Best 2009 wine blogs named, led by San Francisco’s Vinography

Awards for the nation’s best wine blogs were led by San Francisco’s Vinography, which won recognition for best overall blog and best wine writing for the second year in a row.

Winners in the third annual contest were named in seven categories by the American Wine Blog Awards, now in their third year, also including wine reviews, graphics, business blogging, single-subject focus, and winery blogging.

Other winners included the Good Grape (best graphics or presentation), Lenndevours (best single subject blog, New York wines). the Wine Collector (best business/industry blog), Michel-Schlumberger’s “Benchland Blog” (best winery blog), and Bigger Than Your Head (best wine reviews).

The awards are produced Tom Wark, publisher of Fermentation: the Daily Wine Blog, and sponsored by Riedel Crystal, Mutineer Magazine and the OpenWine Consortium, which will be taking over management of the context next year. The OpenWine Consortium is a 2,500-member social network that runs the Wine Bloggers Conference.

This year’s winners will be honored at a ceremony at the Wine Bloggers Conference in July.

“Wine blogs and the democratization of wine writing that they represent are changing the wine industry and the way consumers learn about wine,” Wark said in a March 6 statement, noting that the more than 800 wine blogs now online are revolutionizing the world of wine writing and marketing. Wark also runs Wark Communications, a Glen Ellen-based wine public relations and marketing firm.

In a post on his web site, Vinography’s Alder Yarrow thanked Wark and praised the other winners, while making some suggestions to improve the awards, including dropping the adjective “American,” since wine blogging is a global phenomenon, give judges more clout than the lay public, bringing in “rock star” judges, and other suggested changes.

In 2008, winners included Vinography along with Good Wine Under $20 (best wine review blog and best single subject blog), Tablas Creek Wine Blog (best winery blog), Grape Radio (best wine podcast/video blog), the Wine Collector (best wine business blog), and Chateau Petrogasm (best wine blog graphics).