Welcome to the first English-language on-line wine resource created specifically for Intermediate wine lovers.
Hi. My name is Joe, and I am the Dude behind this one-person wine-writing outfit (hence the name); there’s no list of contributing editors, frequent guest authors, board of directors, or evil overlords – just little ol’ me. I am deeply, madly in love with wine (that makes keeping up with the tasting regimen a bit easier). That love drove me to create this website in 2007, when I noticed that no wine websites or wine books seemed to service what I was at that time – not a total newbie to wine, but not a card-carrying Sommelier, either – an Intermediate wine lover.
1WineDude.com was created to provide “edu-tainment” for Intermediate wine lovers everywhere (but wine lovers of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds and levels of knowledge are also welcome). 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!
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 a ton of money, memorize wine rating scores from people that you don’t know, and learn names that you can’t even spell let alone pronounce – in other words, there’s a “proper” way to do wine, and if you don’t follow it you will look like an uncultured idiot.
The problem is that they’re wrong. There is no “right” way. You don’t need to do any of those things to appreciate wine.
This website is trying, in its own small way, to help solve that problem.
Joe holds the Level 2 (Intermediate, with Distinction) and Level 3 (Advanced, with Merit) Certificates in Wine & Spirits from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) in England. He’s a member of the U.S.-based Society of Wine Educators, holding their Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) qualification. He also holds the Wine Location Specialist (WLS) qualification from the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) and the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto (IVDP), and is a member of the Wine Century Club (but that last one’s just for geeky bragging rights, really).
Joe is also the author of the books Wine Taster’s Guide: Drink and Learn with 30 Wine Tastings and Wine Taster’s Journal: Drink, Rate, Record, and Remember (both of which hit the #1 spot on Amazon’s Hot New Releases in the Wine Tasting category, and are now distributed by Simon and Schuster).
Awards & Mentions
“A great blog. Joe’s an original.” –Gary Vaynerchuk (Best-Selling Author)
“Joe Roberts… represents the new guard in online wine writing. He’s funny, likable and accessible with a nontraditional wine point-of-view and a palate that is garnering respect.” – Forbes.com
“…seamlessly combines his own unique voice with a rigorous and thorough understanding of wine, all explained in a pragmatic uncensored communication style.” – IntoWine.com
“Talented, eccentric and downright infamous… a wine blogger extraordinaire who makes tasting wine – and reading about tasting wine – relaxed, fun and entertaining.” – Critics Challenge International Wine Competition
“Consistently stunning writing.” – Deb Harkness, Best-selling author of A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night
“Roberts, who came to wine from the business world, understands two things most others don’t. His goal is to run a profitable business, not wax poetic, and his social media skills are masterful in a world where too many wine writers see social media as the enemy.” – Meiningers International
“Joe has been the ‘everyman’ wine writer and next in line to take over speaking to the average consumer since the departure of Gary Vaynerchuk.” – Vintank’s “Most Important Wine Bloggers in the US”
“Joe Roberts has a blog that I love… What I particularly admire about Joe is the range of wine styles and prices he covers.” – Master of Wine Tim Hanni
“A great writer… 1WineDude is my favorite wine blog.” – Mark Oldman, award-winning author, & host of PBS’s series The Winemakers.
“A Robin Hood of sorts in the exclusive world of vineyards and corkings and oaky undertones.” – The Urban Grocer
“Quick-witted and charming, Joe Roberts offers candid takes on wine news tidbits, impromptu tasting tweets and entertaining bottle reviews.” – Imbibe Magazine
“Hip, occasionally irreverent, friendly, and easily digestible wine commentary and recommendations.” – The New Connoisseurs’ Guidebook to California Wine & Wineries
“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
“Joe is bringing the fun back into wines. This is a great place for any burgeoning wine connoisseur (even if you don’t want to call yourself that)” – Drink Me Magazine
“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
“A great writer. One of the best wine bloggers.” – Steve Heimoff (Wine Enthusiast)
“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
“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 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.” – VeryBestSites.com’s Best Wine Review Sites
“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
“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, The 2009 Best of Wine Online Awards
“Joe Roberts, for many in the wine blogging world, is simply 1WineDude. He writes with comedic flair and intimacy. 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
“…there are new generations of wine heroes and evangelists like Gary Vaynerchuk, Joe Roberts, Jeff Lefevere, Alder Yarrow… that millions of consumers and professionals alike tune into every day.” – Huffington Post
“It’s amazing what one person can do in the proliferation of information with regards to one of the most popular and arguably most culturally significant drinks in the world, and yet this is what 1winedude.com has done for wine. It’s an excellent resource with plenty of insightful things to say.” – Amsterdam Diary
“Graduated beyond wine 101? Three pieces of good news for you: everything is more interesting from here, it’s more about enjoyment than dissection (i.e., to really “learn” about this stuff, you have to swallow more than you spit) AND there’s a wine blog [1WineDude] just for you.” – The Buzz Bin
“Expressive, socially adept. Aging well, though occasionally cloying. Gary who?” – Stark Insider’s Best Wine Blogs 2013
“His embrace of wine is all encompassing, his attitude open and adventurous, and his writing candid, though in the hyper-patois of [someone] who has had one Red Bull too many.” – The Sacramento Bee
Joe has contributed to and/or been quoted in the L.A. Times, New York Times, CNBC.com, Washington Post, Mutineer Magazine, Publix® Grape Magazine, Palate Press, Mint.com, Napa Valley Wine Academy, Parade, Thrillist.com, Answers.com, Wines.com, SOMM Journal, The Guardian UK, Table Matters, Wine Nabber, Wine4.Me, Nomad Editions’ Uncorked and Chester County Cuisine & Nightlife. His unique wine mini-reviews have been used in popular mobile wine applications such as Sipp, Hello Vino, TedRec and Pocket Wine Assistant. Joe’s accessible on-camera video work has also been featured in programs such as the Cameron Hughes Wine Tasting Panel, the FurmintUSA initiative, and Piedmont’s My Name Is Barbera effort.
Joe has also been a judge in several wine competitions (such as Critics Challenge, San Francisco International, Lake County Wine Awards, Colorado Governor’s Cup, California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition, Wines of Portugal Challenge, Grenaches du Monde, and the Argentina Wine Awards), wine writing competitions, and award programs (such as the Georges Duboeuf Wine Book of the Year Award), and previously authored the wine column Wined Down for Playboy.com. Joe has also been a speaker and fellowship recipient at the prestigious Symposium for Professional Wine Writers in Napa, California. For several years, Joe authored the quiz questions for LocalWineEvents.com newsletter, reaching hundreds of thousands of wine consumers every month.
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. Every week, he strives to create the kind of content he wished had been readily available when he first was bitten by the wine-obsession bug (it doesn’t leave a welt, but its effects are pretty much incurable).
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 daughters, Lorelai and Gianna, and his better half (Shannon). When not spending his time writing bio pages in the third person, Joe plays bass guitar and digeridoo for acclaimed singer/songwriter Steve Liberace.
Here’s the skinny on some questions that our PR department (a.k.a. Joe, on Saturdays) frequently gets asked: