Just a quick note to wish all of you out there Happy Holidays—whatever it is you celebrate, I hope you
The Academic Wino sipping on Donnafugata Ben Rye at a 2013 Christmas party
have a happy one filled with friends, family, love, laughter, and of course, endless supplies of wine!
The Academic Wino will be on vacation until 2015, with all new articles coming the week of January 5th.
My husband and I will be spending Christmas with his parents, sister, and sisters’ husband in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It’ll be a relatively short trip, as we’ll need to be back home in Colorado to close on our new house on the 30th! The first few days of the new year will be filled with unpacking everything that’s been patiently waiting for us for the past month and a half (Oh, how I’ve missed you, wine ‘fridge….).
Reflections on the year that was 2014….
2014 has proved to be probably one of the biggest years of my life, both socially and professionally!
Earlier this year, I attended the Wine Bloggers Conference in Santa Barbara, which all-in-all was a great experience. It was lovely to catch up with friends and to learn all about the wines of Santa Barbara as well
Finding out I won a prize at #RSV25 #WBC14 for wearing the most silver! Photo by Thea Dwelle
as tips and techniques that can be used to be a better wine writer.
Also big in the professional side of my life is the fact that I’ve transitioned into full time freelance writing! I’m so excited to finally be doing what I love on a full-time basis! I’ve started things off on good note, teaming up with Lewis Perdue on several projects, including reviving The French Paradox site as a co-editor, becoming the Assistant Editor at WineIndustryInsight.com, and founding the Stealth Epidemic Project.
I am currently available for freelance wine writing work (with a more technical focus), so feel free to check out some of my work on this blog, check out my LinkedIn page, and get in touch!
Finally, on the professional side of my life, I was recently awarded a fellowship to attend the 2015 Professional Wine Writer’s Symposium in Napa, CA! I am humbled and honored to receive this award, and am really looking forward to learning from so many other professional wine writers and improving upon my own skill set.
On the personal side of things, A LOT happened this year!
First, I got married to my best friend on September 20th, 2014. We had what we both considered the
Photo by Celestial Sights Photography
“perfect wedding” and are looking forward to the rest of our lives together!
We then spent our honeymoon on a week-and-a-half-long Belizean adventure, which was unforgettable and highly recommended!
A couple weeks after we returned from our honeymoon, my husband (who JUST completed his PhD) received a job offer which landed us 1600 miles away in Boulder, Colorado! We spent a couple weeks packing up our condo and making the long journey to our temporary lodging in Boulder. We immediately went house hunting and were able to get a successful bid on the perfect house (in our opinion) in Boulder County. We close on the 30th and move in our stuff that’s been in storage after the new year!
SO much happened in 2014—I can’t wait to see what 2015 will bring!
Happy Holidays, and Merry New Year to all! 🙂
Cheers!