Although aggregator readers might have thought I was taking some more time off, those who visited this site over the past few days noticed that Winecast was down. Most of the time this is due to a short term outage with my web host but this time it was a corrupt Wordpress installation.

So if you use Wordpress, a few words of advice. First, upgrade to Wordpress 2.6. It’s solid and worth the upgrade for it’s ability to activate multiple plug-ins at once and addition of Google Gears compatibility. But when you do your upgrade, look at your plugins, particularly those with some age on them and eliminate anything you are not using. It is also a good idea to delete your cache folder and files if using WP Super Cache. The plugin will recreate what it needs when you reactivate.

And finally, check out your wp-config.php file against the sample in Wordpress 2.6. There were several lines missing in mine as I have not touched it since Wordpress 1.5. I think it was a corrupt plugin or two but it also could have been these missing elements in the config file. If you are looking for more Wordpress tips, follow the series on my company blog.

And now back to wine blogging…

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• WordPress 2.6 Released Early
• Wordpress 2.6 is out. Should you upgrade. Yes!

My apologies for the lack of content these past several weeks. All is well and I will return to regular programming shortly. Thanks to all who checked in…

Instead of recording our Skype call and producing the show for later release, we will be streaming live from Talkshoe. We have invited another group of wine bloggers, writers and podcasters to discuss the burning issues of the day. If you would like a jump on the topics, just head over to our del.icio.us feed and look for “episode 8″ links.

The best part of this arrangement is you can call in and be part of the conversation or you can hang out in our chat-room which I will monitor as we record.

We will start the show at 4:00 pm EDT this Sunday, March 30th.

So if you’ve wanted to be on Winecast, now is your chance.

Call in details:

Phone Number: +1 (724) 444-7444
Call ID: 16856

I’ll also record and release the podcast as usual on the feeds after we are concluded for subscribers.

As I thought about my dearth of podcasts one thing was consistent: I didn’t have a “to-do” list.

So that is now in place and beginning tomorrow things will start to become more consistent here from an audio perspective. I have 9 shows recorded and just need to record intros and tasting notes segments. I also have a new idea for a new podcast version that I will try out in the morning.

You will see a continuation of the classic podcast, quick picks and unfiltered along with something I’m calling repost… and I’ve got some new ideas on how to do video (no, Gary will not be challenged).

Thanks for your support so far and the best is yet to be recorded.

Yesterday Hugh posted some thoughts on his blogging (or lack, thereof) that rang true with me:

clipped from gapingvoid.com So this last week I’ve been telling people I work with, I’m changing the game plan. I’m going back to basics. From now on building “the gapingvoid brand” will become my first priority.

Like Hugh, I’ve let the various demands of commerce get in the way of my blogging and podcasting here. So it’s back to basics with daily posts and more wine reviews. My bi-weekly podcast regime is also back in action, which will be maintained from here on. It’s easy to let this blog slide as it produces next to no income but it’s what the conversation triggers that produces the reward.

Winecast is back in business full-time… thanks once again, Hugh!

Since I don’t have an iPhone yet, I hope it works as advertised; let me know… A trip to my local AT&T or Apple Store is in my immediate future to see how it works on the real thing.

Here’s some pictures from this week I’ve uploaded to my Flickr stream:

The blocks that the fire dept. broke are replaced and wall put back in place…

…next is the vapor seal…

…the cedar panels are in place awaiting some new racks.

I’ll be posting again once the racks get installed and I’ll be in stocking mode. Perhaps we can have some fun with that last bit…

We’ll have to figure out a prize for whoever stumps us wine geeks…

In short, I have no credentials. Although I have a B.A. in communications, I didn’t take any journalism classes. My MBA did nothing for my love of wine but perhaps provide a bit more income when I was in the corporate world. Nor have I ever taken a formal wine education course; not even those $25 ones offered by good wine stores. All of my knowledge about wine has come from tasting different wines over the past 25 years. I’ve also read quite a few wine books. I should also point out that my quest began with jug wines and I progressed to “fighting varietals” and it was only in the past decade that I really broadened my wine horizons and developed my palate.

From the beginning, however, I preferred New World wines for their pure fruit. My love for Zinfandel came within my first year as a wine newbie where Sebastiani Zinfandel was my main choice for $2.50 a bottle. This was back when Sam Sebastiani was still the winemaker for the eponymous family winery and this wine was a simple, but true version of the variety. For special occasions I splurged on bottles from Lytton Springs Vineyard and Ridge Geyserville. I also tried the odd bottle of Bordeaux which seemed thin and disappointing when compared to Napa Valley Cab.

Years past and my income increased to a point where I was able to enjoy better and more expensive wines. This is really where I really took a turn into wine geekdom and set the table for starting this blog and podcast in December 2004.

My tasting process for bottles reviewed normally is held in my home over a 2 or 3 day period. I use the same Riedel stemware for each wine tasted and try each wine with and without food. My notes are a composite over this period. When I taste at wineries or large tasting events, I only try the wine once. Each of these reviews should be judged as first impressions for the wines in question.

No matter the venue for tasting, all reviews presented here should be taken as just my opinion and not replace your own experience with the same wines.

So hold the date of April 18th at 9:00 pm EDT/6:00 pm PDT. You can join by either calling +1 724-444-7444 or downloading the TalkShoe software on your computer. The Talkcast ID is 23964. Hope to have many of you join me live and I’ll also release a higher quality recording after the event.

One tip that I will pass along now is that Gaia Napa Valley is the best value in hotels I’ve seen here. Perhaps it’s the pre-opening shakedown rate this week but I’m really pleased with what I’ve experienced here so far. I’ll post a full review later in the week.

Too tired to properly blog right now… much more in a few hours.

Thanks!

The poll below has some days and times to pick from and I will keep this posted for a couple weeks before choosing the final day and time for the recording. Whatever wine question you have is fair game and I’ll be prepared to answer whatever is on your mind.

The impetus to finish this today was because I am opening Winecast up for sponsorship. Longtime readers will remember I signed up with Backbeat Media for podcast sponsorship early last year, but after only one sponsor in a year, Backbeat and I have come to the conclusion that we should come at this differently and part ways. Best wishes to Dave and all the folks at Backbeat who have been great to work with… if I was a tech podcaster, I’d still be with them.

So this is the soft launch of my new sponsorship program as I finish my media kit. Anyone who is interested can email me for more details at sponsor (at) winecast (dot) net. This step is a necessary one for me to create some additional income from what I do here but I don’t take this lightly as you can see in my ethics statements.

I’m working on a couple of other things to enhance this site and podcast. Stay tuned.

So now the geeky background that might be useful at your next cocktail party, gallery opening or wine tasting. RSS is short for, “Really Simple Syndication.” What RSS feeds allow is for content producers like myself to make it easy for you to read or listen to what I post here.

If you want to read all my blog posts (which include all my podcasts) just use a feed reader such as Bloglines or Google Reader. If you just want my podcasts, use the iTunes, Odeo, Podcast Ready or mobilize buttons. All these services and software are free and work on both Mac’s and Windows PC’s. The best part is the software keeps up with the posts and/or podcasts for you and they are just ready for you when you want to read or listen to them.

For those who want an even easier way to read Winecast, I also offer email subscription via FeedBlitz and on your mobile phone via plusmo. There is also the old school RSS icon for advanced users.

Whatever method you choose will ensure you can read or listen to my efforts whenever you want for free without ever having to visit this site.

I apologize to readers who use IE to view the site. Firefox, Opera, Safari, Camino, Flock and SeaMonkey users are unaffected.

Update 2/1: It took a bit longer than expected but the theme is now in place and seems to display fine across all browsers and platforms. There is still a bit of tweaking to go and navigation to add, but enjoy.

Update 2: Safari on the Mac is not displaying correctly; I am working on it…

After a fitful night filled with all sort of problems moving this site, I have set up shop at my new server. Many of the podcasts still have to be added here and I will be uploading those for the rest of the evening (all the mp3’s are here now; aac’s will be loaded overnight). Most everything else should be working fine with the exception of my sidebar customization (note to self; backup sidebar widget code). Let me know if you see any problems.

I’m not going to do this again anytime soon.

Update 1/8: All podcasts have been migrated and all customizations have been reloaded. I’m now all here at Media Temple; let me know if you see anything broken. I’ll be adding a few enhancements this week but it’s pretty much back to normal blogging and podcasting from here.

Thanks for the tip on the hosting, Josh.

Thanks!

Update: Well, this is not going very well… wish me luck

Like the Cellar Rat, Ryan is a Twin Cities expatriate and he returned to Minnesota for the holidays. I’m taking advantage of this to record a podcast and Ryan suggested we solicit questions from Winecast readers and listeners on the of the wines of Spain and Portugal. As you might expect from my predictions, I’m going to ask Ryan if he thinks Tempranillo will be the hot red of 2007 but there are plenty of other things to learn about Iberian wines.

Just post your question to the comments here or send me an email. Our show will be posted on January 14th.

That was easy

Happy New Year!

1. Proposal For A Virtual Wine 2.0 Event - Late in the year I became interested in the intersection of Web 2.0 and wine and held a couple online virtual meetups to discuss this subject further. The first one in Second Life was well attended but not as fruitful as the most recent event in Lingr. Still lots of work to do here.

2. Wine 2.0 Just Another Webstore? - My musings about if Wine 2.0 was only about eCommerce provoked a lot of good discussion on the subject. A lot more where that comes from in 2007.

3. Wine 2.0 Meetup Deux on Tuesday - My posting for the second virtual meetup on Wine 2.0; more was learned on the second attempt but it is still difficult to decode from the transcripts.

4. WBW 22 - Lite (alcohol) Reds - My first turn at bat hosting Wine Blogging Wednesday went very well with a great turnout and some very interesting wines blogged. Stay tuned for my next time hosting sometime in 2007, this time featuring my favorite white varietal.

5. Do Scores Here Really Matter? - This year I switched from the vague 20 point scale to the more precise 100 point scale but I took my time about making a decision. The discussion here helped me put the issue into the correct perspective to make my final choice.

6. Virtual Wine 2.0 Meetup This Week - Wine 2.0, blah, blah, blah, etc.

7. Wine 2.0 Minifesto - OK, this really sucked, big time, as Peter Gabriel might say. I’m gonna take another crack at this in January; maybe Hugh will link to me this time

8. A bump in the road… - What a way to start the year, getting canned in a crappy job. Probably was for the best as it offered me an entry into the wine industry. More on this subject in the new year…

9. Should Negative Wine Reviews Be Published? - Perhaps my most important post of the year that still is having an impact. A Google of Graeme Miller Wines today still brings up 50% negative posts on the first page of results (my post is at the top of page 2).

10. Is Wine Too Niche For Web 2.0? - My first post in the Wine 2.0 meme. The answer is “no” by the way

Thanks for your support this year and I am very much looking forward to 2007.