2007 has been an interesting, busy and delicious year for me. I began several new endeavors, ate plenty of fine food and tasted some excellent wine. As 2008 nears, it is time to take a look back at this past year, to savor some of my best memories and achievements.
I have already provided two summary lists for 2007, my Top Ten Wines Under $15 and my Top Ten Wines Over $15. Now is the time for a general summary of the past year, a rundown of several key events. These are the five biggest and most important food and wine events of the past year for me.
A Passionate Foodie: The biggest event obviously has to be the creation of my new food & wine blog, A Passionate Foodie. I had previously been a primary contributor to the Real World Winers blog, which had begun in November 2005. When that blog began to falter, and eventually shut down, I chose to start my own blog. I still had a strong passion for food and wine, and wanted to share that with others.
As I am the sole contributor to this new blog, I have complete control over its content and design. I am able to write about whatever interests me in the world of food and wine. With over 600 posts and over 37,000 hits, I am quite satisfied with how matters have progressed. I am proud of how my new blog has turned out and hope to continue to improve it. Please send me any suggestions that you have for my blog.
North Shore Winers: This past February, I created the North Shore Winers Meet-Up group. This group meets at various wine events, from tastings to classes. I select the events, from public tastings to private events that I arrange. So far, we have attended 24 different events. It is free to join the Winers and many of the events have been free as well. The group has grown significantly over the past year and we currently have over 210 members. Next year, we will attend plenty of different events and hopefully our membership will continue to grow as well. It has been great to meet so many other wine enthusiasts as well as to help educate people about wine. It has been lots of fun.
Stoneham Sun: This past August, I began writing a weekly restaurant and wine column for my local newspaper, The Stoneham Sun. So far, I have written 20 columns so far and continue to be going strong. The column has been diverse with local restaurant reviews, wine recommendations and more. The response to my columns has been very positive. I look forward to writing many more columns in the future and hope my readers continue to enjoy my column.
Spain Vacation: This past fall, I spent two fantastic weeks vacationing in Spain. I blogged about so much of my trip, from the superb restaurants to the excellent wineries. Booked through Cellar Tours, we planned a special food and wine vacation. We visited nine wineries, in five different wine regions. We dined upon so much delicious food. We experienced so much on this luxury tour of Spain, from Madrid to San Sebastian to Barcelona and more. And one of the highlights of the trip was getting to meet Ryan and Gabriella of Catavino, fellow wine bloggers. They were great people and we had a fun time together. Next year, I will likely travel to Oregon, to Portland and the Williamette Valley.
A Passionate Foodie-Fiction: I have also created a supplement to my blog, a new blog that is dedicated to my original fiction about food and wine. There is currently only a single short story there, The Perfect Wine, but more will be added in the future. I would love to hear your feedback on my short story.
Best wishes to all in the New Year!
Your blog has become one of my favorites. Your posts are informative, enterataining, and above all -- well written. I also enjoy that you write about food as well as wine. No suggestions from me -- just keep up the great work and people will keep coming back to read!
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