OWOS Welcomes you in the '08

Happy New Year! To my family, friends, readers, fellow bloggers, colleauges, commenters, lurkers, b-boys and girls, punk and yacht rockers...welcome back to Old World Old School. Happy New Year, and I hope for all it is a year of health, exploration, growth, activity, and, as it relates to these pages, tasty, authentic, and honest wine, great food and real music.

Just to rewind back to the NYE celebration last night, we had some folks over, drank Mont Marcal cava, Ariston Brut and Brut Rose champagne, 1998 Cronin Zinfandel Mourvedre and 1974 Charles Krug Cabernet. Everything was tasty, though the latter really stood out. The wine was full of life, spicy and a bit bretty on the nose, but with loads of savory cherry fruit. And the fruit was not as sweet as a few generally higher regarded cabs I've had in the past from the '70's, at least from '78. The music was eclectic - a little Brian Eno, Billy Joel ('Los Angelenos' - that's an album cut from the oft overlooked Streetlife Serenader record. Good album.), Dylan and The Band, and a good stretch of The O'Jays which threw the crowd into a dancing frenzy. DA-da-da. Da-DA. DA - What they do.

While I get ready for what remains of the day, ponder if I'm going to see Sweeney Todd or The Savages and sip on some really tasty Lupicia Gyokuro 'Seiran No Homare' green tea, I thought it worthwhile to look forward to the (blogging) year ahead, think through what I'd like to accomplish on these pages, and give folks a sense of what's ahead. So here are some points as it relates to OWOS:

PERSONAL TASTE

This will continue to be a blog driven by my personal sense of aesthetics. Bear in mind that wine drinking, as with music, is ultimately subjective. You don't have to agree with me, but if you disagree you risk being completely off base and plain wrong. I joke....

WINERY AND VINEYARD VISITS

I will be visiting more vineyards and wineries this year and look forward to writing about them here. As I continue to live in the Bay Area, and continue to work the often rigid schedule of the retail wine business, most visits will be concentrated on who I think is making great wine locally. Napa may not figure too prominently in these visits, as they have long since ventured to the dark side of winemaking. Look for more stuff from Santa Cruz in particular, with Sonoma and other areas likely to be visited as well.

I LOVE MUSIC!

Now that I am somewhat more settled in my new city, I intend on seeing a lot more live music and writing about it. As time allows. At least I know I'll see a lot more concerts, reviewing them will take some discipline....

JOE MANEKIN - BLOGGER OR PROMO WHORE?

2008 is the year of shameless, unabashed promotion of this blog. To that end, I plan on being a bit more proactive in getting more people to read. How, I'm not yet quite sure, but of course I want more people to read. Not just wine geeks. Don't get me wrong, I still write this blog primarily as a means of self expression, continuing education, and organizing/documenting lots of random stuff in one convenient form. But while I am doing so, I might as well try to reach out to as many people as possible and hopefully entertain the masses who are bored at work.

Thank you to everyone who reads, and especially to everyone who occasionally shares comments on these pages. Thanks to my parents for continuing to read and to my brother Michael for reading and providing a real writer's input. Thanks to Mateo who encouraged me to begin blogging. Thanks to Paul who introduced me to Lyle's blog, which introduced me to Manuel's blog. Both of these are blogs, like this one, which began in 2007. Pretty good company. 2008 looks to continue to be The Year of the Wine Blog. Keep on reading, and I'll keep it coming.

Peace and Happy New Year,
Joe