It is hard to believe that I have been writing for seven years, but WordPress just told me.  This will be my 1,463’rd article and I have only posted 1,357 photos on Instagram and there I am still in 2014. When I started thinking about it, everyone told me that I would have to be clever, because every obvious name would be taken.  They were wrong “The Wine Raconteur” was my first choice and it was accepted, though I never bothered getting it “dot com” as I wasn’t sure if my ability and interest would last, as I heard that the mortality rate was extremely high.  Raconteur was the proper name for me then and still to this day, as I am first and foremost a story teller, and even though it is an old fashioned word, since I started, I have noticed others used that term as well.  Then there is the thought that still pops up even now, who is going to read and care what you write, because you are not in the trade and you have no credentials.  I guess you can say that my credentials are what used to be called the School of Hard Knocks.  To this day, I have no credentials and I still don’t get carried away with descriptors, as some of the creative souls come up with combinations that to me, would make the wine sound totally unappealing.  I still meet up with people that have fifty some odd years of wine tasting under the belt and they agree with me, that talking about wine in the Dark Ages was much easier.

I have met only on the internet a large group of people that I truly enjoy and some I really call my friends.  As busy as bloggers can be, some with imaginary deadlines (like myself) and others that have become wine journalists, some of these people still have time to exchange niceties, quid pro quo responses and over the years we share in personal responses and jokes.  Some I only know by their “blog name” and they use the same name over several types of social media, and I guess that is how it should be.  Who would have figured that besides my blog I would be advertising it on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, though I will give you a caveat, and that is, do not get behind on your readings of your fellow friends, because you will never catch up in that endeavor?  I mean I have been able to used my nom de plume on different sites, though when I finally decided to go dot com, I discovered that my name was “bought,” so I went with dot net.  So, I do hope who ever has my name on dot com is happy, my only concern is that I still am computer challenged and I can’t figure out how to get email on my site, but eventually I will get that squared away as well.

I am still having fun, though sometimes I feel that my writing can become, if I am not careful be like Franklin W. Dixon and all the people who wrote using that name.  Some of my fellow bloggers are very successful and have won awards and travel and even they still maintain a humbleness, even when they are admitting that everything is complimentary.  Others, I feel, need to remind the world, how important they are, and I wonder if they do not pander and solicit for samples, because of “who” they are.  When I first began, and I would take photographs and notes, people would look askance at me, as if I came from another planet.  I only photograph wine, I really cannot capture the beauty of a plated dish at a restaurant, but if I am asked, I admit that I write.  I have had some wineries offer not to charge me for a tasting, and I have even had some offer me a trade discount (even though I am not really in the trade) and I guess, just through perseverance I am getting some recognition for my years of writing, I have even participated in three virtual wine tastings, which were plenty of fun, even if I had a back seat publisher (my Bride) reminding me, that I have to mention this or that.  Thankfully I don’t have to look handsome for a virtual tasting and I don’t need one of my trademark hats in the house.  Some of the people that I encounter actually look me up, while we are talking and especially now with seven years of articles being shown, I guess that is shows that I am not blowing smoke, not like the hot air from the subway lines that blew up Marilyn’s skirt in The Seven Year Itch.  So, I thank all of you, especially that charming group that I am endeared to, that all started about the same time as I did, and they are still writing and drinking (tasting) as well.