What is Vine Language?

    When I first came up with the idea for a business name called VineLanguage, I only had what I thought was a catchy name for freelance wine writing. It never occurred to me what direction, if any, this “business” would take me. After all, I’d had a 28 year absence from writing of any kind, much less any background in writing about wine.

 

    Now, with a couple of years and a few steady writing gigs under my wine bottles, I’ve decided the parts of wine writing I enjoy the most is promotional writing for individual wineries and introducing readers to the wine lifestyle. By this I mean, introducing new wineries and new vintages, namely, by wine descriptors. “Earthy, muscular, effervescent.” Yeah, it works, but open up any mainstream wine publication and you’re likely to find the same words. Why hire me when one can basically copy descriptions right out of the dictionary? 

 

    That new Chardonnay release of yours? Is it “buttered popcorn in a glass, best paired with Gone With the Wind and a warm body to cozy up to,” or will it be “decidedly opulent in golden hues, showing lusty hints of caramel and American oak?”

 

    If you chose the former, then we should talk.

 

    In our ever-changing economy, our ever-lovin’ wine world has been affected, along with everything else. Everyday wine drinkers who never thought twice at picking up a case or two of their favorite Cabernet are now thriftily buying it bottle by bottle.

 

    Plus, we’re eating at home more, which means drinking at home more. As the saying goes, “Home is where the heart is.” It’s also where the wine bottles are.

 

    I enjoy the entertaining-at-home-with-friends aspect of wine drinking. And when I’m joined by friends who describe what they just tasted, it usually has nothing to do with French, American, or Hungarian oak. In other words, I remember WHO I was sipping with, WHERE we sipped, WHAT the weather was like, WHY we got together in the first place, and HOW great the wine tasted. Oak was never invited into our conversation.

 

    Of course, I admire the well-known wine critics who have spent years perfecting their knowledge, along with their keen sense of smell and taste. But they write from other wine worlds, and I am but a humble Valley gal whose goal is to write fun things about wine and hopefully entice fellow wine lovers to visit the places that make it happen. 

    While Robert Parker may have his pick from any voluptuous bottle on the face of the earth, at the end of the day, all you can do is uncork, unscrew, and drink the stuff.

 

That’s Vine Language.

 

 

 

 

What I Do...
Wine Club newsletters (including formatting), events, press releases, wine descriptors, and winery/winemaker bios, website content.

 

Why Do I Do It?

I spent most of my formative college years as a feature writer for Delta College. All that great experience was put on the back burner for the next 27 years as I became a wife, mother, wife, mother, and then a wife again. Don’t ask.

 

More life experience you couldn’t ask for! Trust me.

 

I am a regular contributor to Lodi-based D’Vine Wine & Visitor’s Guide and The Arbor, a nationally published wine lifestyle magazine. Cyberwise I have written for the San Francisco Chronicle's online edition, SFGate.com and TheJuice.com. Additionally, I have written for Downtown Lodi Busines Partnership, as well as several wine related websites, 
 

For me, wine is truly a passion. Through various wine events, I’ve met countless people in the industry, all with an interesting story to share. I feel that writing about my experiences with wine is my way of giving back to a pastime that has awarded me many times over, both personally and professionally.

 

Contact Me

vinelanguage@sbcglobal.net

209.603.2574