Tag Archives: Wine Curmudgeon

Monday birthday giveaway

And the winner is: The winning number is 42 — screen shot to the left. The winner was Alfonso, who picked 007. He gets the three music CDs, courtesy of Sony Masterworks and the tin of Wine Curmudgeon M&M candies. We had 15 entries, very respectable and thank.

Today, to celebrate, the blog's third anniversary, we're giving away a tin of Wine Curmudgeon M&M candies, plus three music CDs, courtesy of Sony Masterworks — Love by Issac Delgado, Lang Lang Live in Vienna, and My Mexican Soul, with Alondra de la Parra conducting the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas.

To win the prize, pick a number between 1 and 1,000 and leave it in the comment section of this post. If you get the blog via email, you'll have to go to the Web site to enter your number. At about 5 p.m. central today, I'll go to random.org and generate the winning number. The person whose number is closest to the random number wins the prize — and no, you can't pick a number someone else has picked. I'll post the winner tomorrow. Check out the schedule to see the prizes for the rest of the week.

Birthday week 2010

Wc 2010 A colorful graphic as we start Birthday Week. The chart shows where we started almost three years ago (I didn't keep stats for the first six weeks of the blog's history), and where we are today. All told, the number of visitors has increased 1,640 percent from that first January, and we're up 44 percent so far this year.

Which, basically, is why I'm still here. You're reading this; if you weren't, I wouldn't be doing this. So thank you, because this truly does beat working for a living.

A few notes from the first three years of the blog. On Thursday, I'll count down the top posts of the past 12 months:

? You like wine reviews — a lot. More than half of the top 10 posts each year have been wine reviews.

? Red wine beats white wine every time. No white wine review has ever made the annual top 10. I have absolutely no idea why this is, since the reviews are split almost 50-50 between white and red (and no sparkling or rose has ever made the top 10, either). Any thoughts about why? Leave a comment.

? Save for my series of Costco posts, which discussed whether the national chain was buying wine based on scores, you don't care much for the non-review items. Which is too bad, since those are the ones that I usually enjoy writing the most.

? Your focus has shifted as the blog has become more popular. A Texas wine post made the top 10 in 2008, but no regional wine story has made the top 10 since.

Birthday week giveaways

Next week is the Wine Curmudgeon's third anniversary, which means prizes for our visitors. After all, I wouldn't be here if you didn't stop by every day.

Each day next week, in addition to the regular post, there will be a prize post. To win the prize, pick a number between 1 and 1,000 and leave it in the comment section of the post. At about 5 p.m. central each day, I'll go to random.org and generate the winning number. The person whose number is closest to the random number wins the prize — and no, you can't pick a number someone else has picked. All are eligible, which is the beauty of random.org.

Here's what we're giving away. Plus, each winner gets a tin of Wine Curmudgeon M&M candies:

? Monday: Three music CDs, courtesy of Sony Masterworks — Love by Issac Delgado, Lang Lang Live in Vienna, and My Mexican Soul, with Alondra de la Parra conducting the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas.

? Tuesday: Kevin Zraly's Windows on the World Complete Wine Course, perhaps the best introductory book on wine ever written, and a Vacu Vin set. The gifts are courtesy of True, an on-line wine gadget and supplies retailer.

? Wednesday: The blog's favorite wine — Tormaresca Neprica, which has been the most popular post each year I've done the blog. I have two bottles, which I'll give away to the two people closest to the random number.

? Thursday: A pass for two to the 2011 DrinkLocalWine.com conference April 2-3 in St. Louis, focusing on Missouri wine. It includes admission to the seminars, Twitter wine tasting, and winemaker reception on April 2 and winery tours on April 3 (though you'll have to get to St. Louis on your own).

? Friday: The Jimtown Store Cookbook, highlighting the food and recipes of one of Sonoma County's must-see sites.

The 900th post

After almost three years of the blog, I’ve written 900 posts. Take that, Gary V.

So what better place to remind you of next week’s birthday festivities? We’ll be giving away classical music CDs, wine (including your favorite, Tormaresca Neprica), Wine Curmudgeon M&M candies, a book or two, and a pass for two to the DrinkLocalWine.com conference in April in St. Louis.

Wine Curmudgeon birthday party in two weeks

The blog will be 3 on Nov. 16, and we’re having to party to celebrate during the week of Nov. 15. Even though I never heard from Chris de Burgh, we have plenty of gifts to give away — classical music CDs, wine (including your favorite, Tormaresca Neprica), Wine Curmudgeon M&M candies, a book or two, and a pass for two to the DrinkLocalWine.com conference in April in St. Louis.

I’ll post more details as we get closer to Birthday Week.

Chris De Burgh’s wine collection

Dear Mr. De Burgh:

I'll be honest. I'm not a huge fan of your music. It's a little too pop for me, and I'm a punk and New Wave kind of guy (though Working Girl, which featured your hit "Lady in Red," wasn't bad). But, apparently, we have wine in common.

Decanter magazine reports that you are going to sell your wine collection, which contains some of the finest wines in modern history. It includes Lafite 1945, Latour 1961, Mouton 1982, Cheval Blanc 1978, and Margaux and La Mission Haut Brion '61. Your reason? You told the magazine that it would be a "sacrilege" to open the wines and drink them.

That's your privilege, of course, though the Wine Curmudgeon has always been puzzled when people buy wine but don't drink it. Having said that, however, I'd like to offer my help in disposing of your collection.

These are not only exquisite wines (my one and only Cheval Blanc tasting was amazing), but they're wines that 99 percent of wine drinkers will never taste, including those of us who do it professionally. So I have a proposal for you.

The blog's third birthday is next month, and I have a variety of events planned to celebrate. I'll give away some wine, and Sony Music has donated some classical CDs to the cause. The blog has been a huge success since I started it in November 2007, and I always like to thank my visitors and readers for their help. So what about using one of your wines for the party? It doesn't have to be a '45 or '61, or even one of the 1982s. Anything you think is fair will be fine with me.

I can't pay you what it's worth, obviously (one of the things that goes with being a punk and New Wave kind of guy no doubt). But I can offer you some Texas wine in exchange, plus the vast amount of publicity this will bring. I understand you have a new record to promote?

Let me know if we can work something out.

Sincerely,

Jeff Siegel, the Wine Curmudgeon