Last week, Loie of Cheap Wine Curious won Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #24 (#MWWC24) and just like all previous winners of the Challenge, her “reward” was to choose the theme for the following Challenge (in this case #MWWC25).

A few of us started the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge a couple of years ago with the desire to promote more creative wine writing. The thought was that we get caught up in tasting notes, winery visits, and the occasional food porn and we soon forget that part of the reason we put in all the hours that we do on these silly blogs is that we love to write!

I follow a ton of blogs, but there are just a few that I read every post. Perhaps that sounds disingenuous or snooty, but frankly there is just not enough time to read everything. One of the blogs I always try to read is Loie’s Cheap Wine Curious. Why? First, I read it so I know what wines I should probably not drink–why Loie chooses to continually write about the cheapest wines on the market escapes my level of cognitive ability. On an abstract level, I guess there is an audience that wants to know about the $5 wines available in the market, but, well, it sure as heck ain’t me. I know that might sound elitist and I can live with that as long as you don’t make me drink some of the swill that she reviews.

The main reason I read it, however, is that Loie is pretty damned funny. I spent a day a while ago driving around Sonoma going to a few tastings with her and she is a riot (I can also say that she had no problem downing the $100+ Pinots that we tasted that day). Her personality really comes through in her writing, making it a joy (a bit of a pun there–her name rhymes with “joy” I think) to read. She likes to push the envelope a bit with both her language and her attitude, which really is a nice change of pace from most staid blogs out there (which is just about every one of them, including mine).

Thus, this week, after prodding her publicly to produce a theme for #MWWC25 (Loie is almost always the last entry every month, usually submitting in the wee hours of the morning–so I knew she was going to need some “encouragement” to get me a theme), I awaited with giddy anticipation. Since she just won with perhaps the “diciest” theme thus far in the Challenge, I was sure that she would push the envelope even a bit further.

Then she sent in her choice:

Not exactly “dicey”, but hey, we can roll with it….

A quick recap of the rules:

The rules

1. The Challenge is open to anybody and everybody. It helps if you have a blog, but that is certainly not a requirement (contact me if this is the case).
2. Write a post based on this month’s theme: “TRAVEL”.
3. The post should be at least tangentially related to wine (after all, it is the name of the challenge).
4. The post should be more or less around 1000 words (I routinely violate this rule, so it is just there as a “guide”).
5. Include the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge badge (above) that was designed by the very first winner, The Armchair Sommelier.
6. Remember to vote!
7. Once you post on your blog, please do at least two of the following and I will be sure to include a link  on all subsequent posts about this month’s challenge:
   1. Include a link back to this post in your entry.
      
   2. Use the hashtag #MWWC25 somewhere in your post.
   3. Tweet, using the #MWWC25 hashtag and include a link back to your post.
   4. Send me an email: jeff(at)thedrunkencyclist(dot)com

The all important dates:

Deadline for submission:  Monday, May 30th, 2016

Voting Begins: Tuesday, May 31th, 2016

Voting Ends:  Monday, June 6th, 2016

Winner Announced:  Tuesday, June 7th, 2016

PLEASE NOTE! I WILL BE OUT OF THE COUNTRY DURING THE ABOVE DATES, BUT I WILL TRY TO ADHERE TO THEM NONETHELESS. I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE FOR A MINOR DELAY HERE OR THERE.

Previous winners:

If you’re looking for some inspiration here are the links to the previous winning posts:

MWWC1 – Transportation

The Armchair Sommelier

MWWC2 – Trouble

My Custard Pie

MWWC3 – Possession

The Wine Kat

MWWC4 – Oops

Confessions of a Wine Geek

MWWC5 – Feast

The drunken cyclist

MWWC6 – Mystery

The SAHMmelier

MWWC7 – Devotion

The Sweet Sommelier

MWWC8 – Luck

The drunken cyclist

MWWC9 – Fear

The Sybarite

MWWC10 – Value

Dracaena Wines

MWWC11 – Friend

Armchair Sommelier

MWWC12 – Local

Talk-a-Vino

MWWC13 – Serendipity

Duff’s Wines

MWWC14 – Tradition

Cheap Wine Curious

MWWC15 – Success

JVB Uncorked

MWWC16 – Finish

The Wine Raconteur

MWWC17 – Epiphany

Wayward Wine

MWWC18 – Crisis

Traveling Wine Chick

MWWC19 – Choice

Frankly Wine

MWWC20 – Variety

JVB Uncorked

MWWC21 –Pairing

L’Occasion

MWWC22 – Second Chance

(Un)Common Grape

MWWC23 – New

The Drunken Cyclist

MWWC24 – Pleasure

Cheap Wine Curious

Please contact me if you have any questions: jeff (at) thedrunkencyclist (dot) com