The Wine Lovers' Page
This site is run by Robin Garr, a well-known journalist and wine writer who has been involved in online wine appreciation since the mid-eighties, when he was manager of Compuserve's wine forum. The Wine Lovers' Page is part-co-operative, with wine-tasting notes, articles and special features supplied by a global circle of amateur wine nuts. Generally, the standard is extremely high. The rest of the material is Garr's own, and his guides, reviews and recommendations are utterly reliable. The site is updated on an almost daily basis, with both the author's writings and key excerpts from recent threads on the site's Discussion Group.
The site is packed with features and articles that are well laid-out and load quickly due to sensible use of graphics. Often, longer pieces are sub-divided and a menu opens up in a separate frame allowing you to visit each sub-section in turn.
As one of the most comprehensive wine resources on the Web the sheer volume of data can make this sprawling site seem rather unwieldy. The over-long home page offers many options: scrolling down through the first couple of screens reveals a lengthy selection of headline links to the site's latest additions. Only then will you come to a banner proclaiming ‘Welcome to the Wine Lovers' Page' and ‘Where would you like to begin?' This introduces the navigation centre proper, with links to each of the site's main sub-sections. Generally, all lower-level pages have buttons for Home. Indeed, returning Home en route to visiting a new section is my tip to avoid confusion, but this site requires a bit of a rethink on its overall navigation strategy. Downloading pages is speedy enough, considering the volume of the content on some of them.
One useful feature of the site is an audio pronunciation guide for tricky wine and grape names. This requires an MP3 player for access, though thoughtfully, links to download sites are provided.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Each of these is accessible from the main navigation centre towards the bottom of the home page.
Wine Lover's Discussion Group A sophisticated bulletin board service where wine-lovers from around the globe can meet to discuss wine-related issues. This is not a chat room with live conversation, but a public forum where participants can see and respond to a whole series of discussions and debates on wine. The large body of knowledgeable participants includes amateur enthusiasts, wine-makers, writers and wine merchants. The discussion group is a phenomenal success, with debate of high quality. The civilised, welcoming and good-humoured tone is set by Garr who deftly moderates discussions. This is a delightful place to hang out for the wired-up wine lover, even though a lot of the discussion is rather US-centred.
Wine Tasting Notes Archive
This archive now boasts over 50,000 tasting notes, mostly garnered from the discussion group above, on everything from cheap and cheerful bottles, to the world's greatest and rarest fine wines. Possibly the largest repository of tasting notes on the web, with a useful search facility.
Wine Tasting Toolbox Everything you need to know about wine tasting, from a rundown on techniques and scoring systems, to tips on how to organise fun wine-tasting events. Everything is written in plain English and the advice is sound.
The 30 Second Wine Advisor For drinkers in a hurry perhaps? Sign up here and the author will send you a free weekly email with a brief and tasty selection of wine notes, wine tips and a link to the wine site of the week. This is a clever idea that is well executed.
Links A long list of international links, sub-divided into commercial and non-commercial categories, and each presented along with Robin Garr's brief comments. He also bestows his own personal ‘Top 10 per cent of all wine websites' award to outstanding non-commercial efforts.
OTHER FEATURES
There is a wealth of information and reference material on this site. This includes a collection of wine articles and essays by various contributors; the Wine Questionary where common questions about wine are answered; the Wine Label Decoder where the mysteries of the wine label are unravelled; and a
Wine Lovers Chat Room that assembles twice a week for live wine-based conversation.
The site is packed with features and articles that are well laid-out and load quickly due to sensible use of graphics. Often, longer pieces are sub-divided and a menu opens up in a separate frame allowing you to visit each sub-section in turn.
As one of the most comprehensive wine resources on the Web the sheer volume of data can make this sprawling site seem rather unwieldy. The over-long home page offers many options: scrolling down through the first couple of screens reveals a lengthy selection of headline links to the site's latest additions. Only then will you come to a banner proclaiming ‘Welcome to the Wine Lovers' Page' and ‘Where would you like to begin?' This introduces the navigation centre proper, with links to each of the site's main sub-sections. Generally, all lower-level pages have buttons for Home. Indeed, returning Home en route to visiting a new section is my tip to avoid confusion, but this site requires a bit of a rethink on its overall navigation strategy. Downloading pages is speedy enough, considering the volume of the content on some of them.
One useful feature of the site is an audio pronunciation guide for tricky wine and grape names. This requires an MP3 player for access, though thoughtfully, links to download sites are provided.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Each of these is accessible from the main navigation centre towards the bottom of the home page.
Wine Lover's Discussion Group A sophisticated bulletin board service where wine-lovers from around the globe can meet to discuss wine-related issues. This is not a chat room with live conversation, but a public forum where participants can see and respond to a whole series of discussions and debates on wine. The large body of knowledgeable participants includes amateur enthusiasts, wine-makers, writers and wine merchants. The discussion group is a phenomenal success, with debate of high quality. The civilised, welcoming and good-humoured tone is set by Garr who deftly moderates discussions. This is a delightful place to hang out for the wired-up wine lover, even though a lot of the discussion is rather US-centred.
Wine Tasting Notes Archive
This archive now boasts over 50,000 tasting notes, mostly garnered from the discussion group above, on everything from cheap and cheerful bottles, to the world's greatest and rarest fine wines. Possibly the largest repository of tasting notes on the web, with a useful search facility.
Wine Tasting Toolbox Everything you need to know about wine tasting, from a rundown on techniques and scoring systems, to tips on how to organise fun wine-tasting events. Everything is written in plain English and the advice is sound.
The 30 Second Wine Advisor For drinkers in a hurry perhaps? Sign up here and the author will send you a free weekly email with a brief and tasty selection of wine notes, wine tips and a link to the wine site of the week. This is a clever idea that is well executed.
Links A long list of international links, sub-divided into commercial and non-commercial categories, and each presented along with Robin Garr's brief comments. He also bestows his own personal ‘Top 10 per cent of all wine websites' award to outstanding non-commercial efforts.
OTHER FEATURES
There is a wealth of information and reference material on this site. This includes a collection of wine articles and essays by various contributors; the Wine Questionary where common questions about wine are answered; the Wine Label Decoder where the mysteries of the wine label are unravelled; and a
Wine Lovers Chat Room that assembles twice a week for live wine-based conversation.
COMMENTS
login to add a comment...Despite the occasional inconsistency in look and feel and the rather haphazard organisation, this remains an exemplary site in terms of content, expertise and objective advice. The author's gentle yet authoritative presence is felt throughout the interactive areas, and everyone from beginner to expert will find something to delight. Very highly recommended: a benchmark site.
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