Last week, Anatoli of Talk-a-Vino won the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #12 (#MWWC12) and just like all winners of the Challenge, his “reward” was to choose the theme for the following Challenge (in this case #MWWC13).

A few of us started the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge last summer 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!

Yesterday, less than a week after being proclaimed the winner, Anatoli announced the theme, which might be the quickest turnaround in the Challenge’s history. When he announced the theme on his blog, he also included a definition and a bit of background on the word itself and why he chose it. When I started scouring the inter web for an image to include here, I realized that a simple definition does not really exist, nor does one single definition encapsulate all the potential meanings of the word. So bravo Anatoli! In my humble opinion, this might be the most thought provoking theme thus far?

Oh yeah, the theme this month:

Since there is not enough time to get this in before Thanksgiving, I opted to add another week after T-Day. 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: “Local”.
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. I will try and secure another outside judge for this month’s Challenge. If I succeed, the judge will choose the winner from the top three vote-getters. If I fail, the winner will be the top vote receiver.
8. Once you post on your blog, please do at least two of the following and I will be sure to include a link here as well as on all subsequent posts about this month’s challenge:
   1. Include a link back to this post in your entry.
      
   2. Use the hashtag #MWWC13 somewhere in your post.
   3. Tweet, using the #MWWC13 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, December 8th, 2014

Voting Begins: Tuesday, December 9th, 2014

Voting Ends:  Monday, December 13th, 2014

Winner Announced:  Tuesday, December 14th, 2014

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

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