If you are looking for a good wine recommendation, and who isn’t, then you may want to stop in and have a look at Fine Wine Reviews and Ratings. Here you will find the blog for the Wine School of Philadelphia. The authors of this blog, Keith Wallace and Brian Freedman, offer this blog as an entry point for those that are interested in the Wine School. You will find here a collection of wine reviews, wine columns, day-to-day happenings, restaurant reviews, and tasting sheets that are included with every wine class or event that is hosted by the school. The philosophy at the Wine School is that information is critical for the true appreciation of a good wine, and that it should be available to everyone. The school itself provides a dynamic experience that merges both the academic and sensory experiences of wine appreciation. The mission at the Wine School is to raise wine education standards and to foster a community of passionate wine enthusiasts. You can see them ringing their philosophy true with their passionate reviews and columns that you will find in any of their recent bloggeries: Italian Pick of the Week – Montesole Fiano di Avellino 2003, L’Oca’s Anchovies, Domaine de la Janasse 2006 Cotes du Rhone Blanc, Italian Pick of the Week – Bertani “Le Lave†2002 Veneto, The August Newsletter, Italian Pick of the Week – Saladini Pilastri Rosso Piceno 2004, Vino Divino, and Italian Pick of the Week – Torre dei Gesuiti Sarrocco 2004 Puglia IGT.
You will find navigation on this wine blog very simple and easy to follow. The posts are left marginalized and there are both top and right navigation bars. Posts are standard black text on white background with a pale blue border around the post page. In the right navigation bar you will find the categories menu that contains the About page, BYOB Restaurants, Our Top Wine Shopping Spots, A Guide to Fairmount Restaurants, Get Your Free Wine Guide Today, Sitemap, and Bloglinks. If you travel to the About page you will find more categories including Food and Wine, The Wine World, Wine Reviews, and Wine Tasting Sheets. You will also find in the right navigation system the blogroll and subscription links. The top navigation bar is divided into the sections Taste, Read, Learn, Hire, and Give. Here you can read about wine tastings, reviews, wine courses, hire the School for corporate events, or give the gift of wine. I am unsure as to how long the blog has been active as there are no archives. The only navigation issue I had was the missing recent posts menu, which always makes jumping from one post to the other that much easier. However the blog is very simply laid out and overall has no serious navigation issues.
I will go with a 3.4 on this one. I always find wine blogs very interesting, and this one was no exception. The content is well written and clearly from an industry professional which gives the reviews and information an abundance of credibility. The blog scores well for uniqueness, navigation, and content then. However the blog is missing a little bit of punch that would spice up some of the postings and reviews. I think pictures of the wine being reviewed would add some zip to their sip and make the blog more aesthetically pleasing. I also think the blog could use posting a little more regular than weekly and even if just a small addition of wine quips or trivia here would definitely add to the appeal of the blog. Another suggestion would be to try and use some of the white space under the right column or stretch the actual blogs width because it is quite condensed at the moment with lots of empty space on the page. Overall however, the blog is a very informative read, and any wine lover would definitely take something valuable from it.
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– Chrissie
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