Two Years Old Today

It is now two years to the day since I started the CambridgeWineBlogger, so it seems appropriate at this point to have a brief retrospective.

I started it during some down time at work as a way to record my experiences as a member of and occasional presenter for the Cambridge Food and Wine Society.

Things were pretty slow at first until several things happened all around the same time:

- firstly, I got into the habit of regularly reviewing wines online and found I could no longer "just drink" a wine, but had to make an assessment of it, even if only mentally (this is what Philip Goodband MW calls "building a taste memory")

- secondly, I got blogger stats and developed and unhealthy fascination with seeing which of my posts were being read and in which countries.

- thirdly, a few whizzy PR agencies with a digital brief started contacting me with press releases and invitations to review wines (which I always disclose).

As a result of the blog, I have rekindled my love of Austrian Wines at the Institute of Directors, travelled up to Naked Wines HQ for a speed tasting and met one of the greatest wine writers of all in person.

I have also made virtual friendships with a number of fellow wine enthusiasts, bloggers, professionals and a couple of MWs whose advice, comments and general wisdom have encouraged and challenged my thinking; there are now several posts on this blog that have come about directly as a result of online discussions on topics such as blind tasting, promoting Portuguese wines, texture and aeration.

I have never made any money out of the blog - it's still just a hobby for me, albeit one that periodically allows me to meet talented and passionate winemakers and sample a far wider and better range of wines than I would otherwise be able to.

I have also met many people in the wine trade - some with huge amounts of experience and knowledge, others doing completely new and innovative things.

In the two years of the blog, I have probably learnt as much about writing and communicating as I have about wine. I have learnt a bit about social media, too, but consider myself far from being an expert.

My ambitions for the blog are still not fully formed - my only thought is to keep writing and posting for as long as I enjoy it.

And so, on its second birthday, I raise a glass of something appropriate and say "Happy Birthday" to the CWB.