Joel from Vivi’s Wine Journal Wine Life Today has announced the theme for the 43rd monthly virtual tasting known as Wine Blogging Wednesday as Comfort Wines.

Instead of choosing a wine region, varietal or constraining the number of words in our reviews, Joel has asked us to choose a wine that we like to unwind with and write about it. In sub-zero Minnesota, that will likely be a hearty Cali Syrah or my sentimental favorite, Zinfandel. Check back on March 5th to see which was chosen.

I’m researching a post about Stormhoek and I came across this podcast with Jason Korman I had not yet heard. During this discussion Jason asserts that terroir applies to all wines wherever they are produced making terroir, “…a meaningless argument…” from a marketing standpoint.

On one hand, I agree with Jason that terroir is too often the de-facto marketing strategy for too many wineries. On the other, I’ve tasted different blocks of the same vineyard and found each wine quite different. So there’s something to this notion of terroir.

But the real learning from this podcast is that those of us who write about wine are too often obscuring the true enjoyment of the beverage with jargon and a learning curve that most people will not invest the time to learn. Perhaps that’s really at the center of the argument that most wine blogs are boring.

So I’m going to make an effort to change the way I talk about wine here and on my podcast to make the content easier to understand for the non wine geek.

I’m also hoping to tell the real story of what happened at Stormhoek in coming days.

View my page on OpenWine Consortium

A while back I predicted that Facebook would most likely be the “Facebook of Wine” but today I’m not so sure after spending a few minutes inside the OpenWine Consortium social network.

“Great, just what we need, yet another social network,” I expect to hear from some but hear me out first.

Unlike Facebook, the OpenWine Consortium is narrowly focused on the wine industry and seems to be initially interested in bringing together Wine 2.0 developers and wine industry business leaders for networking and to drive open standards online. Early membership is a who’s who of the wine blogosphere where I’m sure lively discussions will ensue, when we’re not on Twitter. I also don’t expect to see all those annoying requests to compare movie quiz scores or install another application as is the standard on Facebook these days.

Where his goes is anyone’s guess but I’m impressed with the potential I see with this platform. If you are in the wine industry or interested in Wine 2.0 then join me.

There was a little bit of discussion in the wine Twitterverse this evening about a post over on PBS’ MediaShift blog. In a rundown on video podcasts, writer Jennifer Woodard Maderazo described most wine blogs as having, “…content dull enough to bore an enthusiast like me.” Not sure which wine blogs she is referring to but I thought it was a pretty interesting comment from a fellow blogger.

Sure, many of us are not as zany as the folks at Ask a Ninja, entertaining as Gary Vaynerchuk or as quirky as Rocketboom but I’d hardly call “most” wine bloggers boring. Many of us try to inform, educate and feature wines most people might like and write in not the same way as the established wine press (well, most times anyway). There is a camaraderie among wine bloggers that I don’t see in other parts of the blogosphere that is far from pedantic. Whilst we might be seen as somewhat geeky for our language and devotion to all things vino, I wouldn’t characterize the majority of wine bloggers’ work as “boring.”

But I’m biased. What do you think?

One of the announcements at last month’s Macworld Expo was Apple TV Take 2, an update — rethinking really — of the unsuccessful media player released a year ago. Apple CEO Steve Jobs featured the new iTunes movie rental service as the killer new feature of this update but I think video podcasts will be the real winner here. That’s because for the first time it will be easy to consume this content on your TV and not the exclusive domain of the computer or ipod.

I think this development has profound implications on wine podcasters, particularly video podcasters like standard-bearer Gary Vaynerchuk of Wine Library TV. This is not lost on Mr. Vaynerchuk as he is putting up 5 Apple TV’s as prizes for a contest he is running right now (BTW, Gary, subscribed). And I fully expect the circulation of Wine Library TV to double as a result of the improvements to Apple TV.

This will provide the first platform for cross-over of niche content to a larger audience outside the digerati. I might even dust off my video podcasting skills and produce a Tony Bourdain influenced wine show if I can raise enough money to do it properly. Plenty of others in the growing Wine 2.0 movement will also jump on board and I expect to see another surge of interest in wine podcasting.

So if you have ever wanted to be on TV, now is the time to get started.

Andrew has posted a cracking summary of Wine Blogging Wednesday 42 over at Spittoon just 2 days after the event. He chronicles all 54 participant’s seven word reviews which makes great reading. Well played, chap!

Next month will not be as challenging but still a bit of a test as Joel is looking for our comfort wines. Here in sub-zero Minnesota, an uber-Syrah sounds about right… or perhaps some Zin; decisions, decisions…

This month Andrew from the fine UK wine blog Spittoon has challenged us to review an Italian wine in just seven words. Sound like a fairly easy task as wines from Italy are plentiful in stores at all price ranges and seven words can cover quite a bit of ground.

So I ventured to my favorite wine store, Solo Vino, to challenge the staff with an Italian wine from a region I was not familiar with to feature. After a few bottles were suggested, I settled on Tenuta Delle Terre Nere, Rosso 2006 ($17). It’s made from old-vine Nerello grown on the slopes of Mt. Etna in Sicily.

As soon as the first taste was swirled and sniffed, I knew I was in trouble as the pronounced aromas were difficult to describe in 14 words. How could I describe what was going on with this wine in just seven words? I jotted down my normal review of 25 words or so, then attempted to cut the prose down to a skeletal seven. Nothing seemed to make sense so I settled on the following:

Cherries, earth, raspberries on a dusty highway

14% ABV
Natural cork closure
Rating:

Buy this wine online

This got me wondering if a more straightforward wine would be easier to encapsulate in the meager amount of words allotted. So I picked up the widely available A Mano, Primitivo 2005 ($10) from Puglia. Longtime listeners of my podcast will remember this wine from a couple of years back and I reconsidered another bottle sometime later. But I had not picked up this wine for quite a while so I thought it would be easy to review in just a few words. A twist of the screw-cap closure and taste later, I jotted down the following:

Raspberries, cranberries, tar and spices on horseback

13.5% ABV
Stelvin closure
Rating:

Buy this wine online

Although the A Mano was more fruit driven than the Tenuta Delle Terre Nere, there was still quite a bit going on here. I liked each wine roughly about the same with a slight nod to the Tenuta Delle Terre Nere, Rosso (89 vs. 88 on the 100-point scale). But this experience got me thinking more about wine reviews in general and how I approach them in particular. In the back of my mind, I kept hearing Ryan’s call for wine writing on the internet to be different than the established print model. And for the first time, I confronted a vastly different review structure to work with.

No, I’m not going to review wines here with seven words but I expect my reviews to be less about the actual aromas and flavors of the wine but how they evoke something related to the world around me. Some context about how I came to try the wine in question and how it connects with my life at the time of the tasting. So, ironically, this will lead to more descriptive and less clinical reviews here.

Cheers to Andrew for such a thought provoking and, yes, fun theme. I’m looking forward to getting back into my comfort zone next month with a seasonal theme (at least here in the snowy Twin Cities) from Joel at Vivi’s Wine Journal.

Much has taken place in the Wine Blogging Wednesday world since I last posted about our monthly virtual tasting, so I thought it would make sense to gang up all the news in one post.

Jack posted a great summary of WBW 41 over at Fork & Bottle. Many excellent whites from Italy’s Friuli-Venezia Giulia region are featured along with some from just across the border in Slovenia (like mine). I’m looking forward to trying many of these selections once the weather becomes more favorable for such vino here in sub-zero Minneapolis.

Meanwhile, my friend Andrew from Henley-on-Thames, announced the theme for Wine Blogging Wednesday 42 as Just Seven Words. Looking more closely, that’s an Italian red wine review in just 7 words. In a word, challenging. But I think I’ve cracked the code after a tough start and might actually try my hand at the more complex wine I started with in my short post tomorrow. As always, you can post your review on our WBW community blog if you don’t have a blog of your own.

And finally, WBW founder Lenn Thompson has announced a contest to create a new logo for Wine Blogging Wednesday. Aspiring creative types have until March 31, 2008 to submit their entries and the finalists will be put to a vote in April. Lots of great wine prizes are to be won along with the glory of being the designer of the WBW logo for the next couple of years.

Speaking of wine racks, I noticed an interesting post over on Lifehacker today about a DIY wine rack made from recycled cardboard mailing tubes. All you need is a utility knife and a ruler to make this project from materials most of us have laying around. A great idea and unique use of discarded materials.

Support recycling and raise a glass to frugal wine storage at the same time.

I’ve been searching for the kind of post to return from my nearly 3 weeks of inactivity here and my blogging buddy Mark over at Uncorked emailed such a story. It seems some enterprising folks have cooked up some sort of “sports” bra aimed at athletic women who are aiming to tote a bit more in their chest on their workouts.

Yes, my friends, you can pack your wine, beer, spirits or diet Coke in your brassiere if you are so inclined. While you may be more popular during the tailgate party with such an accessory, I’d suggest you reserve this for later season games at Lambeau Field to keep the temperature of the beverage at “cellar temp.”

On one hand I’m amused; on the other, outraged as El Jefe from Twisted Oak certainly has this “wine rack” ground staked out.

I’m back with a lot more posts, podcasts and perspective.

Stay tuned.