Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog

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Wine Link of The Day: Ken's Wine Guide

Ken's Wine Guide

The well-organized, informative independent wine guide on the Internet is not as common as you might think. In most cases the problem is with the organization. I was recently pointed to a good example of this kind of website that I'd come across before but hadn't visited again.

Ken's Wine Guide is the work of Ken Hoggins from Massachusetts. He's been at it in one form or another since 1998.

Ken's is a useful guide, particularly for folks looking for reliable recommendations backed by both ken and top reviewers across the country. But he's not skimped on basic wine information either. Most of his tips relate directly to drinking (the fun stuff) rather than more arcane information.

Most recently Ken has posted his "Best Holiday Wines for 2006" and it's worth a look. Another list on the site I found interesting was "The Top 50 Collectible Wines".

Wine Link of the Day: The Wine Importer

Joe Dressner: The Wine Importer

Some time ago in an on-line forum I can't recall, Joe Dressner called me names and impuned my integrity. I just can't remembery why or what he actually said what he said. All I know is I keep going back to his blog to read what he has to say because it's entertaining as hell.

I don't know how long Dressner has been posting his thoughts, tidbits and observations from his importer's-eye-view of things but it's a lot longer than I have, that's for sure.

Dressner is tireless in promoting his portfolio of brands at the blog, and that's a good thing because he does it with the strangest combination of enthusiasm, authenticity, humor and irony. But it's not just a parade of Dressner-imported wine talk. He's got lots to say on a number of subjects. Sometimes I'm not exactly sure if his posts are honest or just there for the fun of it. Last month he announced he'd be holding a VIP discussion event with wine writer Alice Feiring..."on the Northwest Corner of Bond Street and Lafayette Street on Thursday, September 14th from 2:15 pm through 3:00 pm." Huh? Whatever...I'd have gone.

Dressner's "The Wine Importer" is a must read.

Wine Link of the Day: A "Goode" Wine Blog

JAMIE GOODE'S WINE BLOG

Jamie Goode is the blogosphere's best connection to the British wine writing community. It's a community I'd love to know better and would love to get to know its members better. But being both across the pond and a fly-over-country distance away, it's just not possible. So, I live vicariiously through Jamie and his blog.

And it's a good living. Goode finds time to recount not just the wines he's tasted at various occasion and on his own, but gives us glimpses of what seems like the never ending stream of wine-trade event in the London area.

Goode is also an author as well as a columnist for the Sunday Express and a number of other publications... and it shows in his writing. You are going to learn something reading Goode's blog. My only complaint with "Jamie Goode's Wine Blog" is that the author does not place titles on his posts. This means I'm forced to go to his blog, rather than skim his entries via titles on my RSS reader. But I'd probably no learned nearly as much had I skimmed, rather than read.

Goode also maintains WineAnorak.com, his own website where a number of longer format pieces are published.

Wine Link of the Day: Jack Handy & Paris Hilton

ROSHAMBLOG

Roshambo Winery in Healdsburg has made a career and created a devoted following by....now following. That is to say, Naomi Brilliant, artist and driving force behind the winery, rarely does things the way you'd expect a winery to do them. To further clarify, that's breath of fresh air.

I remember suggesting to Naomi a long time ago that she start blogging, that she possessed the perfect soul for such an endeavor. It appears she had other things to do...like making some beautiful wines. But now, with the help of Scott Keneally, it looks like they are well down the path to bloggersville.

With only a few posts under its belt, this winery blog clearly looks like it's going to be a fun diversion. We've already got appearances on the blog by Paris Hilton and Jack Handy's Sommelier, who makes an excellent point when he declares: "Don’t worry about accidentally pronouncing the ‘t’ in Merlot. That’s nothing compared to the time my mother caught me humping my bedroom"

All in all, very good stuff and good reason to return.

Link of the Day: Wine Fairies Do Exist

WineFairy.com

Lynn Krielow Chamberlain might be the most prolific interviewer of wine folk in the world. Her Wine & Dine Radio has been broadcasting on the Internet weekly an over the airwaves for 8 years now. Her hourly show has attracted the top wine people in the world. What makes Lynn so engaging to listen to is the real enthusiasm she projects for the people and topics she covers on her show.

The WineFairy.com website is an extension of her broadcast. The design is a tad chaotic but you'll find  everything you need to know: who was on the show last week, who's coming up, how to listen, all about Lyn, as well as an index of all the guests who have appeared on her show over the past eight years. It's an impressive list to say the least. You'll even find  few wine bloggers that have graced her show.