An updated “About the Vinagoth”

I realized that I’ve been writing about wine here for over ten years. There have been long periods of silence in that decade, and a LOT of changes to how I buy and drink that wine. The silences have mostly been due to work and family situations. My wine buying and drinking habits have changed a lot around those themes as well.

When I started writing about wine in 2008, it was generally about wines that I bought in the grocery store, usually on the bottom bargain shelves, and my purpose was to find great values. Stuff that tasted good, and paired well with food, at or below a $20 price point.

Now, in 2019, I can’t even recall the last time I bought a wine at a grocery store. A work-related move in 2010 had me relocating to a very rural area, and losing my connection to a pretty damn good local grocery store with an excellent wine department. However I had started buying wine online (as noted here) and over time joined several wine clubs, especially with vintners I liked, and of course the Negociant Cameron Hughes. Many of the “vintners I liked” I have never even mentioned here because they have above the price point I started focusing upon. My wine collection grew into a proper cellar. I would only write about the “cheap” ones here.

Then, something else happened. The man that taught me about wine, my father, grew old, and eventually passed away. He left me a portion of his wine collection. On special occasions I pull out his old wines and share them with friends. These are great wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Piedmont, Rioja, Oregon, and Napa… going back to the early 1960s in some cases. It has been a privilege to taste them and they have helped me treasure his memory.

If you like my writing about wine, you might be able to find me on the Vivino. I’m in the top 400 reviewers in the USA, and some of the wines that have appeared here recently I have also covered there. Beyond that hint, it’s a treasure hunt.