Behind the Scenes: An Interview with Yours Truly on Grape Collective

I'm prone to intense, serious staring during winery visits

I've been banging away here on this blog since 2008. And for the most part I've avoided extended ramblings about inside-baseball topics like leveraging social media, how to start a blog, and sharing pictures of my kids. So forgive me this quick self-indulgent detour.

I got an email last week from Jameson Fink from Grape Collective (and other online wine properties) asking if I'd be interested in participating in an interview series they've been doing with wine bloggers and wine industry personalities. Knowing Jameson mostly through Twitter (@JamesonFink) I was definitely up for taking part.

If you've had a blog for any period of time you'll notice you get spammy requests for all sorts of things, and a request for an interview usually turns into unpaid writing.

A common fallacy about bloggers is that we're starving for things to write about. On the contrary I find I often feel guilty for not writing about things I feel I should write about and that I've been neglecting the blog for too long.

But the moment I received the questions Jameson emailed me I was thrilled to immediately respond.

Because the questions were so insightful and summarized exactly what's on my mind better than I could have.

Jameson could write a book on how to conduct an interview. He could easily hang with Terry Gross. Coming from the perspective of an interviewee - the key to conducting a good interview is to do the hard work of researching a subject's background and identifying the unique interesting things readers would find entertaining.

Head on over to Grape Collective to check out the interview.

We talk about Tuscany, wine-centered kid-friendly vacations, how to leverage points & miles to visit wine regions, Monastrell, and Northern Arizona University (NAU Alumni represent!). Something for everyone.

And for a little bonus content check out my view on the Top 10 Places to Wine & Dine in Boston.

My thanks to Jameson for the opportunity and his amazing work. And thanks for reading these past six years. I'll look forward to continuing the conversation.