Wine Library Tv, the success of Gary V

Wine Library TV is the creation of Gary Vaynerchuk an extremely successful vlogger (that really IS a weird word) he began posting videos of wine tastings to his site only a few years ago and has become a run away success. His wildly popular videos showcase his out of the box thinking and have helped propel his public relations career along with it. Vaynerchuk has also authored two books with the same attitude as that shown on his site. He is informative, but in a very fun way.


Wine and Cereal pairings



Investing in wine with Jim Cramer

This is the only episodic video cast I follow. I learn a lot from this guy and he explains things in an easy to understand way. While the focus here is on content he provides connection in his viewers which are called Vayniacs. These videos aren't short by any means usually never running less than 20 minutes, but I watch them because I'm passionate about them.

Agave Nectar, worse than corn syrup?

For years companies have been coming out with "healthier" sugar alternatives than aspartame which *gasp* can turn to formaldehyde in the body. For awhile agave nectar has been looked at as a miracle sweetener. After all the word agave is derived from the Greek word for noble and agave nectar just sounds pretty.

However, recent studies have shown that agave has more fructose than table sugar, this means that this lovely little nectar, which isn't so much a nectar as a syrup isn't as good for us as we once thought.

The Huffington Post and a blog called CafeMom both report on the findings.

The Huffington Post article is very factual and to the point. It is written by Dr. Johnny Bowden and describes why the amount of fructose in the nectar is so detrimental to our health. He takes an outside stance on the issue, even going so far as to say "don't shoot the messenger" while explaining the differences in artificial and "natural sweeteners such as this.

CafeMom takes a different stance. While the article is shorter, it gets to the main point: fructose content. The author is very upset about this fact, putting the findings in all capital letters and cautioning her readers who they that it won't be a problem if they use less. You can visibly tell that she is not happy about the findings and she would like for the readers to share her stance.

As far as credibility goes, both are popular blogs and both give factual information. Generally I would say not to trust everything you read coming from someone with the word doctor in their title, but the Huffington Post article has a wealth of information on the subject. It describes everything from how it is made to what fructose is and why it is bad for you to comparing the amount of fructose in the nectar to other foods.

Is a wine blogger really a wine writer? And why do they keep getting all the wine?

A huge topic of discussion at this year's Wine Blogger's Conference is the question whether or not a wine blogger is really a wine writer. We've discussed in class that writing for a blog is different than writing for a magazine, or a newspaper, so where does that leave the blogger? According to Steve Heimoff, writer for Wine Enthusiast, we are one and the same, but not everyone shares that view.

Heimoff himself is a victim of this controversy. He is a long time staff writer for Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator. He began his own blog and has been a target of criticism. While he is diligent about not connecting his blog writing to his Wine Enthusiast writing he is still accused of editing comments and the like. The question then becomes is content posted online not as credible as something posted online? Joe Roberts just won wine blog of the year 1 Wine Dude and he has very engaging and informative content daily.

Robert Larsen of Rodney Strong vineyards has taken the approach of sending wine to wine bloggers instead of magazine writers, and the writers wonder why we are getting all the wine. A big danger here is that we will begin to have brand loyalty to Rodney Strong or any other winery that continuously sends us wine just so that they will keep doing it. This is where we need to make sure that we are diligent. We need to be great writers, and not simply throw a quick review up with no ideas or content behind it. As the panel judges say, we need to stay out of the "ghetto of simple minded wine writing."

Today, during a panel session winner of the Murphy Goode "A really goode job" contest, Hardy Wallace expressed that he did not feel he was a wine writer, but a blogger. He was met with opposition from Ryan Opaz of CataVino who said that a blog is merely a delivery tool and compared wine magazine writers as printing presses stating "saying a blogger isn't a writer is cutting off the writer, it's like saying that you can only print the Bible on the printing press." This comment, too was met with opposition.

Another issue is vlogging (video blogging) the "old school" writers wonder if bloggers aren't simply putting up videos without content, or posting videos that actually share information and help the reader learn. Take for example Supple Wine, each of his videos teaches the viewer how to do something wine related, for instance why Kristal is so expensive, or how to taste a wine. There are occasionally the videos that show how to open a bottle of champagne with a machete, but they are few and far between. Is this below the "real" wine writer? Time will tell.

Open Wine Consortium and the 4 "C's"

In lieu of my being a wine conference based solely on the fact that I met some people via twitter, I think it's fitting that I write about a wine social network.

While nowhere near Twitter, Facebook and the like, Open Wine Consortium is a venue for wine bloggers to connect via a Facebook page-like format. Users are able to share information, design a page background, and basically have an online resume of sorts showcasing what they have contributed to the world of wine.


There are other social networks devoted specifically to wine, such as wine 2.0 and although the name is super catchy ;) it doesn't have that many active users. To be honest I set up a page to get some contact information, and to put a badge on my blog. Open Wine Consortium was smart in the way it just got a flood of people to join: via this Wine Blogger's Conference. The site offered $10.00 off of registration for everyone who joined the consortium prior to registering.

A fault of the site is that you don't have to have any content to be a member, however, you have to prove you are in the industry with a blog or a web site. My page currently has nothing other than a picture and a background. What I use the site for most is an interactive forum to chat with other bloggers and to make plans for meetings, conferences, and such.That is what is most prevalent on the site, forums.

The way Open Wine Consortium utilizes the four c's

Communication

This is the primary function of OWC, users connect via forums, connect to each other’s blogs, web sites, and various other social networking pages via email and the homepages.

Cooperation

Videos aren’t used as much on this site, but social bookmarking is. Users share articles and blogs on forums and postings to each other’s profiles.

Collaboration

Forums are used for everything from ride sharing to wordpress problems. While I'm sure these aren't the problems that Cook was referring to in his book, they are addressed here.

Connection

I I suppose this is the most prevalent of the four c's on this site. OWC is meant for those in the industry to collaborate and meet up. This is how I came to be a part of the WBC, I met many of the people I will be staying with via Twitter, and found my roommate and the person I'm sharing a taxi with via a forum on OWC.