The Wine Curmudgeon

Two years of the Wine Curmudgeon

The phone call two years ago caught me completely by surprise. The Star-Telegram newspaper in Fort Worth, where I had written a weekly wine column called The Wine Curmudgeon, was cutting back. My four articles a month would become one or two, and there was no guarantee of even that.

In other words, I had become a wine writer without a place to write.

I was worried. How was I going to continue writing about wine? My world view, shaped by 20-some years in the newspaper business and freelancing for newspapers and magazines, said writers needed to be published by companies that had printing presses, offices, and editors.

My world view, of course, was quite wrong. The world doesn't work that way anymore, and what I thought was a move in desperation turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to my wine writing career. That was starting this blog, and my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner.

My wine writing has flourished on-line in a way it never could have if I had stuck to the print side of the business. My work is better known, my audience is wider, and I can write about things that are important but that wouldn't necessarily appeal to newspaper editors. What this means, both to wine writing and to wine drinkers, after the jump:

Win a bottle of wine

As part of the Wine Curmudgeon's birthday celebration, you can win a bottle of Tormaresca Neprica, the blog's most popular wine. Just leave a comment on the original post detailing why you like the Neprica, and the best answer, as determined by the Wine Curmudgeon, gets a bottle and a cork screw to open it with.

Happy birthday, Wine Curmudgeon

Today, the numbers -- how many of you visit, what your favorite posts are, and the like. Tomorrow, why we're here and how well it has turned out, despite the misgivings of a fellow who started in this business when we used typewriters and carbon paper.

In the past 12 months, the number of visitors who stop by each month has increased 49 percent (and the agency that supplies the ads deposited $50 in my business account this summer). Since we started in November 2007, the monthly visitor count has increased more than tenfold.

For which I am very, very grateful. There is no reason to do this unless people read the blog, and you do. So what do you read when you visit? The top 10, after the jump:

Wine of the week: Tormaresca Neprica 2008

No wine better illustrates what American wine drinkers want than the Neprica. And no wine better illustrates how little the wine business understands about what American wine drinkers want.

In the two years I've written this blog, the two Neprica reviews are not only the most popular reviews, but they're the second and seventh most popular posts. And that the review of the 2007, which has only been on the blog for nine months, is seventh is even more amazing. That's just not supposed to happen.

And why do so many people appreciate the Neprica (about $12, sample)? Because it's cheap, it's well-made, it's food friendly, and you can drink it without a PhD in winespeak. It's a red blend of three grapes grown almost only in Italy, and it produces a cherry-ish, low alcohol, balanced wine that pairs with red sauce and a surprising number of non-Italian foods.

Yet, in many parts of the country (including the Dallas area), the Neprica is difficult to find. That must be because it's cheap, well-made, food friendly, and you can drink it without a PhD in winespeak. Heaven forfend retailers carry something people will enjoy drinking.

So find a bottle, pour it for dinner, and be glad that there are still some producers who care more about quality than hype. And, as part of the Wine Curmudgeon's birthday celebration, you can win a bottle of Neprica. Just leave a comment detailing why you like the wine. The best answer, as determined by the Wine Curmudgeon, gets a bottle and a cork screw to open it with.

Tormaresca Neprica, Wine Curmudgeon birthday, red wine, Italian wine, wine reviews, wine of the week

Winebits 104: Wine writer lawsuit, plastic wine bottles, Thanksgiving wine advice

· Writer sues retailer: This does warm the cockles of the Wine Curmudgeon's heart. British wine writer Martin Isark has sued retailer Majestic Wine for some £50,000 (about US$83,000) for using a wine blurb Isark had written without his permission. In 2001, Isark had called the 2000 vintage of a French wine an "incredible value." The Majestic chain used that blurb to describe the 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 vintages, which Isark said he never tasted.

· New Zealand producer touts plastic: Yealands Estate winemaker Peter Yealands has is about to release a sauvignon blanc vintage in plastic bottles. "It's not for everyone," he said. "But younger generations will get into it." Yealands touts plastic's environmental credentials, and notes that Coca-Cola when from glass to plastic without suffering in sales. And, yes, the bottles will have a sell-by date, just like Coke.

· Drink what you want, and not what you're told, for Thanksgiving: Or so says the influential San Francisco Chronicle wine writer, Jon Bonne': " My advice, then? Don't worry. Drink what you like. No one's going to put you in wine jail. It's going to be OK." When someone like Bonne write that, with all that it implies -- WHITE ZINFANDEL IS ACCEPTABLE! -- then maybe we have turned a very important corner in how Americans, and the Winestream Media, approach wine.

Martin Isark, wine lawsuit, plastic bottles, Jon Bonne, Thanksgiving wine

Wine Curmudgeon birthday celebration starts Wednesday

This week marks the blog's second anniversary, which has grown so quickly over the past couple of years that the Wine Curmudgeon sometimes wonders how it has happened.

But I appreciate the growth, nevertheless. Which means that my posts on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will be birthday-related, which means prizes and gifts. Make sure to read each day to find out what you have to do to win a Wine Curmudgeon gift pack.

On Wednesday, I'll review the current release of Tormaresca Neprica, which has been your favorite wine (based on the number of people who have read the review).

Thursday and Friday will feature the list of the best-read posts from the past two years, plus some thoughts on where we have been and where we are going.

Wine Curmudgeon, anniversay

Wine review: Stonecap Riesling 2007

The success of Chateau Ste. Michelle's entry-level riesling, which has become amazingly popular, has convinced other wineries to step up efforts to produce and market their rieslings.

Case in point is the Stonecap (about $12, sample). The Washington state operation is the less-expensive winemaking sibling of the smallish and higher-priced Goose Ridge, and it offers four wines in the $12 range.

The Stonecap riesling is getting better. The 2007 is an improvement over the 2006, which was rough and raw in the mouth, hardly the way a riesling should be. It's also less alcoholic on the taste, another problem that the 2006 had. Look for some nice riesling oiliness in the 2007 and lots of tropical fruit in the middle. It's not dry, but not excessively so. The finish is a bit bitter, but that's something that will hopefully be corrected in the next vintage.

Drink this chilled with seafood, though I was a little surprised that it didn't pair better with the vegetable fajitas, guacamole and pinto beans that I tried it with on Saturday night.

wine reviews, Stonecap, riesling, white wine, Washington state wine