Wine Blogging Wednesday

Now that I have your attention, let’s get down to business.

Next month, on August 8th to be exact, we’ll be celebrating the three-year anniversary of Wine Blogging Wednesday. Actually, in the early days, it was called World Wide Wine Blogging Wednesday. But, participants quickly streamlined the name and the rest is Internet history. What started out as a few hardcore wine blogging geeks has really grown into more than I could have imagined. For that, I am grateful. Thank you to every person who has ever participated.

But let’s stop looking back…let’s look forward.

The theme for WBW #36 is “Let’s Get Naked.” No, I’m not suggesting or encouraging anyone to drink their wine naked, though I guess you can do what you want in the privacy of your own home. Instead, I want everyone to try a naked wine…specifically a naked chardonnay.

You’ll see them labeled in many different ways: naked, unoaked, unwooded, steel-fermented, etc but they all have one thing in common…they are made without oak barrels. I’ve long been a fan of this style of chardonnay and I thought it would be fun to see what people can find and what they think of the wines. There aren’t any price or region limits this time. Just go out and find an un-oaked chardonnay and drink it. Easy, right?

Of course, I couldn’t let WBW’s third anniversary go by with just a simple theme and no other news. Oh no no no. I’ve got a lot more in store for WBW as we move into the future.

First, I’m happy to officially announce the launch of this new blog winebloggingwednesday.org. It will be a one-stop shop for everything WBW. So, instead of having to surf the wine blogosphere constantly to make sure you hear about the next theme, you can come here to learn all that there is to know.

Next, you guys all know me as the founder of and the central figure behind Wine Blogging Wednesday. But, in order to grow the event even further, I’ve decided to put together a group of WBW Advisors who will help me manage, grow and develop the event even further. You know this group of bloggers already–they are some of WBW’s most seasoned participants and wine blogging superstars. So please welcome Tim Elliott of Winecast, Andy Barrow from Spittoon and “Dr. Vino” Tyler Colman as the WBW Advisors. This group may grow in the near future, so stay tuned for more information on that. We’ll be working together to manage the ever-growing hosting queue, to build participation and to come up with new ways to use technology as part of WBW.

And finally, we have all enjoyed the current WBW logo for a while now. But, it’s time for a change so I’m announcing a new Wine Blogging Wednesday Logo Contest . Details will be coming later this week.

So that’s it from WBW headquarters here on Long Island. Don’t forget to join us on August 8th with your naked chardonnay!