Branching Out

The last year or two have (or is that has?… screw it, whatever) seen the advent of some great new publications that focus on adult beverages (there may be other publications focusing on other adult topics, but we’re not going to go into them here…).

Many of these new kids in town are taking a fresh approach to enjoying wine – at least, it’s fresh when compared to the more established wine appreciation publications that (falsely) present wine appreciation on a pedestal, as if it were only achieved after much ardor – and money, preferably on their products – have been spent.

We all know how I feel about that, so no need to go into that topic, either…

Take for example my buddies Mutineer Magazine, who are combining their fresh approach with the one-two punch of printed media and on-line content.  We know how I feel about them, so no need to… ah, you get the point.

The bottom line is that this fresh new publication wave has given us more reasons to feel excited about printed wine media than we have had in a long, long time.

Which is why I’m excited to announce that I will, in the very near future, be involved with two such publications:

1. I will be contributing to Boston-based magazine The Second Glass, with a broad-spectrum and longer-format column on wine appreciation (right up the alley for someone as, uhmm… brevity-challenged as me).  I’m hoping this will be monthly, but hey, I’ve got a soon-to-be toddler at the house who is crawling around now, so we’ll see how that goes.Those of you familiar with The Second Glass already know that they have a strong on-line presence to back up their printed mag, and I’m hoping to leech as much website traffic as humanly possible contribute in my own small way to their already high-caliber writing.
   
2. I will also be taking on the wine writer duties for a brand new Philadelphia-area print publication, working in association with web-based food and beverage site WC Dish, called Chester County Cuisine & Culture.  CCCC will be focused squarely on the local Philly-area food and music scene, and I’ll be providing (gulp!) shorter pieces that I hope will provide a chance to highlight and promote the growing (both in quantity and quality) Brandywine Valley winemaking region.  I expect to cross-post a good bit of the BV coverage right here on 1WD, but while we may see this blog developing a slight predilection for my local wine offerings, I’ve no plans to change the blog format to concentrate only on PA-based wine.

More on the above as events develop.

Cheers – and happy reading!

(images: 1WineDude.com, thesecondglass.com)