Blogs of Note: West Coast Edition

Not surprisingly, America’s left coast is a veritable hotbed for wine bloggers, home to some of the most widely read sites in the vinous corner of the blogosphere. This edition of Blogs of Note is hardly meant to be comprehensive as I could barely begin to do justice to all the worthy sites in California alone, not to mention the Pacific Northwest. Instead, it’s just my shout-out for a few of the bloggers who keep me inspired and coming back for more.

Representing the old guard (in the best possible sense), Craig Camp has been at it since the first wave of wine blogging. The taglines for his site, Wine Camp, say it all: “a points-free zone” with “a terroir-ist twist.” Though a winemaker by day, at Anne Amie Vineyards in the Willamette Valley, Craig rarely uses Wine Camp as a vehicle for discussing or promoting his wines. Rather, he focuses on many of the same topics we all do, from tasting notes to the hot topics of the day, standing out not with brashness but with a sense of calm, wisdom and smartness that should be an inspiration to us all. His recent post on the long in the tooth sport of Parker-bashing is a perfect example.

At it since September 2007, Joe Manekin brings what I interpret as a more east coast sensibility to the diversity of his content at Old World Old School. Given that he’s a native Baltimorean, I suppose that makes sense, though he’s now soundly ensconced in the San Francisco scene. I’ll admit to a shared bond which may sway my opinions; we both post about music from time to time, including some shared tastes, and both lean toward, well, the old world when it comes to wine. He’s been on a Greek wine kick of late, a category in which I’ve barely begun to scratch the surface.

The newest kid on the block is Wolgang Weber, who launched his blog Spume in December of ’07. Wolfgang hit the ground running, backed up by his experience as Senior Editor and Italian wine critic-at-large for Wine & Spirits magazine. He writes thoughtfully about all of his topics, yet offers, through Spume, a personal touch that’s not possible in the more formalized world of mainstream print publishing. The personal affinity this time is cycling. I’m also a sucker for posts that reference Gang of Four while taking on the current fascination with natural wines and writing up what sounds like a great new San Fran shop and wine bar, Terroir.

If these three blogs aren’t already on your radar or in your reader, you owe it to yourself to give them a look. I hope you’ll find them as meaningful as I do.