Happy New Year 2014 from The Academic Wino

Always popular California wines.

 

Disclaimer: While this post has a sponsor, all facts and opinions expressed are those of the research article I am presenting as well as my own, none of which have been influenced in any way, shape, or form by the sponsor.  I do not accept suggestions or recommendations from the sponsor for any story ideas or post content. 

Happy New Year 2014!

Here we are at the end of 2013—my, oh my, how does time fly!  2013 was a fantastic year for The Academic Wino:  between winning a scholarship to attend the 2013 North American Wine Bloggers Conference in Penticton, British Columbia, to being nominated for a Wine Bloggers Award and being awarded the Donnafugata Award for Excellence in Enotourism in addition to a full scholarship to attend the 2013 Digital Wine Communications Conference in Rioja, Spain; 2013 sure has been amazing!

Photo by Celestial Sights Photography, LLC

Photo by Celestial Sights Photography, LLC

2014 is slated to be full of growth and development for The Academic Wino as well!  I’ve recently acquired a video camera, so hopefully I’ll start cranking out short video segments in the first quarter of the year.  I’ll also be attending the 2014 North American Wine Bloggers Conference in Santa Barbara County, California, where I aim to develop my brand and my blog even further, while also contributing financially to the Wine Bloggers Conference Scholarship program.

2014 will also be a year full of personal change and growth for me as well!  I’ll be attending the wedding of my future sister-in-law in Cancun, Mexico in early 2014, then later in the spring; I’ll be headed up to northern Vermont to attend my 10 year college reunion.  Then, sometime late summer/early fall, my fiancé will be getting his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia, and by then hopefully an idea of where he will be beginning the rest of his career.  Regardless of where he gets a job, we’ll be on the market for a new house where we can settle and begin the rest of our lives.

Finally, the biggest personal event of 2014 for me will be mine and my fiancés wedding in the fall!  We’ve been slowly getting things planned for this event, and will need to start cranking things up a bit in the near

Photo by Celestial Sights Photography, LLC

Photo by Celestial Sights Photography, LLC

future.  Surprisingly, we do not yet have a solid plan for the wine we will serve at our wedding, though we do have a few ideas.  In terms of the blog, I will be looking for several guest posts during September and October, as I will be so busy with the wedding and the honeymoon to Argentina that I may not have as much time to blog during that period.

For the last post of 2013, I bring you a short (6.5 minute) video that while it was made nearly 5 years ago, is still interesting and educational.  Since we’ll be celebrating the New Year very soon, I thought I’d present to you a video all about Champagne and how this celebratory beverage is made.  (Side note: I think Champagne should be consumed at any time, but the current trend seems to tag it more as a special occasion wine).

 

I hope you all save a safe and Happy New Year 2014, and remember that what’s past is past, and the future is yours to seize.  Cheers!

This video is brought to you by Discovery +1: