Jordan Winery wins Best Winery Blog at the 2012 Wine Blog Awards

On Saturday, The Journey of Jordan received the Best Winery Blog award at the 2012 Wine Blog Awards ceremony, hosted in conjunction with the Wine Bloggers Conference. For the first time in years–if not my entire life–I was at a loss for words. Standing on stage in front of a ballroom with a ghost-white flood light pointed at my face, I was truly humbled, honored and overwhelmed with surprise. We were up against many excellent winery blogs (including King Estate, Kendall-Jackson, Ridge and Tablas Creek), and I expected one of the bigger wineries to beat us, as they have larger fan bases to rally for votes. But there I was, looking out into a sea of 350 wine bloggers and industry professionals sitting at banquet tables, as they smiled, clapped, and whistled in an outpouring of support and congratulatory wishes.

At the ceremony, I didn’t have a chance to realize the tables had been turned on me. Every week, I squeeze my way onto the busy calendars of our winemakers, our culinary staff, our ranch manager, operations director and John Jordan–so I can stick a video camera in their faces and coach them through sharing life behind-the-scenes here at Jordan Winery. I love being a video storyteller–but I prefer to let the experts do the talking on camera. Maybe it’s time to change that–at least for a day.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you all for watching and reading these past two years–for following on this journey as we try to share a slice of wine country life at a family-owned winery dedicated to elegant wine, delicious food and gracious hospitality. I also want to personally thank all of our fans who voted, and all of my colleagues at the Wine Bloggers Conference for your support and friendship. It’s been one of the great joys of my 15-year wine career to make so many new friends through wine blogging and social networks.

We are truly honored to join the ranks of the wine world’s award-winning blogs. A list of this year’s winners is included below, and you can read more about the Wine Blog Awards here.

2012 WINE BLOG AWARDS WINNERS

• Best Blog Post of the Year – “Why do I Write about Wine” by Evan Dawson, New York Cork Report
• Best New Wine Blog – Wine Julia by Julia Crowley
• Best Original Video or Photography on a Wine Blog – WineOh.tv by Monique Soltani
• Best Industry Wine Blog – The Gray Report by W. Blake Gray
• Best Wine Reviews on a Wine Blog – Kens Wine Guide.com by Ken Hoggins
• Best Writing on a Wine Blog – Vinography by Alder Yarrow
• Best Single Subject on a Wine Blog – On the Wine Trail in Italy by Alfonso Cevola
• Best Winery Wine Blog – The Journey of Jordan by Lisa Mattson and the Jordan Team
• Best Overall Wine Blog – Jamie Goode’s Wine Blog by Jamie Goode