I was really impressed when I saw this post on PinotBlogger.com, offering a scholarship to a lucky wine blogger! As a fledgling blogger, I love seeing what others are writing about, and this certainly peeked my interest- in more ways than one. I can’t wait to read the entries and of course I love a challenge and shot at winning the potential $1000 prize!

So, it is with that thought in mind and glass in hand that the following post comes about, based on these entry questions:

1. Why are you passionate about wine, and what motivates you to blog about it?
2. Choose any wine, from any area or appellation and use your analysis of it as a springboard to answer the following question:
Is it appropriate for a wine reviewer to prescribe the ways in which a wine should be made, or is their job chiefly to review what’s in the bottle? Use examples from the wine you choose to illustrate your position.

I get the question so often, ‘why do you write the Wine Much blog?’ It is funny, because after all of the times that I have been asked (and actually considered and responded to) this question, I am still not entirely sure what to say. I just love wine so much, I guess that I want to share my passion with as many people as I can. And, to me, a blog is a non-intrusive way to share my opinions. This is with the hope that if people are actually reading my blog, that they at least are somewhat interested in what I have to share!

As the owner of a boutique winery, the blog also gives me a chance to step outside my usual role and think about wine in a different manner. I love tasting and reviewing wine and teaching others about wine, with the hope that they too will come to enjoy it as much as I do. I remember when I just started learning more about wine and going to tastings, before there was a plethora of information available on the internet, that I had so many questions and did not know where to look for the answers- and I was also embarrassed by my lack of education in the realm of wine. While there are so many resources out there, I like to share helpful hints and information with my readers that I believe may assist them in their wine journey. Heck, my mother even told me after reading my post about decanters that she wanted to run out and buy one. If you knew her and the fact that her wine experiences usually consist of a glass of White Zinfandel in a restaurant, you would understand how remarkable that was to me! I guess that is the essence of why I write the blog.

I often read blogs that run the gamut regarding their style of review on wines. As a producer (I don’t want to call myself a winemaker, as I have a winemaker who actually makes my wines and I just set the wine plans with him), I can see how easy it would be to slip into analyzing the winemaking process on the way to reviewing wines. Although I believe that it can be important to consider the winemaker’s intent and the evolution of the wine to understand some wines, I believe that the two need not always be tied.

A couple of months ago, we had some wine enthusiast friends over and we shared a variety of different wines throughout the evening, old and new world style, from light whites through to lush reds. Near the end of the evening, we pulled out a bottle from one of our favorite producers, Coturri Winery. Our selection- the 2006 Coturri Estate Vineyards Zinfandel, which is not for those who are faint of heart. Here is my review taken from my organic wine post on March 23, 2009: This is a Zinfandel like no other. It begins with black fruit on the nose and moves into a very lush mid-palate of dark fruit and musty dark earth, finishing with a nice acidity. This is a highly extracted wine that will leave your teeth a deep purple. Oh, and plan on decanting this one, or you will be straining sediment through your teeth.

Coturri Winery produces truly organic wines, with owner Tony Coturri often touting that is wine is ‘just grapes.’ While we love Coturri wines, we also appreciate the winemaking process that Tony practices and believes in so strongly. Our friend (who will remain anonymous to protect the presumed innocent), apparently believes that wine should be manipulated to produce as close to a perfect product (in his mind) as possible. Should Coturri add water in the winemaking process? Should we taste his wine and judge it on its merits as a completely organic product free from engineering? Should this wine be held to a different standard than a wine that was altered from grape to bottle? Some interesting questions did come about from this experience, and these are valid points to consider.

Personally, I appreciate many wines for what they are, both considering and not considering the winemaker’s intent and the winemaking process. I just like to keep in mind that anyone can be a critic. I know that I like to see a good review, not a critique.