I Need Your Help

It would seem I am at a bit of a crossroads.  I recently had a friend tell me she loved my wine blog, and I was so very grateful.  However, I feel it could be better, after all, always trying to improve on something is how we grow.  I have been consistently writing a wine blog every Saturday morning for almost 6 years.  Pretty well 48 wine blogs a year, as I don’t write them when I am travelling.  I made a promise about 3 years ago to always feature at least 1 new wine.  Now this might seem like a daunting task to some, but I was up for the challenge.  And I am lucky that I am involved with a lot of wine tastings, so I do sample a number of new wines each week.

Let me tell you why I got into writing a wine blog.  I am a certified Sommelier, having received my designation in April of this year.  It took me 5 years, but mainly because they only offer each of the 8 modules once a year and if I missed it for one year, I had to wait a full year to take it again.  My very last one, I had to wait 2 years.  So you can become a Sommelier in 3 years.  It’s pretty well non-stop for 3 years, with course after course, but it was something I wanted to finish.  I can’t tell you how much I learned in those 5 years.  Years earlier I had visited the Napa Valley in California, and my big question was ‘What makes a wine good’?  And the response I received the most was ‘A wine that you like’.  And I found the answer frustrating, but as I was learning about wine, I realized it is the only correct answer.  If you like it, it’s a good wine.

One of the reasons I write a wine blog and I do wine tastings today, is to take away some of the mystery out of wine.  There was a time when I would say ‘I don’t like French wine’.  Of course I liked French wine… it’s Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Chardonnay… I didn’t like buying French wine, because I didn’t know what I was buying.  For the most part, France labels their wine by region, and unless you know what grapes are grown in which region, it was a coin toss.  So I really want to help people make buying wine simple.  And if not simple, at least make it easier.

Another huge reason I do a weekly wine blog is that I wanted to dispel the myth that inexpensive wine can’t be wonderful, and that if you want to drink good wine, you have to buy expensive wine.  That is not the case.  I am not a fan of what I will call ‘assembly line’ wine.  In my opinion, that is wine that has been manipulated with artificial sweeteners, or sometimes even oak chips, to mass produce a ‘cheaper’ tasting product.  But two of my favorite wines, and staples in my wine rack, are these 2.  And they are both under $16.

 

One is the Farmers of Wine from Italy, a delicious Primitivo from Italy ($16), and the other is Anciano Tempranillo from Spain ($15).  Great wines at a great price.

So here’s where I need your feedback.

I would like feedback on how I can improve the wine blog.  Or let me know some of the things you would like to see in a wine blog.

If you scroll down through a few of my blogs, you will see for the most part they have the same pattern.  I share some part of my personal life and what I did that week, and then feature about 3 wines.  Is 3 too many?  I subscribe to other wine bloggers and for the most part they only feature 1 per blog.  Hmmmm?  Something to think about.  I need to know.

I would really appreciate knowing what you like about my blogs and some of the things you don’t like.  I really like finding good value wines, and I’ve been told by many people they really appreciate that.  Most people I know aren’t opening $100 bottles of wine every night of the week.  And it’s not hard to find good wine under $25.

I’ve heard on many occasions  people rely on me to tell them about good wines that are reasonably priced.    What else would you like to know ?

I look forward to hearing your feedback in the comments section.

Cheers, and thank you

Darlene