Not That You Asked, But Your Wine Blog Should Be About These Things

I'm probably a better consumer of wine blogs than I am a producer. I mean by time and volume alone I read dozens of blog entries to every one that I write. So today I will comment on what I am good at, and that is discerning what I like in other people's wine blogs. I will give a definitive list of what I want to see more of. I was going to write a list of what I do not want to see any more of, but there is no sense in hurting any feelings. I know people blog because they want to let their own prerogative lead, so take my suggestions for what they are worth (which is admittedly not much).

Give me more:

Closure discussions - Whenever I read a wine review, or tasting notes I fixate on the 'closure disclosure' Way more than the grape varietal or blend, the aromas or taste, I want to know if they use synthetic corks. D is collecting corks to make a few homemade Tuscan Farmhouse-style trivets so I don't want to waste my time on any screw caps.

Anger - Whether it is anger at a bad event, the three-tier system, a really shitty wine, or the media that dismisses us lowly bloggers I am glued to any angry entries (I'm actually serious on this one). Bring on the anger.

Redundant tasting note lists - I really hate to intuit when reading wine reviews. If I knew what the wine smelled or tasted like, I probably wouldn't be seeking out the blog in the first place. So if the wine tastes like leather, and a barn, AND a saddle in a horse stall say all of that. How am I gonna know that the nose has pine, moss, bark, AND evergreen trees if you don't write it down? And by all means if you taste pickles, AND dill separately, but also together, throw in a dill pickles.

Cussing - A well placed 'shit' or phrase like 'bone-fuckin'-dry' helps me know that this writer is no wine snob. And like Howard Stern's move to Sirius, isn't that why we write on the Internet anyway? I mean I know most of us would write under an editor and for big bucks if we didn't feel it would stifle our independence.

Neutrality - I know it seems like this one is counter to my appeal for more angry entries, but who doesn't love a compelling series of entries that never takes a side? Or better yet, a review that scores a wine really low but has nothing negative in the notes so you have no idea why the wine is bad. It just seems more fair to the reader and the product to walk right down the middle of the road. Neutrality makes me comfortable.

Hyperlinks - I'm not talking a well placed link here and there, that's boring. I'm talking an entry that almost doesn't make any sense unless you reference the 22 associated articles that put your blog in context. I love it because it almost makes it like a little game to see how many layers deep you can get in order to figure out the point. And the extra blue words makes the blog entry a little bit prettier.

These are just a few of my personal preferences, the things I like. Because I love them (and a self-admitted hypocrite) you will probably see a lot of these things in my blog over the days to come. What do you love to see when you spend a couple of hours that you should be doing something productive reading blogs?