My New Year’s Resolutions (What’s Coming Up on 1WD)

Yeah.  I know.  I’m late.  Whatever – I’ve got a two-year-old daughter.  At least I’m actually getting around to it, right?

I’ve got a simple resolution for 2010, actually, when it comes to 1WineDude.com, anyway:

Make 1WineDude.com “more betterer!”

The devil’s squarely in the details, of course, but the bottom line is that wine blogs, like wine brands, have increased in both quality and quantity, and there have never been more wine blogs pumping out higher-quality content than there are right now. Hell, just look at the list of nominees for the Wine Blog Awards.  Which means not only do I have to run to stand still, I need to continuously figure out how to add more and more value for you on these virtual pages.

Either that, or continue to dupe you into thinking that I know what I’m talking about (it ain’t easy!).

I’m grateful for each and every reader of this blog, and I realize that many of the same people who are pumping out great wine content are regular readers here; some are up-and-coming new voices, and are some long-standing and well-respected traditional (and non-traditional) talents in the wine world.  1WineDude.com is, more and more, becoming a place where “Intermediate” and “Expert” wine personalities can mingle and exchange ideas.

I sincerely hope that never changes.

So, in 2010, I’m trying to give you more to talk about, and more interesting things to talk about…

More You

2010 is going to be the year of collaboration for 1WineDude.com.  If 1WD has a zodiac calendar, collaboration is the animal sign of its Chinese New Year.  Hmmm… maybe that would feature a parasitic animal that also has some medical benefits for the host, like a leech?  Ahh, whatever, you get the point.

You might have already noticed more interviews, and that will continue (with an emphasis on interesting personalities from all walks of the wine trade), but there will also be more guest posts (particularly from wine people who have done really interesting things, and who write well, but don’t blog on their own).  You’ll also see me cropping up more and more on other sites (that’s already started as well), especially on up-and-coming wine blogs that I like.  You can place me squarely into the “we hang together or we will surely ‘hang’ separately” camp.

Less Me

I’m ecstatic over the success of 1WD and I’m constantly struggling with the right balance of thanking others for recognizing the blog and not being too self-promotional.  The pendulum still has a ways to swing, though, so while I may let you know about some accolades, for the most part those will get acknowledged in the About page, and not publicly in the blog posts.  Let’s focus on you instead – and on wine (yeah, I know this post technically is about me but how else am I supposed to do this?)…

More Wine (and from More Places)

You’ve told me that you want to read about interesting wine places and truly unique wines, and those are exactly the topics that I’m going to concentrate on throughout 2010.

I’m really, really excited about the wines that are going to get coverage here in 2010. Some are expensive / ultra-low-production / “cult” wines, some are bargains of interesting varieties grown in places you wouldn’t suspect, but all of them have the potential to be intriguing.

On the travel front, I will be doubling  the amount of jaunts to wine destinations and events in 2010 (both on my own dime and via press junkets), and plan on doubling that figure in 2011.  On tap already are plans to cover the International Malbec Days festival in Cahors, TasteCamp East in the Finger Lakes, Wine Enthusiast’s Toast of the Town D.C. event, a trip back to Napa to focus on high-end / low-production producers, a trip to Santorini to take on Greek wine – and that just covers the first 7 months of the year.

I would LOVE to get your thoughts on all of this, and any ideas you have on what you’d like to see covered on 1WD.

Thanks again for all of your support – you’re the ones who, though your passion and your willingness to share your unique viewpoints, have made this blog successful!

Cheers!