#NewWineThisWeek - A new online wine trend

It's a bit of a cliché, but I think it stands true; social media is changing the world and the way that we look at it. Websites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are allowing people to connect across the globe with people who have similar interests and hobbies. 

The world of wine is no different. After all, it was Twitter that put me in contact with Laura, who in turn got me writing for this website!

One platform that I have found invaluable for learning more about the myriad of wonder that is wine is blogging. I have been blogging for just under a year and during that time have greatly enjoyed the interactions that I've had with like-minded people from all over the world.

It was through these posts that I came across two particular bloggers, Mike and Ant, who write excellent blogs on their respective journeys through wine. Earlier this year they came up with an idea that was quite beautiful in its simplicity. Each week they would select a new wine to try, this could be a new grape or a new area, or a well-known grape in an area that wasn't so renowned for it; the focus was all about expanding people's wine horizons and increasing their breadth of knowledge. They would select the new wine of the week to try out and would encourage others through Twitter (using the hashtags #NewWineThisWeek and #NWTW) and their blogs to also try these wines so that everyone could compare notes and likes/dislikes.

Mike sums up their aim nicely: "[the] main idea is about getting people out of their comfort zone and getting them touring round the whole wine shop, adding small bits of info each time and building up their (and let's be fair, ours too) knowledge of world wine." Ant added to this by saying that they were trying to get people to experiment a little more rather than "just going for Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and Rioja as a default!" Of course, there's nothing wrong with these wines - it's just they represent a very small selection of what the world of wine has to offer, and by encouraging people to try something different they may very well discover something they like even more.

Thus far they have tried to vary the wines that have been the subjects of examination. We've had Barbera from Piedmont, Albariño from Northern Spain, Chilean Carménère and Australian Riesling. Two whites, two reds; old world, new world... quite a variety there!

So, what does the future hold for #NWTW? Both Ant and Mike are hoping to (virtually) meet a lot more people through this concept and that together they can discover more about wine. If they were being even more ambitious they would like to take this idea to a newspaper/magazine/website and get a regular feature on it to reach a greater audience. And why not?

This week's #NWTW is Argentinian Torrontés. Perhaps you my want to try it out too and let us know your thoughts? 

(Note: Credit for the artwork at the top of the page belongs to Zelda who designed it for Ant and Mike)