One Hundred Thousand! For many this could sound not very important, but for us,
who are working in this project since almost five years, it is a good result. Of
course it could be better, however, we think it is a good result anyway. The
last month of March, after months of waiting, we have finally seen our readers
to grow until reaching one hundred thousand. After having waited for months, by
reading the figures of the statistics, it seemed the average number of our
readers would have stopped at 95,000, then reached 97,000, finally in the month
of March the average number of DiWineTaste's readers has reached 100,000! This
was one of our goals and for which we worked hard and that - finally - we have
reached. This was not only because of us, of course. The merit is also of you
all, dear readers, who every month download our magazine or read it on line, who
use the services available in our site daily and send us your appreciation with
the many letters we receive every day. We like the idea of sharing this
important success with you all, because - undoubtedly - this is also the success
of you all, of all DiWineTaste's readers.
It is also the success of whom, in these years, has sent comments and criticisms
- which we do not have always agreed on but we have always respected and
listened to - and allowed us to improve DiWineTaste, to change and renew some
aspects, to let our magazine meet the expectations of our readers. Our thanks
also go to the many producers who in these years have granted us their trust and
have sent their wines and distillates to us, therefore allowing us to talk about
their job and on what they do believe and pass it to the time by enclosing it in
a bottle of glass. In this sense, we like to remember the fundamental principle
on which we have always based our editorial job since the beginning of this
adventure. DiWineTaste is - and has always been - an independent publication
from everything and from everyone, never depending on whoever is ready to accept
certain compromises, as well as not agreeable ways, only because they want to
have the sad satisfaction of seeming what they are not.
The review of wines and producers in DiWineTaste have always been done with the
same criteria: the only thing we asked producers is to ship their wines to our
office and nothing more. This can be witnessed by the over 450 producers who
trusted us and believed in our editorial project. We believe this is the correct
and honest way to review wine and make information, also, and in particular, in
respect of our readers - and without them we would not be here today to comment
this result - last but not the least, also for the respect of whoever makes
wines or distillates and believes in his or her job. Also for this reason we
never believed it could be right to be in a pulpit and to speak absolute
verdicts, neither about wines nor distillates, neither about producers,
including the opinions and job of our colleagues who - like us - write about
wine. In our comments we just limit ourselves to simply tell a wine or a
distillate the way we met and saw it, uniquely allowing us the expression of a
score - our diamonds and stars - in order to give a measure of our
appreciation.
We do not think it would be right to tell which wines should be bought and what
wines should be avoided. Besides considering this behavior to be correct, we are
aware of the fact what we do not like may be liked by others, and vice versa. The
relationship each one of us has with pleasure - including the pleasure of wine
and distillates - is so personal that would be presumptuous to define it or to
suggest it, even worse, to impose it. And we have no intention to make this
editorial look like a praise to our job in the useless intent of being
considered better than others. We are absolutely aware we are not, we are aware
of the fact what we did so far can be improved and we have so many things to
learn. However, despite there is so much things to improve, for the moment we
are happy to celebrate all of our one hundred thousand readers: a result which
is also the result of the appreciation of all of you readers who read our
magazine every month.
It has been a long way to get here, a sequence of changes and the introduction
of new services. The first substantial change was in September 2003 - after one
year from the beginning of our project - with the publication of the new site.
The first interactive service offered to our readers was published in
January 2003: DiWineTaste Wine Guide. Of the many other services and changes
introduced during the period of our activity, we would like to mention the last
one - DiWineTaste Mobile - which allows the free use of Wine Guide, Aquavitae
and Services Directory from a mobile phone, a very appreciated service by our
readers and which suggests good places where enjoying wine as well as getting
information about wines and distillates. Also the polls are very appreciated by
our readers and which receive hundreds of votes every day. A tool to let us know
our readers better as well as to understand the opinion of consumers. Not to
mention EnoGames, they too being very appreciated by our readers.
In about five years we tried to spread the culture of wine, of wise drinking, to
offer our modest contribution to the vast world of wine, to the pleasure of
tasting and moderation. In about five years we have poured in our glasses about
2,200 wines of over 430 producers, all of them commented in our Wine Guide, one
of the most used and appreciated interactive services by our readers. We like
the idea of celebrating this important result with our readers, and although we
would have liked to celebrate it differently, the least we can do is to say
thanks to everyone from the deep of our heart, to the ones who read our magazine
since 2002, to all the ones who joined us in the course of the years. Thanks to
all of you, dear readers: if DiWineTaste has reached one hundred thousand
readers, if it reached today this important goal and if it continues to exist,
it certainly is because of your fundamental contribution and of your
appreciation, of your comments as well as of your criticisms, always useful and
always accepted. Thanks to you all!
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