Although professional critics offer some free materials, you generally have to pay to see most of their content or buy their book. However, I learned a lot about wine through the Internet for free, which is why I’m trying to add to that base of free knowledge out there. In this section, I wanted to give credit to some of the websites I’ve enjoyed and learned from in the past. There are many others out there that I may have stumbled across along the way and certainly there are some blogs on other regions that you can google yourself.
I should also mention that wineries themselves are putting out a lot of material on Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc. Unfortunately, many Chilean wineries’ websites are not up to date. It’s hard to find information on their latest vintages. Websites of wineries are listed in the Winery Directory and the Wine Tourism section.
My Favorite Online Wine Resources
Already mentioned several times, Winefolly’s website, videos and books explore wine in a fun and easy to understand way. They are still putting out new material regularly. https://winefolly.com/
Also mentioned several times is Wine-searcher, where you can find articles, regional and variety descriptions, a database of wine dealers all over the world, and where to buy wine from just about every online wine dealer around the world. It’s the most practical website to use: Wine-searcher.com. Couple that with Cellartracker or Vivino to be able to read amateur reviews to help you with purchases or to know when you should drink your aging wine. They can also be used to keep record of your own notes on wines.
Gary Vaynerchuk revolutionized the Video Blog industry with his WinelibraryTV with a 1,000 episodes from 2006-2011. He systematically tasted all types of varieties and regions to encourage people to explore wine. He also has some other videos on practical aspects of wine such as training your palate, stemware, cellars, etc. His Wine Library shop also has a wide selection at competitive prices especially if you live in the East Coast or your state accepts out of state delivery: https://tv.winelibrary.com/ He’s also recently started a new Youtube Channel 13 years after he stopped doing Wine Library TV: https://www.youtube.com/@WineTextTV
Wine Cellar Insider might be the best source on Bordeaux wines out there. Jeff Leve’s blog is certainly the best free source on Bordeaux wines. He also has a lot on Rhone and California wines. He includes plenty of practical info on collecting wine, visiting Bordeaux, etc. https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/
The Napa Wine Project has winery reviews of hundreds of Napa Wineries: http://www.napawineproject.com/
The Wine Chronicles is the blog of Panos Kakaviatos, who does some writing for Decanter as a side gig. He mainly drinks French and European wines and just chronicles his many great dinners and wine experiences. https://wine-chronicles.com/chronicles/
This is a good Italian wine blog in English I found: https://italianwine.blog/
Here is a South/Latin American Wine Guide/Blog in English: https://southamericawineguide.com/
If you’re looking to learn about wines off the beaten track in places like Eastern Europe, check out Exotic Wine Travel: https://exoticwinetravel.com/ and their spin off YouTube channel, which puts out weekly content on all types of wines.
A relatively new vlogger (video blogger) who you can follow on Instagram and YouTube is the Sommvivant. She used to be a wine director at a big Napa restaurant. There are some fun videos on Napa/Sonoma as well as general wine stuff. http://sommvivant.me/ & https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxNK2Y72SyKs0XqJKd8-oSQ
Another new vlogger is the Wine King from Korea, who does most of his videos (at least his current ones) in English with Korean subtitles. It features educational tastings he does with his 2 Master of Wine mentors. https://www.youtube.com/c/wineking/featured
There’s also Master of Wine Konstantin Baum, who is making educational wine videos. https://www.youtube.com/c/KonstantinBaumMasterofWine
Here’s a list of the top 100 blogs in English to find something more specific: https://blog.feedspot.com/wine_blogs/
Here’s another extensive list of wine blogs in different languages: https://www.vinography.com/wine-blog-list
Chilean Wine Resources in Spanish
Here’s a good website in Spanish focused on the Chilean wine industry: https://www.wip.cl/ Another resource in Spanish about Chilean wines is: https://nosgustaelvino.cl/ Chez Carlita is another Chilean wine blog in Spanish, and she also hosts tastings and classes in Chile: https://chezcarlita.com/. Andes Wines reports mostly in Spanish with some English on all South American wine news. Besides rating South American wines, Descorchados also has other material about South American wine in Spanish and English. Pienso Luego es Tinto is a radio program about Chilean wine that you can listen to. Lastly, Guia Vinau is Spanish language wine guide for small producers in Chile.