4 categories of wine blogs: pure wine blogs

Pure wine blogs are wine blogs where the authors simply share their impressions for the sake of self-fulfillment. We have called them “pure” (our term) because they are blogging in its purest form inasmuch as they are personal online journals that chronicle the vicissitudes of the authors.*

Alice Feiring.

Rockss and Fruit by Lyle Fass.

Brooklyn Guy Loves Wine.

Samantha Sans Dosage by Samantha Dugan.

So You Want to Be a Sommelier by Levi Dalton.

oenoLogic by Thor Iverson.

VintageTexas by Russ Kane.

The pure blog listed here are considered by many to be taste maker wine blogs. While they may not enjoy the bandwidth of the institutional and commercial blogs, they are significant inasmuch as they are followed by industry insiders and industry leaders.

* Here’s how the Oxford English Dictionary defines the term blog (a shortened version of weblog): “A frequently updated web site consisting of personal observations, excerpts from other sources, etc., typically run by a single person, and usually with hyperlinks to other sites; an online journal or diary.”

4 categories of wine blogs: professional wine blogs

Professional wine blogs are authored and curated by wine professionals — sommeliers and restaurateurs.

Lou on Vine by Lou Amdur (@LouWineBar microblog).

Cherries and Clay by Kurtis Kolt and Jake Skakun.

Vino NYC by James Taylor.

@TerroirNY by Paul Grieco (microblog).

VINfluence by Drew Hendricks.

Vinous Wonderland by James Tidwell.

This category can range from unabashed self-promotion to earnest collegiality.

Next up: pure wine blogs.

4 categories of wine blogs: commercial wine blogs

A “commercial wine blog” is wine blog that creates content in order to generate advertising revenue.

Catavino.

Vinography by Alder Yarrow.

Dr. Vino by Tyler Colman.

Fermentation by Tom Wark.

Palate Press.

Snooth.

Again, here, the sheer bandwidth of these blogs makes them important inasmuch as they can create trending. They tend to specialize in user generated content, polls, and controversy. Some of them also engage in a controversial practice known as content farming.

Next up: professional wine blogs.

4 categories of wine blogs: institutional wine blogs

For the purpose of the seminar, let’s classify wine blogging into 4 basic categories:

1) institutional wine blogs
2) commercial wine blogs
3) professional wine blogs
4) pure wine blogs

In this and the next three posts, we’ll give you some examples of each categories.

Let’s start with institutional wine blogs.

This category can be divided into two basic subsets:

a) print media affiliated wine blogs
b) trade affiliated wine blogs

print media affiliated wine blogs

Eric Asimov’s blog, The Pour, for example, of institutional blog affiliated with a major publication, in this case, The New York Times.

The Cellarist by Jon Bonné is another great example of an institutional blog affiliated with a major publication, in this case the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Tasting Room at Food & Wine by Ray Isle and Megan Krigbaum.

On Wine at the Wall Street Journal by Lettie Teague and Jay McInerney.

It’s important to follow these blogs because their bandwidth alone can launch trending of nearly any subject in our field.

trade affiliated wine blogs

Daily Grape by Gary Vaynerchuk.

Inspiring Thirst by Kermit Lynch Merchant.

The Blend by Alfonso Cevola for Glazer’s.

Louis Dresner by Joey Dresner and Kevin McKenna.

Muddy Boots by Terry Hughes for Domenico Selections.

It’s important to follow these blogs because they can be a fantastic resource for technical information and for the availability of products in the marketplace.

Next up: commercial wine blogs.