Wine writers share prestigious ‘Blogger of the Year’ award

AN international award to celebrate the world’s best wine bloggers has gone to two prolific and highly-entertaining writers: ‘the Wine Anorak’ – Jamie Goode, and Helen McGinn from the ‘Knackered Mother’s Wine Club’.

When the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) launched ‘Blogger of the Year’  for wine and spirit bloggers, sponsored by González Byass, it was inundated with entrants from around the world including New Zealand, Scandinavia, the US, Argentina and Canada.

IWSC’s Head of Sales and Marketing, Anna Grant, said: “We were unbelievably impressed by the standard and diversity of the entries from both wine and spirits bloggers. When it came to choosing the winner the judges ultimately were torn between two prolific bloggers with very different styles.”

While judges praised Jamie’s immense wine knowledge and enormous global following including industry experts; they were charmed Helen’s accessible, consumer-oriented blog dedicated to a knowledge-hungry audience.

Jamie, whose subject matter varies from entertaining photo diaries to insightful tasting notes and lucidly argued opinion pieces, said: “My aim with the blog is to update it every day – little Wine reviews form a major part of the content, and I know that’s not terribly original, but I want to be humble in the face of wine and let the wines be the focus. I’m just a wine nut with a hobby that has grown a bit too large!”

Helen, who spent a decade as a decade as a wine buyer for a big supermarket, said: “It is quite simple really, I hope to give people more confidence when it comes to navigating a supermarket wine aisle, a wine shop or a restaurant wine list.”

When she left the industry to have a family Helen converted the advice she was giving family and friends into an entertaining blog. She said: “I would turn what used to be an email with wine recommendations to a bunch of fellow knackered mothers into a weekly blog instead. Every week I post whatever I happen to be drinking, usually one red, one white, pink or fizz.”

In recent times, this format has been extended to include a growing series of vlogs.

“I guess the point of difference is the tone and the target audience,” observes Helen. “I hope to entertain as well as inform – the whole point of blogging, for me.”

Such has been the success of her blog that Helen was recently asked to turn it into a book, The Knackered Mother’s Wine Club, which is due to come out in February 2013.

The trophies was presented at the IWSC’s annual banquet in London’s historic Guildhall last night (November 14) – a glittering event attended by more than 450 wine and spirit aficionados from around the world.

For more details see:

Helen McGinn, knackeredmotherswineclub.blogspot.co.uk

Jamie Goode, wineanorak.com

For more information, please contact:

Anna Grant                                                                                         Georgina Wroe

IWSC Head of Sales and Marketing                                       Grow PR                             

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3 176 6460                                                     Tel: +44 (0) 7976 529763