The Best of the Web
A Time 4 Wine
Nan and Michael, who have lived in Northern California for ten years, and who have travelled extensively through the Northern California wine areas, have created the stylish A Time 4 Wine. Extensive tasting notes, links to wineries, short articles and interesting, well chosen links make this a delightful site to visit, and to return to.
http://www.atime4wine.com
Acats InterNet Bar Pages
Though this site touches only lightly on wine, the non-commercial Acats InterNet Bar Pages, based in Sweden, offer as good an overview as I've seen of drinks and bartending on the Web.
http://www.epact.se/acats/
Arthur P. Johnson's wine-people.com
Arthur Johnson has always impressed his wine-loving peers with his literate and enjoyable wine notes that read like short stories. He shares them with the 'net on his outstanding Website, Arthur P. Johnson's wine-people.com, focusing on the people who grow, make, distribute and drink our favorite beverage. http://wine-people.com
Becky Wasserman
Although she is in the business, Becky Wasserman maintains a stylish and non-commercial site in French and in English. "The only bargains you will find are free thoughts and reflections on Burgundies and other wines, how they are made, and suggestions about drinking them. We will attempt to answer questions often asked, provide you with a roundtable, offer links to other sites, occasionally propose a recipe, and supply you with a calendar of work in the vineyards and in the cellars." An authoritative voice in the world of Burgundy.
http://www.beckywasserman.com/
Bipin's Wine Notes
Bipin's Wine Notes is a wine lover's personal Web page, but what a wine lover, and what a page! Bipin Desai is a Southern California "connoisseur" and very serious wine collector whose cellar is said to be one of the most comprehensive on earth. A prominent research scientist in particle physics, born in India, Desai is widely reputed to be a knowledgeable and generous wine enthusiast whose private tastings share amazing vintages with a wide circle of friends. His simple, spare Website notes: "For many years my friends have been urging me to write a book about the wines I have tasted. Having organized as many comprehensive tastings as I have over the past 18 years, and tasted as many great wines as I have, it is perhaps worth writing something about them. These Notes are the first steps towards that book." Diary-like and well written, his many tasting reports feature both detailed discussions of great wines and enjoyable digressions on the events and the friends who share them. Serious wine lovers will spend hours reading the reports on Desai's site.http://www.bipin.com
Compleat Winegeek
My pals Chris Coad and Lisa Erin-Allen work in creative fields in New York, love wine, and they weave together their enjoyment of wine and the communications arts in one of the most amiable - and very, very funny - personal wine-appreciation Websites around. Chris & Lisa's Compleat Winegeek includes their tasting notes on the wines they enjoy (with a special section for "Cheapies"). Their "Geekspeak Glossary" gives new meaning to wine jargon (an example: "Sniffing - Winegeeks spend a lot of time doing this, often concentrating hard enough on whether that is 'basil' or 'oregano' to make blood vessels in their tiny geek brains burst asunder.") Don't miss the "History" section, telling how Chris and Lisa came to know and love wine.
http://www.compleatwinegeek.com/
Damn Good Wine.com
Damn Good Wine.com says about itself: "The web's best damn site for wines and wine information. Wine reviews, lessons, products, tours, basically... all things wine." It has lots of attitude, but the content is outstanding. Greg Meserole has put together an excellent primer on wine tasting, there's a very good form for judging wine yourself, the tasting notes are well written and carefully considered, and the rest of the crew -- Vin Matthew, Dennis "Ace" Callahan and Anthony Giza each do a fine job. A fun and educational site. http://www.damngoodwine.com/
Delvino Winery
The Delvino Winery was founded by Louis Birner in Brooklyn, New York nearly 100 years ago after he and his family left their home in Romania to escape persecution. This charming little Website tells the story. It's a very pleasant byway on the Wine Information Highway! http://www.mtechpub.com/delvino/
Dr. Bacchus
Sometimes your neighbors are the last people you meet. I only recently discovered "Dr. Bacchus," a pseudonymous wine lover who lives in Lexington, Ky., just down the pike from me in the Bluegrass. His periodic articles about wine are idiosyncratic, stylish and fun. You'll find them on his Dr. Bacchus page.
http://www.drbacchus.com/
Dr. Vino
I enjoyed Dr. Vino's site very much. The doctor - he's a Ph.D. - describes himself as a "wine politics specialist and enophile (a.k.a. wine geek)" and offers his independent wine picks, views on wine politics, and more. It's a nice concept; wine and politics fills a niche that as far as I know had not previously been occupied. Don't miss his recently launched "reality" project, The Real Wine World. http://www.DrVino.com
Eric Anderson's Grape-Nutz
Here's another favorite personal wine site: Eric Anderson's Grape-Nutz. Eric says: "So, Who Writes All This Stuff? An internationally known expert? Some big wine publishing company? Nope, just a wine aficionado who feels it's his enviable duty to sample all the available wares." http://www.grape-nutz.com
Erik Skovenborg
It's almost impossible to convey the charm and content of Erik Skovenborg's excellent Hjemmeside (Danish for "Website"). Erik is a chess playing wine lover who is also a family physician in Egaa, a suburb of Aarhus, Denmark. In his words: "A great wine interest is pursued with enthusiasm supplied with literature studies of the medical effects of a moderate alcohol consumption. My mania for collecting is aimed at exlibris: medical bookplates and bookplates with wine and chess motifs." Erik has an exceptional collection of articles on wine and health, a good collection of wine quotes, some lovely book plates for wine books, and a keen appreciation of chess. Very highly recommended. In Danish and English. http://www.skovenborg.dk/
Gang of Pour
Gang of Pour is a group of wine-loving friends who say they gather to enjoy fine wine whenever they can, but don't like to be called "connoisseurs." The site is colorful, striking and decidedly offbeat. I think you'll like it. http://gangofpour.com/
German Wine Page
Peter Ruhrberg's non-commercial German Wine Page offers an excellent overview of German
wines (in English). http://www.winepage.de/
Guide du vin
Eric Maugendre is a self confessed connoisseur whose site is designed to help the wine lover in choosing, keeping and serving wine. Recommendations are backed up by tasting notes of European wines. Eric's main site is in French with very good content, and he has a charming explanation of how someone who reads only English can use his site. Highly recommended.
http://www.guideduvin.org/main.html
Hannu Lehmusvuori
One of the most charming and creative sites I've found on the Web is Hannu Lehmusvuori's Viidon Viini, a Finnish site that melds fine wine and fine photography in an innovative mix. Once you've taken a look at Hannu's innovative interpretations, you'll surely bookmark this site for frequent visits. In Finnish and English. http://www.nettivuori.com/viikonviini/
Into Wine
Michael McKinney's Into Wine page is on my bookmark list for regular visits. It's exceptionally stylish, attractive and informative, with many unusual features including "Wine & Health," "Wine & The Bible," and "A Collection of Toasts." http://www.intowine.com/
James Burnett
James Burnett -- Texas lawyer, wine lover, greyhound lover, music lover, book lover, Scotsman, and much else -- maintains an irresistable castle on the Internet Highway. "Please stay a while and enjoy the hospitality of this place. Lovers of noble Greyhounds, fine wine, good books, here you have friends. Those who enjoy music, history, provocative opinions, here you are welcome. I try to offer something more than, and a bit different from, the standard fare one often finds online." And that he does!
http://www.jamesburnett.com/
Joe Dressner
Joe Dressner, a principal of Louis/Dressner, a wine importer located in SoHo, New York City, maintains this personal "Blog Spot" where he waxes lyrically and otherwise on the joys and tribulations of being a wine importer.
http://www.joedressner.com
Kurt Missun
Kurt Missun, a frequent WLDG poster, is the primary author of the website for Bay Country Liquors in California, Maryland, and you can learn more about the store itself in the Retail Store section. The content of this site is truly remarkable, with excellent wine reviews, a fact filled monthly newsletter, crossword puzzles, at least one devoted to wine themes, and much else. Strongly recommended.
http://www.baycountryliquors.com/
Les Kincaid's Wine Country - All About Wine
Les Kincaid's Wine Country - All About Wine features a series of entertaining articles, including wine tasting, food-and-wine matching, food-and-beer pairing, vintage charts, wine vocabulary, ordering wine in the restaurant, judging the quality of wine and more. http://www.leskincaid.com/wine/
Mark Squires' E-Zine on Wine
Mark Squires' E-Zine on Wine offers a large collection of his tasting notes and witty, literate commentary on wine, as well as an interactive forum and other features. http://marksquires.com/
Matt Ragen
Matt Ragen has assembled a great deal of information about his family's growing interest in wine, including tasting notes, book lists, favorite wineries and more. I particularly like the way in which Matt has melded his interest in wine with his interests in mountaineering, photography, boomer kites, family geneology and more. An interesting stop. http://www.theragens.com/
Maureen and Bernie's Wine Travel Guides
Maureen and Bernie's Wine Travel Guides reveal a couple that enjoy their travels immensely. They've been in northern Italy, Spain and Bordeaux and they take great pictures, comment on places to eat, drink and stay, and seem to have a ball. Excellent links and recommendations of books of the areas covered. Very highly recommended.
http://www.kilkelly.com/winetravel.html
Murray Almond
WLDG regular Murray Almond describes his personal page: "A totally narcisissistic repository of the online musing of Murray Almond; an online wine identity from Victoria, Australia. The prime purpose of the site is to save me the task of have to use the WLDG Serach Engine to find old articles whenever someone has a request on Australia Wine, Wine Touring across Victoria or South Australia, the lates aspects of screwcap technologies, quirky aspects of Australian Culture or anything else that takes my fancy." Delightful and interesting writing. http://www.wineloverspage.com/community/murray
Paul Bulas
Regular WLDG contributor Paul Bulas is enchanted with French Hybrids and Labrusca varieties. His personal page contains interesting information on these grapes and his travels of vinous discovery. http://www.wineloverspage.com/community/paulbulas/
Peter Ruhrberg
Peter Ruhrberg offers an excellent overview of German wines (in English). Peter, a German who went to college in Scotland and speaks English fluently, was one
of the earliest settlers on the Web, and this informative personal site has worn well. It is simple, quick to load, and offers links to a variety of Peter's articles about aspects of German wine.
http://www.winepage.de
Pinotage Club
Pinotage, a cross of Pinot Noir and Cinsault developed in South Africa, has one of its leading defenders and crusaders in Peter May's Pinotage Club, spreading the joy of Pinotage around the world from his home in England. http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/8383/
Richard and Toby Bailey's Fine Wine Diary
Richard and Toby Bailey's Fine Wine Diary is simple, straightforward and rich in content. This UK-based site has been online for six years and features more than 5,000 tasting notes. http://www.finewinediary.com/
Spanish Wine Page
Jens Riis's Spanish Wine Page covers its subject thoroughly, with intelligence and care. It is one of my favorite wine pages. http://www.jrnet.com/vino/
TableWine
Roland Marandino's TableWine is a site devoted to discussing affordable table wines. http://www.tablewine.com/
TheStupids.com
Stuart Yaniger's Website places tongue firmly in cheek with its photos of the proprietors wearing jester's caps and its disclaimer, "Warning! This ain't Parker or Broadbent. Those with delicate sensibilities should go elsewhere." I mean, what would you expect from a site called "TheStupids.com"? But there's nothing stupid about the contents, which include plenty of wine notes (Yaniger's specialty is the Rhone) and straightforward wine talk. Highly recommended! http://www.the-stupids.com/
Tom Hill
An archive of Tom Hill's "long and boring" tasting notes may be found on the Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium. (Although it's a commercial site, there's lots of other content here, including some columns by owner Bob Senn.) Tom's notes may be long, but they are anything but boring. (You may also find Tom's notes on the WLP search engine by searching on his name at the WLP Search Engine.)
http://sbwines.com
Tony Fletcher
Tony Fletcher is one of the many New Yorkers - Brooklynites in his case - who frequent the Wine Lovers' Discussion Group. He writes: "'So is this what happens when record collectors grow up?' my friends asked. 'They move onto wine?' I guess so. Since returning from Australia and further indulging my wine obsession to the point of cataloguing my cellar as meticulously as I once did my vinyl shelves, I've been adding up the reasons why wine collecting is just like record collecting. Though I've been doing so with tongue somewhat in cheek, it's also a genuine attempt to self-analyze what drives us obsessives." Worth frequent return visits to see how this obsession develops.
http://www.ijamming.net/Wine/Wine.html
Vinklubben Ansvar
Olof Persson's Vinklubben Ansvar page, official homepage of the "Wine Tasting Group Ansvar" ("Responsibility"), records a wine-tasting group formed by a group of young biologists from the University of Lund, Sweden. Presented in English, it's an enjoyable page with notes on nearly 400 tastings. http://home.swipnet.se/~w-30918/
Vintage Voice
Marcel Lachenmann is an enthusiastic Boston wine lover with a very fine palate. His personal Website, Vintage Voice, bills itself quite honestly as, "No bells, no whistles, just wine." Updated often, it's well worth regular visits. It is particularly valuable before the annual Wine Expo in Boston when Marcel maintains a very useful page of Boston Wine Expo information for attendees (Marcel's page is much more useful than the official page).
http://lachenm.home.netcom.com/
Weinverstand.Die Info-Agentur
Ulrich Sautter publishes a wine magazine of exceptional quality, in German only at Weinverstand.Die Info-Agentur, featuring reports of his travels to the wine regions of Europe and many tasting notes. Current features of interest include a thorough report on the wines of Eastern Europe and Apulia in southern Italy.
http://www.weinverstand.de/
Wine Anorak
British wine lover and scientist Jamie Goode's Wine Anorak has evolved into one of the most comprehensive wine-appreciation sites on the Web. A must-visit! His Wine Tour of London is an outstanding feature - maps and descriptions of the best dozen or so wine shops in the capital. http://www.wineanorak.com/
Wine of the Week
Wine of the Week is edited by Sue Courtney, and is an essential stop on the Web for anyone interested in the wines of New Zealand. Each week Sue features a specific wine, interviews personalities, describes wine events, and discusses restaurants, publications and web links. A news feed, guest columnists, a monthly newsletter, a weekly chat and much more, round out this exceptional website. Very highly recommended. http://www.wineoftheweek.com/
Wine Philosopher
The Wine Philosopher lives in the Hudson Valley and has loved wine for over 30 years. He has put together a lovely site reflecting this love, with tasting notes, essays and more. Highly recommended. http://www.winephilosopher.com
Wine Slob's Wine Reviews
This is Michael Patterson's collection of tasting notes. Michael calls himself "The Wine Slob," but don't expect to see a drooling ape with a wine glass at Wine Slob's Wine Reviews. "My mission is to taste wines daily, usually with a meal and tell you what I think, no holds barred. While it's nice to enjoy the expensive wines, I am doing reviews on everyday drinking wines that are easy to find at a local store." An appealing labor of love.
http://wineslob.50megs.com/
Wine-Label-Gallery
Manfred Becker's personal site, Wine-Label-Gallery, is an absolute delight. Let Manfred explain: "Sorry ! that my english is so bad, but all my teachers failed with me! And so you have to bear my desperate english and my terrible grammar. This is my private collection of wine-labels, of course it's not complete - one reason is, that I don't collect only the labels, I mostly drink the wine too, and this needs time, money and a wife with patience... If You have some "double" labels and you don't need them, or if you are a winemaker and you miss your winelabel (or link), please send it to ME ! I'll add it as soon as possible...and it's not necessary to remove the bottle from the label...." Also in German.
http://www.kwagga.de/mab/wein/weinetgb.htm
wine-lines.com
wine-lines.com is an impressive personal website maintained by Richard Ross in the United Kingdom. The site features tasting notes, wine features, reviews, webcams and quite an active discussion group. Very professionally done. http://www.wine-lines.com
Winedoctor
Chris Kissack, a physician who lives in England, is the Winedoctor. If a glass of wine a day keeps the doctor away, he''ll help you find plenty of good medicine. Attractively designed and enjoyable, it is full of content and tasting notes. http://www.thewinedoctor.com/
Wino Stuff
"Distinctly different, not at all stuffy but full of complexity and a unique, enjoyable flavor" ... that's how I would describe Wino Stuff. Three wine loving engineers from New Jersey. Funny and informative; I think you'll enjoy the visit.
http://www.winostuff.com/
Zin Zealot
Vivian Nagy's Zin Zealot celebrates the contribution of Sonoma County ZINfandel wines to the happiness and enjoyment of life. http://home.earthlink.net/~nagyv/
The Rest of the Web
About Virginia Wine
Rob Roy writes: "If I have a specialty it is the wines of Virginia. I am not an expert by any stretch. However, after 25 years of Naval service (retired AVCM), I have learnt that to become an expert, one must practice. When it comes to wine, practice is a lot of fun!!" If you are interested in Virginia wine, About Virginia Wine is comprehensive with excellent links.
http://www.AboutVirginiaWine.com
Donald Ray Burger's Wine Page
Attorney and wine lover Donald Ray Burger's Wine Page features commentary on Champagne and sparkling wines, party wines, Port, places to buy wines, and links to wine sites on the Web. Good content, though seldom updated. http://www.donaldburger.com/wine.htm
Guide to Greek Wine
"I am a wine drinker," says Matt Barrett. "My favorite activity is eating in
a taverna with my friends and drinking wine. My favorite tavernas have their
own wine, straight out of the barrels, which are usually stacked against the
wall. We order it by the kilo and we can go through several kilos in an
evening." Barrett's Guide to Greek Wine is devoted to Greece, Greek travel and of course Greek wine. Worth a virtual trip.
http://www.greektravel.com/wine
Jeff Morgenthal
Jeff Morgenthal is a professional sommelier. His describes his site accurately; it "is intended to take a fun, informative approach to wine education, Restaurant Wine as well as tasting and recommendations. If you think that wine is a complex, confusing and ever-changing thing, well...you're right! In my eight years in dealing with wine professionally, I think it's safe to say that I've learned one thing: be humble. Listen when people are telling you what wines they like or they've tried because that's what they think is good wine (though sometimes you'd be hardpressed to have any clue as to why they'd think it's good)." Well done and promising. http://jeffswinefollies.com/
Kiwi Wine Fan Club
Craig Thomson's Kiwi Wine Fan Club is devoted to the wines of New Zealand. A stylish and interesting site displaying great enthusiam. Many photographs and special effects can lead to slow loading.
http://myweb.ecomplanet.com/KWFC4971/
Page of Portuguese Wine
The Page of Portuguese Wine appears to be a non-commercial site ("Convém salientar que neste momento o ambito do "site" é declaradamente não comercial"), with substantial content about Portuguese wine. (In Portuguese only.) http://www.vinhos.online.pt/
Rick McNees
Rick McNees is a wine lover, corporate developer and part time developer of Web sites for some Napa wineries, including Del Dotto, Elan and Clark-Claudon. His website provides an interesting insight to his many interests, and you can read about his wine collecting career in an article posted on the site from the "Wine Spectator". http://www.mcnees.org/
Rick Weissman
Rick Weissman hosts wine tastings and dinners in Manhattan and New Jersey, and lists competitive tastings, not only in the area, but in Long Island, Los Angeles and San Francisco. His site, Fun With Wine, has lots of great content, all presented in a humourous and interesting manner.
http://www.funwithwine.com/
Sally's Place
Sally's Place has been on the web since 1994, and features up-to-date news, insider’s scoop, and feature articles by a team of writers on food, beverages, restaurants, and travel. The wine site contains a number of interesting articles, and features regular tasting notes by Steve Pitcher.
http://www.sallys-place.com/
Seismo-Zombie Site O' Wine
Scott D. Davis is a seismologist by day and a wine lover at night. His Seismo-Zombie Site O' Wine doesn't appear to have been updated for some time, but it's worth a visit for its good content. http://clifty.com/wine/
Stephen Barrett
Stephen Barrett is a British entertainer and wine tour guide with a spiffy web site. A sense of his style: "These Wine Tour Holidays are designed to be "Holidays with Wine" as opposed to an intense educational experience. Long lunches seem to be the order of the day; especially in Rioja leaving plenty of time to explore the fine shops and famous Tapas Bars of Logrono."
http://www.stephenbarrett.com
Steve Manick
Steve Manick lives in California and visits California wineries. Here are his tasting notes, and descriptions of his favorite wineries. Down to earth and filled with facts (even a few from Europe).
http://www.manick.com/
Strat's Place
Wine enthusiast Art Stratemeyer celebrates his hobbies on Strat's Place, a personal site featuring a wine label collection, wine pronunciation, and features about gardening and the arts. http://www.stratsplace.com/
Vinprovningar Britt Karlsson
VinNytt (Wine News) is a monthly newsletter in Swedish and in English about wine and wine related subjects mainly regarding France. VinNytt is written by Vinprovningar Britt Karlsson who also organizes wine tastings, wine courses, wine trips and travel and consults on wine related issues. She provides information and advice on wines, grape varieties, wine bars, restaurants and wine shops. http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/vinnytt/homepage.htm
Wilder on Wine
Wilder on Wine is a weekly report written primarily by Todd S. Wilder from the San Francisco area. He writes that he started WoW to help fill an obvious gap in wine recommendations: simple, no-nonsense reviews of great wines that are both affordable and accessible. Wilder has written some really interesting reviews. http://wilderonwine.com/
Wine Boob Reviews
Check out the Wine Boob Reviews. These guys are having fun, and while they take their wine anything but seriously, they do know what they're talking about.
http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~breck/WineBoob/wineboob.html
Wine Dining
Based in Toronto, Richard Reichert's Wine Dining page is about Ontario, Canada wines and wineries, Ontario wine route travel links, and Ontario wine
reviews. http://winedining.net
WineBork.com
WineBork.com is a joint effort of several wine lovers with a distinctive approach to wine: "A WineBork is a self-appointed wine expert, in search of the rare 'nectar of the gods,' 'explodes in your mouth' wine experience. WineBorks typically value intensely fruity, oaky, opaque young wines.'" As you might expect, Zinfandel tasting notes predominate. http://winebork.com
Wineman.com
If you like serendipity, you may enjoy clicking on links at the Wineman.com. He's got a distinctive face (and apparently no other name), and the site layout is distinctly different -- dozens of links to articles and subjects. You may not always know where you are going, but the information is generally sound. Fun for awhile.
http://www.thewineman.com/index.htm
Yak Shaya's Wine Pages
This Israeli wine buff drinks a lot of Burgundy, and posts his notes on Yak Shaya's Wine Pages, his personal wine page. http://www.yakshaya.com/
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