Saveur Celebrates

Saveur Magazine, one of the nation’s top food publications, hosts an annual celebration of the top food and drinks blogs putting forth categories from Best Baking & Desserts to Best New Voice. This year they also celebrated drinks through multiple selections including Best Beer Coverage, Best Spirits or Cocktail Coverage, and Best Wine Coverage.

It’s fantastic to discover new sites each year through Saveur‘s blog award finalists. I’m excited too by the caliber of sites throughout this year’s selections.

In Best Wine Coverage six sites were selected, including my own. Here’s the link to vote: http://www.saveur.com/content/blog-awards-2015-vote

It’s so much fun to be named with these five people for wine as I feel as though we’re out their together in some virtual world having an ongoing party, enjoying each other’s favorite wines. They’re each people I already enjoy sharing such time with in person, or look forward to getting to know.

Here’s a brief look at each of the five other nominated sites, and what I appreciate about their work. Part of what I enjoy about blogs in general is that as you go in depth in the subject matter, you also form a virtual relationship with the writer. That couldn’t be more true than with Saveur‘s six wine blog selections. We’re a quite varied, while passionate bunch.

If you don’t know these sites already, you should! Check them out. Links are included below. The order here reflects the order Saveur used on their own voting page here: http://www.saveur.com/content/blog-awards-2015-vote

1. The Feiring Line

banner from The Feiring Line website

Alice Feiring proves to be one of wine’s greatest champions for less interventionist winemaking, alongside organic and biodynamic farming practices. Her work writing about wine has brought her around the world seeking examples of such technique, leading to two published books and another on the way celebrating her perspective in wine. As a result, she is also one of the most ready tasters of anyone for such wines, and has channeled her experience into a 9 per year newsletter looking closer at her favorite examples. On The Feiring Line, Alice shares of the moment interviews and insights into producers such as recent examples like a 25 year vertical tasting of Corison Cabernet held in NYC, her reflection on the work of the recently passed Burgundy legend, Anne Claude Leflaive, or previously breaking news such as the trial of French vigneron Oliver Cousin. If you want to know more about the world of less interventionist wine, while gaining perspective on the people behind them, and falling in love with Alice’s decided and clear perspective, her site can guide you. Her newsletter is even better.

Here’s the link to The Feiring Line: http://www.alicefeiring.com

Here’s more info on her newsletter: http://www.alicefeiring.com/newsletter

2. Not Drinking Poison in Paris

banner from the not drinking poison in paris website

Having previously served as a sommelier, Aaron Ayscough now lives in Paris working in the world of fashion (so cool). His love for wine continues though and he has used his site Not Drinking Poison in Paris to champion the world of natural wine in France while also reporting on the arc of change he’s seen in the drinks’ scene in his new home city. Aaron’s simultaneously smart and clear writing has garnered him a dedicated following. His goals with the blog are to share the other side of the city – where people on vacation might not see, where movies never show – celebrating the drinks’ professionals devoted to what they do, and the work that gets them there, while also writing in depth profiles of producers he loves to love. My understanding is that Aaron is also working on a collection of essays for book publication. Keep an eye out for it. His writing is worth following.

Here’s the link to Not Drinking Poison in Paris: http://notdrinkingpoison.blogspot.com

For more on Aaron: http://imbibemagazine.com/qa-with-aaron-ayscough-of-not-drinking-poison-in-paris/

3. Wine. All the Time. 

banner from the Wine. all the time website

A little bit sexy, a little bit fun, a little bit all about wine, Marissa A. Ross brings together her background in comedy writing with her views on wine and a touch of the indulgence that helps make LA (where she lives) what we love – sunny, fashion, wine bottle selfies. With that combination, Marissa offers a uniquely friendly west coast perspective in her wine drinking commitments. Her site, Wine. all the time, also delivers wine insight from the perspective of a lifestyle blogger. That is, it’s not just reviews of wine. It’s reviews of wine in context – the context of how the wine makes you feel as well as how Marissa found it in the first place. With that we also get to glimpse behind the scenes of her travels (recently to Napa, for example), how she feels about her age, and what holidays, kissing, or gifts mean to her.

To check out Wine. all the time.: http://www.wine-allthetime.com

For more about Marissa: http://marissaaross.com

4. Jameson Fink – Wine Without Worry

banner from Jameson Fink – Wine Without Worry website

Bringing together his background in wine retail and wine service with a sense of playful insight in his writing, Jameson Fink knows how to reach what the consumer wants. His work on Jameson Fink – Wine Without Worry has brought him all over the world exploring the current trends of regions globally, while also launching him into editorial positions leading wine content in multiple top sites on the web. It’s his sense of insightful accessibility that drives his site’s devoted following – he knows a lot about wine and delivers that through jovial recommendation. To add another layer, Jameson has also taken forays into interviewing artists and creatives deepening his explorations in wine with thoughts from photographers, food afficianados, musicians and more. He also hosts a regular podcast series covering topics ranging from wines for summer, to wine with bbq, and in depth producer interviews. Jameson is the go-to blogger for Washington wine.

Check out Jameson Fink – Wine Without Worry: http://jamesonfink.com

For his podcast: https://soundcloud.com/jameson-fink

5. Vinography: a wine blog

banner from Vinography: a wine blog website

Having began his site Vinography in 2004, Alder Yarrow has been blogging about wine almost longer than anyone else on the internet. His work has followed the evolving wine scene of California, as well as the restaurant scene of his home city, San Francisco, while also keeping up with wines around the globe. Indeed his site is as likely to host an in depth profile on a California producer as it is a wine tasting of the Douro Boys in Portugal, or one of the lead vigneron of France. He also keeps his readers updated on wine events happening in the Bay Area, and reports on the industry’s current news. In other words, his site is an impressive all arounder. In addition to his writing at Vinography, Alder writes a monthly column on American wine (looking primarily at California) for JancisRobinson.com. Recently his new book The Essence of Wine was named one of The New York Times top wine books of 2014.

To check out Vinography: http://www.vinography.com

To learn more about The Essence of Wine: http://www.vinography.com/essence_of_wine.html

6. Hawk Wakawaka Wine Reviews

banner from Hawk Wakawaka Wine Reviews website

Since you’re already here, I’ll spare you the summation of my own site. YOU’RE READING IT, silly.

In case you want to check out a bit more about me though…

To read more about my views on writing versus drawing about wine: http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com/S=0/news/entry/elaine-chukan-brown-wins-frank-prial-fellowship

To learn more about how I fell in love with wine: http://imbibemagazine.com/interview-with-elaine-chukan-brown/

Vote Wine!

The Saveur awards are not only that fun virtual party where we all hang out drinking each other’s favorite wines (I’ve brought champagne from Bereche and Prevost, as well as Pinot Meunier from Eyrie and Best’s Great Western).

The awards are also a chance for you to get to know new websites worth reading. The other five featured here are among the best you will find anywhere on the web, so check them out to find more to enjoy about wine.

Now is your chance to vote wine. All six of us finalists would love you to pop on over to Saveur and vote wine! With these six sites you can’t lose.

Here’s the link: http://www.saveur.com/content/blog-awards-2015-vote

Cheers!

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