“Life Goes On, Man” (The Most Popular 1WD Articles Of 2015)

Normally for these year-in-review recaps, I start by going into some details about my life over the last twelve months.

F*ck that sh*t this time. I’m focused full steam ahead on the future, baby.

If you need a summary, 2015 was the year that I gifted myself my freedom. The results are much more positive than I’d expected: while far from being perfect, generally speaking my life is great. Most importantly, my kid is doing great. And what I do for a living is still, well, great (although, from here anything else would be a pretty serious letdown, unless I could finagle a paying gig as a hammock nap tester).

So this year I am skipping the detailed recap, and getting right to the good stuff (you’re welcome!).

Here are the top ten most popular 1WD articles published in 2015, as measured by visits (if I’m utilizing my website analytic skills correctly, that is… which is a seriously sizable if)…

10) It’s Not “Hipster” If It’s Already “Mainstream” (On Delectable And The Changing Tastes Of Today’s Fine Wine Consumers)

Well… it’s not. High-acid wines are already hitting some mainstream stride, so I’m not sure that they can accurately be called “hipster” (let’s give the fine wine drinking populace more credit than that).

9) Are Wine Critics More Qualified Than Wine Bloggers?

An interesting discussion without a clear answer, mostly because the lines between “blogging” and “critic” are so fuzzy (and, I’ll wager, will remain that way for a looooong time to come).

8) On The Fine Art Of Not Giving A Sh*t (Wiegner Etna Recent Releases)

A testament to the power of a) engaging wine personalities, b) providing coverage for those winemaking regions that don’t typically get mainstream press, and c) putting obscenities into the title of your blog post.

7) Wine And Social Media: Not Just For The Tech Savvy

You know what… if you don’t get this by now, then there’s little that I or anyone else can do for you on the subject.

6) Wine Scores: Please, Wine Producers, Stop Shoving Them In My Face

In which I espouse the not-so-novel idea that, in an era where people have more freedom and outlets for expressing their opinions than ever before, we should actually let them express their opinions without trying to shove someone else’s opinion into their faces.

5) There Is No Wine Blogging

To be read in the Monty Python voice of “There is NOOOOO rule 6!” (with apologies to my Aussie friends). The ease of writing and publishing have made creating a blog post the written equivalent of taking a photo with your cell phone, regardless of topic. And, yeah, that includes wine.

4) Science Has Not Really Spoken (On The Study Of Big Flavor Wines)

Over-the-top wines are popular because you’re letting them become popular (and that’s addressed to both consumers and those in the wine biz).

3) No One “Needs” Your Wine (30 Lessons in Wine Communication)

I’m ecstatic that my little spotlight on this wine industry presentation got some decent traction; hopefully, that translates into more wine biz folks taking those points to heart.

2) Apparently “Riedel” Is Actually Pronounced “A**hole” (Glassware Company Bullies Wine Blogger)

I’ve been accused of more than one person of writing this piece to capitalize on the publicity of the legal row between Hosemaster of Wine’s Ron Washam and glass making company Riedel. To which I would answer: f*ck you, Ron’s a friend of mine and I wrote it to support him. Does that sound angry? It does? Well… ok, I need a drink…

1) Millennials Aren’t Changing Wine – Access To Information Is

It turns out that the folks who have been saying that Millennial consumers aren’t actually all that special in their buying habits might have been correct, just not in the ways that they’ve all been thinking.

Cheers!