I am not sure where the time went, but on 4 May 2012 01:10 GMT my first article was published and I questioned why would anyone want to read my ramblings, and I still ask that eternal question.  As I look back, it was terrible, and I am not sure if there is much improvement.  I was never around people that drank wine, I grew up where the drink of choice was a shell of beer or a Seven and Seven, or better yet a Boilermaker.  I liked wine from a standpoint as a kid, if I was on a date and all dressed up; and I ordered a bottle of wine with dinner, no one asked for any identification.  So, at sixteen, I began my quest of wine education in a city that only had a few restaurants that had more than carafes of jug wine.  I just knew that I didn’t want to be a snob, as I didn’t like the way, that a lot of articles about wine, seemed to make it appear that it was an inner circle type of enjoyment.  I tried many ways at first, trying to borrow points from this writer and that writer.  Actually, twelve years ago, there was a group of us that ended up following each other and it was fun, and quite a few of that group are still blogging; a few have become wine journalists and even accredited wine judges on panels.  As for me, it was fun and kept me off the streets.  The first year, I actually published an article every night at 01:10 GMT, just to get in the habit of writing, since it had been a long time since I had been in college.  The second year, I started publishing every other night, and until maybe around two years ago, I became a slacker and started publishing every third night; and it is not because I have run out of ideas or wines.  Somewhere, in the early writings I found my voice, or my conceit of writing, that it is best if I think that I am at a bar or a table, talking to another individual, while we drink wine.  I can’t lecture, but I can talk, tell stories, and make the stories revolve or include wine, and hence I became the Raconteur.

When I was a kid, we went out for dates, and usually at restaurants.  The high school that I attended was what is now called a magnet school, back then it was your grades that got you invited and accepted (who knew).  The only problem was that the school was in Downtown Detroit, and the students could be from all points in the city, so downtown was the most logical place for dates, and my discovery about wines made it all worthwhile, because downtown was where a fine restaurant would carry a selection of wines.   So, besides writing about wines from my memories, I would write about the restaurants that I would frequent, when possible, because minimum wage back then was $1.25 an hour.  Over the years, these articles about Old Detroit are some of my most popular pieces, and have taken on a life of their own, to the point where people have even left messages for others on the thread that grew after publication.  Some may even still think of Detroit as the Automotive Capital of America and back then cars had personalities.  There were restaurants even away from the downtown that cater to the automotive business men and workers, only a couple might have French Cuisine, but you sure could get a great steak with all of the trimmings, and appetizers galore.  I wrote about a place near and dear to my heart, as it was where I grew up, and the last time, I did a Google search, I discovered that I was the second and third listing for the site, and I was even copied to other sites at well.  Joey’s Stables of Detroit (Delray) may be gone on maps, but not in the hearts of my readers, friends and family.  It makes me smile and this is a fluff piece where wine is kind of peripheral.

What always surprises me, is that I have followers, because I have never asked anyone to follow me.  There are always about a thousand readers a week, which includes visitors to my site, and people on Facebook, Twitter or whatever it is now, Instagram and where ever else people find out about my articles.  Yes, I do enjoy wines and I write about them and usually from the viewpoint of the situation.  I am held in low esteem by some (who still follow me though) because I have no designations or wine degrees.  One day, I might do the Century Club, to see how many varietals I have had in the fifty plus years of wine enjoyment.     

My Bride, and everyone of my characters that get mentioned have nom de plumes, as if I was Dashiell Hammet.  She has endured and put up with all of my craziness, in fact, I think she was one of those that pushed for me to start writing.  When we met, she only ate fish and drank white wine, that didn’t last long, and there are times when we end up having a better bottle of wine out for dinner, if there is a great bottle of Cabernet Franc that may have her name on it.  She likes to get dressed and go out for dinner, and alas there really are no more night clubs for dining and dancing.  She realizes that our day trips, dinners, vacations, and any social event may be fodder for an article.  And there are times when she has to put up with my gripes about the quality of the wines offered, but if we can suffer, so can my readers, because it is the real world and I don’t live in a world of only hundred dollar or better wines.  She might also be chomping on the bit, to have a drink, and she has to wait for the world’s worst iPhone photographer.  The queue on my phone is often full and I often get messages that some cloud that I didn’t request can’t handle all of my photos, so I guess I will still be writing until it no longer gets fun anymore.   Now, I will get back to being a Raconteur and publish at 01:10 GMT.