One of the Best Blogs You're Probably not Reading!
The esteemed Dr. Vino, aka Tyler Coleman, included this blog in his list of the "5 Best Wine Blogs You're Probably not Reading" in the 25th Anniversary issue of Wine & Spirits magazine, the current issue.
This is quite an honor, especially coming from the good Dr. - a seasoned and respected blogger and wine person. Thanks Doc!!! And if you've come by to check it out based on Tyler's advice in Wine & Spirits, welcome to you.
Only thing is, Tyler said that my wine picks are "somewhat esoteric." Is that true? I guess I tend to focus on 3 regions: Burgundy, the Loire Valley, and Oregon. Are my picks esoteric within those regions? If they are, should I take it mainstream? I don't even know how I would do that. I write about the wines I love to drink.
Believe me, when I see Dr. Vino tonight at his meetup at the Stonehome Wine Bar in Fort Greene I'm gonna grill him good about that "esoteric" comment. I wonder if he'll think it "esoteric" if I were to step on his foot, or kick him in the shin by mistake?
Seriously, I'm curious to know - to those of you who have been reading this blog, are my wine picks too esoteric? Let me know your opinion by taking the poll on the left column under the Beaujolais map.
19 comments:
As someone whose favorite wine regions are Loire, Burgundy, and Northern Italy, and as someone who doesn't typically spend more than $30 on a bottle of wine, to me the wines you discuss are not esoteric at all.
I am not going to vote in that stupid poll, but I will tell you that I enjoy your site. The Loire Region is tops on my list and your information is super. I have made the trip there twice and was totally taken by it. I made a couple of friends there and they carted me around to all of their friends who owned vineyards. Need I say more! French wines have gotten a bit out of my everyday budget for wine, but I still splurge on them for special occasions. Keep up those posts as I need to keep up with what's happening on the other side of the pond!
Hi Nick - welcome, and glad you dig it. I know nothing about Piedmont, and just a teeeny bit about Fruili. Never seen your comments before - are you a quiet reader or did you just find this site via the Wine&Spirits piece?
Deb - hey, my poll is not stupid. Funny, I think of France as offering the finest inexpensive wines. Southwest France? Loire? Glad you're enjoying it too, and wee you around.
Esoteric is the wrong word. I think it's more like...diverse and/or different. Off the beaten path. Wrong word, but proper respect for your site!
Hey, one man's esoteric is another's sweet spot. Given that I'm sitting here finishing off a glass of '05 Bourgeuil "Cuvée du Domaine" from Joël Taluau while I check in on today's action, I think your question is duly answered.
Congrats on the props in Wine & Spirits.
cheers,
David
PS: I've added a link to your blog from mine.
Thanks JB, appreciate the feedback.
Hey David - agreed. Thanks for stopping by and for the link. I have been exploring your blog and I think it's just excellent. Adding it to my links also.
I think your fixation with things like Loire reds (Chinon, Bourgeuil , etc) and village Beaujolais would strike most mainstream wine drinkers as esoteric. But these are undeserved niches, really, and I really appreciate your serving as my guinea pig so I can avoid the stinkers.
Esoteric would imply that you're deliberately excluding wine lovers whom you consider undesirable, or that you deliberately write about wines that are hard to find.
By contrast, you share with anyone in Internetland your adventures and you encourage us to interact with you and with the wines you've experienced.
I'm with Deetrane - underserved niches, appreciate the guineau pig.
With so many blogs being presented "somewhat esoteric" is accurate, positive, and appropriate way for your site to be presented to the reading audience in question. It's all good!
Keep at it! Since I do so much with CA wines, I love coming here and reading about what's going on in other wine regions. Congrats!
I've never posted to your blog but do enjoy lurking! Too esoteric? Nah!! Keep digging out those truffles. For your own sake , given your taste , I'd start to explore Piemonte if I were you. Next time your in Chambers Street pick up the following bottles
- Cappellano - Dolcetto 2005
- Cascina Tavijn - Grignolino
for the perfect Brooklyn Wine Guy summer intro to Piemonte
Dee - don't call me your or anyone's guinea pig. Nice sentiment though.
Mike - thanks for the props, and I'm glad you feel that way. You're right, no exclusion of any kind going on here.
Joe and Marcus, and the rest of Montreal - Thank you, and I agree, the audience in question is people who are interested in wine (and to a lesser extent cooking). It's less esoteric in that context. Another generic wine blog was not the point for me.
Hey Sona - I shall, and thanks.
Hi Lowlife (or Hi-lo, if you will),
Piedmonte, eh? Deetrane has been trying to get me on board with that for a while now. I just may take your recommendations, especially the 2nd one, as I have tried a load of Dolcetto without loving any of them. Who knows though, maybe that one is the ah-ha bottle. We'll see. Thanks for the recs and for coming out of the shadows to post a comment.
I don't think you're esoteric at all...I mean, sure, it's hard for me to find most of the stuff you write about locally out here on Long Island, but that's because the shops suck, not because you're picking esoteric stuff.
I mean, I write about LI wines most of the time, is that esoteric?
Congrats again bro!
Hiya Lenn-sorry about your shops. I'm convinced, and I won't worry anymore about this esoteric thing.
You should make a monthly or quarterly wine-run to Brooklyn and we'll meet up and stock your fridge with the good and inexpensive stuff from France...
Hey Neil and everyone -
Neil - great to turn this into a discussion, definitely a clever thing to do!
Esoteric in this case is a good thing --W&S is read by many inside the trade who no doubt find esoteric = yummy and delicious. I also wrote that the "somewhat esoteric" picks are balanced with humor that makes the site accessible. And to that we should add good discussion! Viva!
Cheers,
Tyler
Hey Tyler - I know that you weren't dissing my wine picks, I loved your write-up. And I didn't kick you in the shins when I saw you, did I?
I just don't want to be too esoteric. I want to discuss wines that people might be able to buy themselves, should they choose to. It's nice that people enjoy reading about the wines I love even if they don't themselves drink those wines.
on the dolcettos, I find the price uptick to a decent barbera modest, while the quality uptick is huge...
I love to buy my ummmm yummy delicious wine from Wine.com and WineMessenger stores at CouponAlbum..
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