With This Wine I Thee Wed..
William Butler Yeats wrote a long time ago that sex and death are the only things that can interest a serious mind but then Yeats wasn’t much of a wine drinker and historians tell us that neither was his wife. So, let’s add wine to the Yeats subject mix, bring in a married couple who happen to love writing about wine almost as much as drinking it and ask them in what order some of these special wine type conversation pieces make up their days.
If you are one of the many who read and follow wine blogs then chances are you have heard of or even read the very fine on-line publication called simply Another Wine Blog. It is an unassuming name to be sure, but the truth is this blog is often a great deal more interesting than it’s modest name implies. It comes to us by way of Amy (@WineWonkette) Corron Power and her husband Joe (@HoustonWino) Power. The Twitter handles are, I’m sure, familiar to many and should point you straight in the direction and tone of this piece. Together, they contribute to and manage a body of wine writing that takes everyday, real wine drinkers into consideration first and foremost and never trivializes, even when the subject matter becomes wine industry specific.
What’s really great about reading them is that it’s apparent they don’t take any shit. Evidence of that is to be found in an archive Joe post on Top Ten Drinking Movies. Somewhere between a couple of his choices including Bad Santa and My Favorite Year is where the site’s overall perspective is to be found.
Their voices are real and folksy with occasional attitude of sorts. For example, if one reads Joe’s description of himself, readers would learn that he’s an avid football fan, mainly listens to old Punk and Jazz, claims to cook better than his Mom and “once killed a man just to watch him die,” a sentiment that makes us quiver like an old Johnny Cash tune. It’s there just to see if the reader is really paying attention. Whereas Amy reveals that she was raised by tee-totaling educators in West Virginia, ended up a self proclaimed political junkie, attorney and “wine lover by night” who once got on the wrong train during Study Abroad in Japan and ended up at Tokyo Disneyland. Oh, and she tolerates Joe’s apparent obsession with Lucinda Williams.
Another Wine Blog is one of the few wine blogs whose material is posted exclusively by a wife/husband team. We’re accustomed to The Dudes, Good Grapes, Yarrow’s, Heimoff’s and Women and Wine, The Harlots and Gonzo Gastronomy but this seems to be the most interesting battle of the sexes on our street. With Valentine’s Day hovering and love in the air we asked Amy and Joe if they would talk with us about some things including what drives their joint creativity and who really manages the bar there.
Tell us how you guys met. Was there any wine involved?
Amy: The way Joe and I met had nothing to do with wine, but was all about college football. I graduated from Marshall University, and Joe attended and was a fan of the University of Toledo. Back in 1999 Marshall and Toledo were both in the Mid American Conference (MAC) and bitter rivals. This was because Toledo was poised to go to a bowl game but went to Marshall for a championship. Because of some weird unbalanced conference rules, Marshall with an inferior win-loss record went to the bowl game. A bunch of us were using social media created by an alumni from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Miami and Toledo had been consistent leaders in the conference. I was the only woman. Most of the guys hassled me and tried to chase me off — because I knew more about football than some of them did. And they just didn’t want a woman in their “locker room” so to speak. Two of the more evolved guys came to my defense. One was Joe.
So he meets this girl who not only knows football but can take it to a guy level as well?
Amy: Definitely. I always kid the avid football fan whose wife doesn’t like football. If something is that important to you, why would you want to live with someone who doesn’t share your passion?
I grew up in a neighborhood where there were no girls my age. We had the biggest yard. I was PLAYING O line to my younger brother’s quarterback. I was a tomboy. But my parents didn’t want me to be a “girl jock” so instead I was a majorette and on drill team. On the outside I look like a “girly-girl” but on the inside I’ve always felt like one of the guys. I’d much rather be in the den talking about football and politics with the guys than in the kitchen talking about babies and swapping recipes with the women.
This seemed to scare off most guys as far as romance was concerned. Especially in Texas. Joe is confident enough in his own sexuality that this doesn’t bother him. And the fact that he had 2 sisters and mother that were pretty tough, he was used to it.
Between the two of you who is more passionate about wine?
Amy: Joe without a question. He lives and breathes food and wine. I think Joe is more passionate than I about most things: music, football, film. I’m passionate about women’s issues and politics. And photography. I could spend the day at a winery and vineyard taking photographs and forget to taste wine. I tend to be stimulated visually and emotionally, and Joe lives fully through all five senses.
Joe: Depends on who gets to the last glass in the bottle first.
Setting sports aside, what’s your favorite wine together?
Joe: If you are offering payment for this interview, we’ll take a ‘61 Margeaux…but our favorite we’ve tasted together might be the ‘95 Cornerstone Howell Mountain Cab. Our favorite everyday wine would probably be a certain potty-mouthed blend from Twisted Oak.
Amy: I’ve developed a fondness for older Grand Cru Classe’ Bordeaux, especially those from Margaux — or anything with the French funk. Joe likes the big California fruit bombs. We tend to buy a lot of California Rhone-style blends.
You guys are obviously inclined to social media and use it pretty effectively. When you see Robert Parker coming to Twitter with 2000 followers while following just 4 himself what do you think?
Joe: He’s Robert Parker. If he doesn’t want to follow anyone, he doesn’t have to. His followers will still get a lot out of following him if he is active. That said, he has no clue what he is missing by not using Twitter to it’s fullest extent.
Amy: I cynically think it’s not really @RobertMParker but some 19-year old intern he’s got so he can have a “presence” on twitter. But social media is not the same as print journalism. Writers tend to need editors to whittle down their verbosity. If all eBob needed was 140 characters he wouldn’t be the wine god writer that he is.
Since you were raised by tee totalers, who introduced you to wine and when?
Amy: If you leave out the White Zin phase of my life…I started my true wine education in law school. One of my professors, John Barrett, was the local wine guru in Toledo. He told us if we wanted to be lawyers we needed to know about wine. Through the International Law Students Association, Barrett hosted a wine appreciation tasting at the local wine merchant. I think he even gave us extra credit to attend. Then, Joe and I went to a local “Salute to the Judiciary” wine tasting and left there to go to an Alice Cooper concert. Seriously. But we really got into wine after a visit to Sonoma after an American Bar Association annual meeting in San Francisco. We fell in love with California, as well as wine.
Where do you and Joe see Another Wine Blog at the end of 2010?
Joe: You will ALL be working for us!
Amy: First and foremost, I see it as a tax write-off. But seriously, I want to see us add more writers. Expand our acumen to other AVAs outside of California. Washington State for one; and cover the European Wine Bloggers Conference, up close and personal.
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