1WineDude :: Serious wine talk for the not-so-serious drinker!: about 1winedude blog

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We've Moved!

1WineDude.blogspot.com is dead. Long live 1WineDude.com!

1WineDude.com has officially packed up and moved out to its very own host!

Siyanara, Bloggah!

The smart, attractive, and well-liked among you who are already subscribers to this here blog should continue to receive 1WD updates uninterrupted as we switch over. Those of you who aren't yet subscribers... well, was it something I said?

If you'd like to keep on readin' the Dude, please update your links to point to

www.1WineDude.com

You are certainly welcome to keep coming to 1WineDude.blogspot.com, though you might grow tired of re-reading this point each time that you visit.

Cheers!

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Hello World?? 1WD? WTF?!?? (or "We're Movin' On Up!")

Those of you who have been trying to visit www.1WineDude.com today have probably noticed that it looks a little... well... screwed up.

And I mean, more screwed up than usual.

That's because 1WineDude.com is in the process of moving. This little blog is gettin' all grows up'd, and is (finally) moving to its own web host on the WordPress platform.

Why am I doing this?

Mostly because Blogger, the platform that I've used for a few different blogs for several years, has gone kind of crazy lately, and continues to tag my blog as SPAM and locking it. Now, I know that some of my posts don't make a lot of sense, but hitting me with a SPAM tag is probably taking things a tad too far.

Anyway, in the not too distant future, www.1WineDude.com will no longer send you here. It will send you to a brand new website. Different look, same content.

Or, as they say: New Label. Same Old Plonk!

For now, 1WineDude.com will take you to a generic WordPress template. Hello World! Just like the Jeffersons, we're movin' on up!

Cheers!

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Dude, Where Are The Ratings?

Simple - there aren't any.

Next question.

Ok, well maybe it's not that simple, actually.

Astute 1WineDude.com readers have pointed out that I have yet to clearly explain my wine rating system; or, more accurately, my lack of a wine rating system. So... I will try to explain it but bear with me, because while I love wine and I love talking about wine, I really hate talking about talking-about wine.

If 1WineDude.com had a Mission Statement or Credo (it doesn't, by the way), it might look something like this:
a) Drink Wine. b) Have Fun. c) Learn Something.

Generally speaking, I don't review wines in my blog posts, unless reviewing a wine gives me an opportunity to also have fun and pass on some interesting wine learning along the way...

When I do review a wine, I try to be as objective as possible, but generally I don't taste wines blind (unless that somehow can also provide an opportunity for b) and c) above). Why not? Well, when's the last time that you tasted a wine blind? People just don't do that at the dinner table, unless they haven't been paying their electricity bills.

When I read about a wine, I usually want to know the answers to a few key questions: a) How does it taste? b) Are the aromas / flavors things that I like? c) Is it worth the price?

That's it. You don't need a rating for that. If I wanted to be inundated with numbers, and read boring lifestyle pieces from snarky old billionaires that have too much money and free time, who want to regale themselves with their stories of how they travel every year to Old World wine countries with the Duchy of Snob-a-tonia, and won't touch a wine that isn't rated 95 "points" or higher, blah-blah-blah... well, there's already a magazine for that kind of stuff.

What I don't want to see are a bunch of numbers. A number tells me nothing about whether or not I'll like a wine and if it offers good value for money - which for me is the majority of the equation, so to speak.

Also, I don't know anyone who "speaks" in points. I've never, ever said to someone at dinner "ooohhh, this wine is soooo a 94!" And I doubt that I ever will. Unless I think it's funny at the time and I'm at dinner with one of the guys from Wine Enthusiast...

I'm wagering that since you're here on this blog, you're thinking somewhat along the same lines when it comes to wine ratings. Since we've established then that none of us like wine rating numbers, I've instead included in this post some graphics of George W. Bush's Presidential approval ratings ratings (they're going down, by the way). Enjoy!

Now for some odd reason, I seem to ruffle feathers with the established wine critic community whenever I talk about this rating stuff on my blog. Oh well! To those whom I hath offended, I say: "Hey, thanks for reading!"

Please note that I am NOT bashing wine rating scores in general here. I just don't happen to like them so I'm not using them. I am, however, totally poking fun at the Bush Administration.

Hope this clears up my stance on the conspicuous lack of wine ratings here at Dude central. I look forward to not rating many more wines for you in the future!

Cheers!
(images: gallup.com, wikimedia.org)

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A Wine Introduction (and Some 1WineDude.com Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes)

Changes are afoot here at 1WineDude.com.

By the way, I recently learned that the first recorded use of "afoot" was in Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" - which is way cool. I'm a nerd, I know.

Anyway, I'm making some slight changes in the footprint (ha-ha) of the blog posts. Basically, they will start to get shorter - easier for you to read, harder for me to write. And, I'm hoping that they will also start to become more frequent. I've got a newborn in the house, bear with me...

Today, I thought I'd offer you a small contribution I made a few years back to the world of wine knowledge. When I started this whole wine consulting thing, I was frequently asked to provide wine overviews - so I put together a handy presentation that gives an overview of what wine is all about - from the dawn of wine in history, all the way to why you taste those fruits in your glass:

You should be able to view the original presentation file in most versions of PowerPoint, or with the (free!) Impress tool from OpenOffice.org. Handiest of all, you can access it online in Flash (Ahhhh-ahhhh!) format here.

I think some of you fine folks out there may find it useful. Enjoy!

Cheers!

(images: handpicked.co.uk)

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Shop Dude! Wine, Accessories, and Tools for Wine Learning Available on 1WineDude.com

I've been getting some reader feedback that the various items we've got for sale via 1WineDude.com are arranged in a, let's just say, less than optimal fashion.

Another way of putting it, is that the current layout is too friggin' confusing! So I'm offering this post to (hopefully) help clear up the confusion.

Looking for Wine? Looking for Wine Gifts & Accessories? Looking to up your Wine IQ?

Dude's got you covered!
1WineDude.com has all manner of items for sale through our Affiliates.
Checkout the links below and get yourself all wined-up!...

Get Wine

Domaine547.com is an on-line place without pretensions, where you can drink, learn, & communicate about wine. 1WineDude.com readers get a 5% discount on their wine orders! Just enter the coupon code "dude" during checkout.

WineQ.com offers hand-crafted wines sold by small, family-owned wineries in California. You can queue up your wine orders (a-la netflix) and shipping is free for orders over $35.

TheWineSpies.com - Every 24 hours The Wines Spies features a single exceptional wine for sale. The wines are chosen on a quantity-limited basis, and are offered at a great price.

MyWinesDirect's wines are carefully selected by experts, then approved by panels of wine drinkers just like you - to ensure that every wine's a winner. They try to make buying, serving and drinking wine fun, easy and enjoyable, while giving you the knowledge to experiment and the confidence to discover your own likes, dislikes and tastes.

WineLegacy.com is a premier online wine retailer featuring a superb selection of quality, hand-picked fine wines and wine gifts from around the world, shipped right to your doorstep.

The Wine Messenger offers wine clubs, and collections of wines based on geography and winemaking styles. They also have a handy wine facts section that let's you learn and shop by varietal or country. Pretty cool.

Morrell is a kickin' family-run shop out of NYC that sells wines and spirits from pretty much everywhere. They've been in business for 59+ years and perform their own tasting and evaluating before selling to you.

Get Wine Smarties

DeLongWine.com offers two great products to help you learn more about wine: a Grape Varietal Table that shows wine grapes in a visually related way, and a nifty Wine Tasting Notebook that helps you to keep track of your wine adventures.

Get Wine Stuff

Get sweet wine gear at Dude's CafePress shop.
We've got all manner of schwag available, like t-shirts, hoodies, caps, mugs, coasters, mouse pads, baby onesies - basically anything but wine. Dude's printed Wine Tasting Guide is also available at the shop.

1WineDude Recommendations - The Dude has Essential Wine Books, Interesting Wine Reads, Wine Accessories (like corkscrews and stemware), and even wine-sippin' Music selections, all available on his Amazon.com store.

Get Even More Wine Stuff

Didn't find what you were looking for? Try these wine-related offers on for size:

Hope this helps! Cheers!

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Happy Birthday 1WineDude.com (Dude's Greatest Hits)

1WineDude.com quietly turns 1 year old today!

I say quietly, because 1) I prefer intimate birthday parties, and 2) while this blog is technically 1 year old, it's only really been
'all-grows-up' since October 2007, when Dude started "taking this blogging thing a bit more seriously," as they say. Not sure exactly who 'they' are, but I'm pretty sure 'they' say that.

To celebrate this mini-momentous occasion, I thought that I'd join the time-honored tradition exercised by so many other blogs, musical acts, and aging TV sitcoms by essentially giving myself the day off, and rehashing previously published content!

Kind of like they did on "The Facts of Life" with "throwback" footage, back when it featured George Clooney (by the way, I used to have hair like that... though I think I've destroyed most of the photographic proof in an incinerator somewhere in Northern NJ).

So, for your reading pleasure, I offer you Dude's Greatest Hits: A Collection of the Most Visited Posts from 1WineDude.com...

Does this Wine Make Me Look Fat? - Apparently a lot of people (and I mean a lot) want to know the answer to that question!
Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus - But There's No Such Thing as Sulfite-Free Wine - Dude always takes pleasure is busting up a wine myth; I'm just glad this one helped provide some clarity around the confusing topic of wine allergies and sulfites.
How To Become a Wine Geek Part II: Taste - This is the post that, while sort of stating the obvious, provided the groundwork for my first eBook.
The Top 10 Wine Books You Really Need - I should know, I've read almost all of 'em!
Hey, You Like One of Them Thar Some-Yeahs? - Trying to shed some light on the ultra-confusing world of wine education and certifications.
Making Sense of Wine 2.0 - YOU have the power - now go on out there and make it happen, people!
Wine Communism: U.S. State's Non-Compliance to Wine Shipping Laws - One of a few posts that will probably ensure that I am audited on my PA State income taxes for the next 5 years straight.
20 Things I Learned About Life from Drinking Wine - A little glass of Wine Zen.

I need to give a special mention to 2 other posts that, while they may not have gotten a substantial amount of website hits, I had to include for historical purposes:

Child of the `60s - The post that started the 1WineDude.com blog!
2000 Ch. De Sales Review on Ch. Petrogasm - Technically a post I "wrote" but not a post on 1WineDude.com, but the comment thread is hillarious!

Cheers!

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Share the Love: Grab a Badge!

Show the Dude some love and grab a 1WineDude badge!

Just copy and paste the following code anywhere in your webpage, blog sidebar widget, etc.:

<a href="http:\\1winedude.blogspot.com\">
<img style="border: 0px none ; width: 80px; height: 15px;" alt="I'm a Dude-O-Phile!"
src="http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk281/sephage/1-winedude.png"></a>

Thanks for spreading the Love!

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1WineDude Code of Ethics

For the sake of transparency, I've outlined my personal blogging code of conduct / ethics below. I welcome any questions, concerns, or comments you may have about these - the bottom line in all of this is that I am here in the blogosphere to be as fair and genuine as possible in what I write.

I am not a journalist by education or by trade. For the most part, as much as is reasonable, I follow the blogging code of ethics as outlined at this link.

I am not affiliated with any of the companies or websites linked on this blog, apart from advertisers / affiliate programs who (obviously) pay me in some way/shape/form to be featured here; examples:

2WineDudes wine consulting (I founded the company)
Amazon.com (I'm part of their affiliate program)
Domaine547 (the offer a discount to 1WineDude.com readers), Wine Spies & WineQ (wine sales), & www.liquidationconnect.com
ZenHabits.net (I'm an affiliate seller of Leo's awesome eBook Zen To Done)
This list does, can, and will change over time - you get the idea...

I don't work for any wine shops, wine retailers, wine stores, winemakers, or wineries. Therefore, I fundamentally consider myself an independent source of wine information, because the only tie I have to the wine trade is through independent consulting.

I reserve the right to refuse to review any wine that is sent to me for the purpose of a review on this blog. I may or may not agree to write a post when/if I receive a wine. If a winery or distributor sends me a wine, and I do decide to review it, I review it objectively.

As a general rule, I do NOT taste & review wines blind. This is because I don't know anyone in the normal world who drinks their wines blind with dinner.

I make no claims or guarantees whatsoever as to whether or not this blog and its contents will entertain/educate/enlighten/offend/exacerbate you, incite riots, contribute to the fall of Communism, make the roads safe for cyclists, or give you the ability to produce useful mechanized farm equipment from pieces of clay and raw hemp.

I do hope it will help you to enhance your appreciation of wine, however!

Cheers!

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About This Dude

Joe Roberts, CSW used to be a total wine dunce. He is now a wine consultant and musician in the greater Philadelphia area.

Joe holds both the Level 2 (Intermediate, with Distinction) and Level 3 (Advanced, with Merit) Certificates in Wine & Spirits from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) based in England. He is also a member of the U.S.-based Society of Wine Educators, holding their Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) qualification, and belongs to the Wine Century Club. He more-or-less knows his wine stuff.

"A great writer." - Steve Heimoff (Wine Enthusiast)

Joe has toured the globe (including Alsace, the Rheingau in Germany, Hungary, upstate New York, Napa/Sonoma, Oregon/Washington, Canada’s Niagara Peninsula, and South Africa, to name a few) in search of new wine experiences. He is the founder of 2 Wine Dudes wine consulting, and the author of the 1WineDude wine blog, offering an insider's view of the world of wine, told accessibly from an outsider's perspective.

"Provides wonderful wine education information, designed for those at all levels of wine knowledge, in a very entertaining manner - and more importantly, an unassuming manner." - Sean Minor (Sean Minor Wines)

Why does Joe write this blog? To help you to get to know wine better - how it's made, how the industry works, and most importantly how to get the most enjoyment out of wine that you can. Show the Dude a sacred wine cow, and he'll turn it into a roast, pair it with an obscure Italian red, and hopefully teach you a little more about wine, and entertain you, along the way!

"A+ wine blog." - WCDish.com

Joe lives in Pennsylvania with his wife Kerri, daughter Lorelai Kate, and their weimaraner Samson. When not spending his time writing bio pages in the third person, Joe plays bass guitar and digeridoo for acclaimed singer/songwriter Steve Liberace.