Comments on: Wine Blogging ~ Are Wine Bloggers All Just Writing for Themselves as a Community?

By: Jo

Jo — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 02:07:59 +0000

Vanity Press… There’s a great title. Let me think on that one.

Best to you, too, Nancy.

Thanks for your opinion on your blogging for Goose Cross. I’m thinking that your loyal fans enjoy the insider info. — jo

By: Nancy

Nancy — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:22:25 +0000

Hi, Jo! Brilliant blog. I like reading them mainly because all of us subscribe to different stuff, so it’s a great way to keep up on what’s been going on that I might have otherwise missed.

As far as writing, I question the benefit to the winery I work for – are there any consumers reading it? That’s who we need to reach – as opposed to someone like Tom Wark – for him all this industry networking makes perfect sense. Same thing with Twitter. It appears to me that mostly it’s composed of links to whomever’s new blog post or some RSS kind of deal. Yet, I keep tweeting away because Gary V and others rant that social media is the future of wine sales. But I wonder. Vanity press?

My best to you, Jo! Nancy

By: Jo

Jo — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 03:34:39 +0000

Joon, thanks for the compliment as to the example that I’m setting. Age does wonderful things to one’s soul and sense of being.

Dale, Gary V’s the next Robert Parker, in my humble opinion… I did a blog dedicated to that concept. You can just search on his name and see that entire posting. I love his youth, his approach is pure and purely his own, and he’s speaking to a younger crowd that’s anxious to hear someone with the same vernacular. (More power to him… He’s great.)

This also goes back to what Joon just wrote about:

“…more interested in wine, poetry, or any specific pursuit will inevitably do more research, read more, and participate more frequently on public forums. If anything, I think the proliferation of wine blogs is a good indicator that wine is broadening its appeal among the masses.”

To which I’d add, the masses are also broadening. “This isn’t your daddy’s wine world anymore.”

I’m delighted that my young adult children have also discovered the wine world that led me into this business, and now has each of them also gainfully employed. They – along with most of you – are the next generation of writers, winemakers, viticulturists, and you’ve all got a similar passion. It’s a great movement.

By: Dale Cruse

Dale Cruse — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:35:37 +0000

I think many wine bloggers fall into the trap of blogging for each other because they don’t know how to write for anyone else. They’re so stuck in their “faint aromas of tar and cedar box” descriptions that the general public tunes out.

However, my pal Gary Vaynerchuk describes wine in easy to understand language and suddenly he gets 80,000 viewers a day. Meanwhile the rest of the wine blogosphere can’t figure out why ZRD9they don’t get visitors.

By: Joon

Joon — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:57:57 +0000

I don’t necessarily feel that wine bloggers are writing only for other wine bloggers. Perhaps there’s a bit of self-selection as to who posts comments: novices might not be as comfortable as bloggers in making an assertion about a certain wine or issue. This might explain that you’re getting 1,000 hits a day but only a few comments.

Similar behavior exists in all other “specialized” fields. For instance, the world of poetry is HIGHLY insular, despite the existence of popular movements, literacy programs, and the efforts of various US Poet Laureates. There’s nothing wrong with this, though. People who are more interested in wine, poetry, or any specific pursuit will inevitably do more research, read more, and participate more frequently on public forums. If anything, I think the proliferation of wine blogs is a good indicator that wine is broadening its appeal among the masses.

(BTW you set a good example for a nouveau blogger like myself. Keep up the great posting!)

Joon S.
http://vinicultured.com