Happy New Year, y'all.
The holidays provide a certain conundrum in wineblogging. Going by stats, comments, and e-mails, I've noticed a few trends.
Readership jumps up during the months of November and December as novices and folks who are not regular readers hit the internet looking for advice on what to purchase for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, and the various parties in between, as well as for gift-giving.
Looking for a really last minute sparkling wine review? Try one of the 28 posts I've written on the subject over the past few years.
I think more of the wine fans read less during this same time period. Maybe they work in retail wine sales and at the end of the day all they want is to crack open a beer and not think about the Wine Spectator Top 100 List for a while. Maybe they've spent the two months fielding questions from friends, family, and co-workers and also need a break. Or maybe it's just the best time of year to simply sit back and enjoy a wine, setting aside the notebook and pen to make eye contact with a loved one across the table.
Likewise, this post is going up on New Year's Eve, but will mostly be read--if at all--on January 1, as a traditional day of sober rest and recuperation. Not the best time to write about a gin and Champagne cocktail or a crazy recipe incorporating pig ears and mushrooms.
Does this sound like burnout, or that I simply have nothing to post? Hardly! There's a dozen posts in the draft stage waiting for the light of day, some unknown quantity of bottles rattling around downstairs begging for review, and a few other surprises waiting for the proper moment. I'm also getting ready for my fifth anniversary here at BWR in a few weeks, and it's a great opportunity to look back and reflect. But anything meaningful is going to get lost in the shuffle, and I want the wines, recipes, and books to get the attention they deserve when everyone has recovered and feels like reading again.
I wish you all a safe and happy holiday, a good rest this weekend, and an exciting and productive 2010.
Cheers!
9 comments:
Have a Happy New Year Benito!!
Sending giant hugs from out west.
Sam
Ben,
Happy New Year my friend. This year we will eat together my house, thats a promise. Will get the old man over as well. You do a great job here I really enjoy reading you posts. May 2010 be the best year of your life.
Sam,
Virtual hugs right back at you, and hope you have fun this weekend.
Mike,
Great seeing you yesterday, and we definitely need to get together in the next few months.
Cheers,
Benito
Keep up the great work, my friend. We'll taste wine together soon. I hope this day is as relaxing as it should be for you. Me? I gotta get the Xmas champagne post up!
Fredric,
Congrats on another spectacular lineup for the proper twelve days of Christmas! Here's hoping you have a great Twelfth Night next week, however, I hope that your appetite for wine does not sicken and so die. :)
Cheers,
Benito
Benito,
It hasn't been long that I found your site and I'm enjoying it's contents very much, keep up the great work.To you and to everyone
here, HAPPY NEW YEAR, I wish you all, great wines, great food and great cigars,(Habanos, of course, LOL )
BONNE ANNEE et BONNE SANTE A TOUS
Guy
South of France
Cheers! I agree with no posts on Jan. 1. I finally started feeling like a human being around 8 PM. Anyway, looking forward to reading your stuff this year, and maybe we can get all the Southeasterners together at some point...
Guy,
Bonne Année, monsieur! It is a pleasure to hear from readers in France.
Joe,
maybe we can get all the Southeasterners together at some point...
I've been thinking along those lines for a while now, starting with compiling a list. The trouble is coming up with a name that doesn't sound like a Neo-Confederate organization. :) SEC states plus Texas and North Carolina? We'll chat later.
Cheers,
Benito
Happy New Year Ben! I'm looking forward to BWR in 2010.
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