesting wine writers in the industry. More importantly though, he’s funny.” – The Buzz Bin

“Joe Roberts is serious about wine, but he doesn’t expect you to be. He wants you to appreciate wine, but he doesn’t want you to have to pass a test about it. He has traveled the world AND done the research so that you don’t have to, and as a result he has created an award-winning blog. Joe writes wine reviews, but also talks about the wine industry and basically educates his reader on the world of wine. He also plays the digeridoo, which is SO COOL.” – VeryBestSites.com’s Best Wine Review Sites

“…God-awful blog…” – Wine Spectator Forums

“Consistently stunning writing.” – Dr. Deb Harkness (American Wine Blog Award-Winner: Good Wine Under $20)

“Joe helps to demystify the topic of wine through his… lucid, accessible style of writing.” – Hello Vino

“Joe possesses that quality that sets apart the best wine bloggers: A unique voice teamed with an analytical mind, and he’s not afraid to use it.” – Tom Wark, Fermentation

“Sure goes down easy with a cup of coffee in the morning!” – Matt Crafton, Chateau Montelana

“Writes every post as if he is doing a raucous stand-up comedy routine while sprinting on a treadmill. 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.“ – Jeff Lefevere (American Wine Blog Award-Winner: GoodGrape.com), The 2009 Best of Wine Online Awards

“Provides wonderful wine education information, designed for those at all levels of wine knowledge, in a very entertaining manner – and more importantly, an unassuming manner.” – Sean Minor (Sean Minor Wines)

“OUTSTANDING!! The rocking, laid back attitude is a MUST for this biz.” - Craig Drollett (founder of Twitter Taste Live!)

“An A+ wine blog.” – WCDish.com

“Joe Roberts, for many in the wine blogging world, is simply 1WineDude. He writes with comedic flair and intimacy. He reviews wines and wine trends, then makes us feel as though we know exactly what he means. His posts come with genuine wit and we don’t come away from his writing feeling adorned with polite, formal bullsh*t.” – Sacre Bleu Wine

“1WineDude is a perennial presence in the wine world and someone who always has something interesting to say. He will always be a compelling read.” – RJ’s Wine Blog

Joe has toured the globe (including Alsace, the Rheingau, Pfalz, Rheinhessen, Mosel, Hungary, upstate New York, Long Island, Napa/Sonoma, Oregon/Washington, Canada’s Niagara Peninsula, Greece, and South Africa, to name a few) in search of new wine experiences. His writing has been featured in CNBC.com, Mutineer Magazine, Publix® Grape Magazine, Palate Press, and Chester County Cuisine & Nightlife; his reviews appear in popular iPhone and PDA wine applications such as Hello Vino and Pocket Wine Assistant.

Why does Joe write this blog? To help you to get to know wine better – how it’s made, how the industry works, and most importantly how to get the most enjoyment out of wine that you can.

Show the Dude a sacred wine cow, and he’ll turn it into a roast, pair it with an obscure Italian red, and hopefully teach you a little more about wine (and entertain you) along the way!

Joe lives in Pennsylvania with his wife Kerri and daughter Lorelai Kate. When not spending his time writing bio pages in the third person, Joe plays bass guitar and digeridoo for acclaimed singer/songwriter Steve Liberace.

For PR and Media Types
Please feel free to download the 1WineDude.com PR primer for advertising and totally out-of-date website traffic and reach/influence information.
Here’s the skinny on some questions that our PR department (a.k.a. Joe, on Saturdays) frequently gets asked:

Samples – Samples are accepted, but the right is reserved not to review them. Details behind this can be discussed by contacting Joe (contact info. is below). Please consider using environmentally-friendly packaging options if available. Joe doesn’t review every wine sent to him – he hopes to be able to do this in the future but for now it’s simply not possible. Note that samples received without information will not be reviewed.
Reviews - Joe reviews wine samples and wine-related products, but reserves the right to write actual views on those samples and products – positive or negative. The answer to the question “If Joe does review the wine(s) that we sent, when will he review them?” is “We don’t know.” Please do not contact Joe with questions on if/when he will review or cover a product. Please note that if you contact Joe asking why he hasn’t written about a wine or wine product, you will be guaranteeing that he never reviews it. Happy to discuss the details (contact info. is below).
Advertising – Wine-related advertising is accepted, however direct advertising for a particular wine brand or winery, without also including competitors and their products, is not accepted. Did we mention that the advertising should be wine-related? Happy to discuss your ideas for wine-related advertising on this wine-related wine blog (contact info. is below).
Press releases – If you do send them, can they at least be about wine, please? Contact info. is – you guessed it- below.