This morning, Tom Wark announced the winners of the 2008 American Wine Blog Awards, and I’m thrilled to share that Vinography was lauded for Best Writing and Best Overall Wine Blog. These aren’t the first awards that I’ve won here, but in many ways they’re the most meaningful. Three years ago, winning the Best Wine Blog as part of the Food Blogging Awards was great, but when there were only a handful of wine blogs, most of which were barely maintained, someone dedicated like me who knew how to use spell check didn’t have much competition, so to speak.

In 2008 there are hundreds and hundreds of wine blogs, many of which are written by folks much more serious than I when it comes to wine writing. The quality of wine blogging has grown exponentially, and there are dozens of sites out there that are run like (and indeed are) professional outlets for wine writing. In this context, then, am I both the most proud and the most humbled to have won these awards.

I owe you, my readers, and incredible debt of gratitude, not only for your supportive nominations and votes for these awards, but also for the fact that you keep coming back here to read what I write day after day, week after week. I’ve been typing away here every day for 4 years with almost no interruption, and my drive comes equally from my own passion and the knowledge that there are folks like you out there that actually enjoy my thoughts and ideas, and appreciate my recommendations.

So here’s (I’m raising a glass of Malvasia that I’ve been nursing this evening) to you my dear readers. Thank you so much for helping me keep my own passion for wine alive.

Now, enough of this acceptance speech. What you really need to do is go check out the other folks that won these awards, because if you don’t know about these blogs already you really should.

Good Wine Under $20 won for Best Wine Reviews and Best Single Subject Wine Blog. Deb is an excellent passionate writer, and her emphasis on value wines has carved a comfy little nook for those who want to curl up with a nice bottle without shelling out too much cash.

The Wine Collector won Best Wine Business Blog. Steve Bachmann, the CEO of Vinfolio knows more about wine collecting than most people, and his blog focuses on both the personal aspects of collecting as well as the industry trends that affect collectors and wine investors. Steve’s a numbers guy, so his entries are usually packed with interesting (but digestible) data.

Chateau Petrogasm won Best Graphics for their unique and quirky obsession with writing wine reviews without…writing. These guys review wines by finding random photos that they think capture the essence of a wine. It’s more minimalist than haiku — perhaps its how Andy Warhol would review wines?

If you haven’t heard of Grape Radio, who won Best Wine Podcast, then you don’t spend much time on the Internet surfing for wine topics. These guys jumped into the wine podcasting arena headfirst a couple of years ago and have been churning out high quality interviews, commentary, and more to the delight of iPod toting wine lovers everywhere.

Jason Haas has many better things to do at Tablas Creek Vineyard than blog, but that hasn’t stopped him from writing a fabulously insightful and entertaining blog about winemaking, wine marketing, and the day to day life at one of California’s most distinctive wineries. Jason deservedly won Best Winery Blog for his efforts, which truly set the bar for winery blogs everywhere.

And that wraps up this year’s awards. Again, thank you all for voting, caring, and visiting wine blogs. Now go pop a cork!!