Simon J Woolf
@simonjwoolf.com
460 followers 450 following 210 posts
Writer, author & presenter. Lover of handmade beverages, food, coffee & electronic music. Books: Amber Revolution (2018, 2021), Foot Trodden (2021) (with Ryan Opaz) Subscribe to my weekly newsletter: https://themorningclaret.com/ Brit living in NL.
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simonjwoolf.com
It's my montage showing queen foot treading grapes 😂
Reposted by Simon J Woolf
janetrad.bsky.social
"Left to its own devices, nature will create something more beautiful and unique than a packet of yeast ever could. You just need a little faith"
More magic from @simonjwoolf.com
It's a Kind of Magic
An ode to fermentation
open.substack.com
simonjwoolf.com
I spent a weekend at Gut Oggau, one of Austria's most iconic biodynamic wineries.

They have many fans worldwide, but also detractors who think their slick marketing means they're too good to be true.

Here's what I discovered.

themorningclaret.com/p/the-real-d...
The Real Deal at Gut Oggau
I spent a weekend immersed in biodynamics and cosmic energy
themorningclaret.com
simonjwoolf.com
A slightly snarky guide to Amsterdam's natural wine scene, with my off-piste favourites and a survival guide if you really want to do battle with the hipsters.

Second half of the piece is for paying subscribers. It'll only cost you €5 to become one of them!

themorningclaret.com/p/amsterdam-...
simonjwoolf.com
Furthermore, Substack is really just providing infrastructure for me. They don't handle my payments, I use my own branded URL. I am not promoting Substack, I'm no part of whatever else they host.

Would I feel better with Amazon EC2, Google, Meta or Apple as my infrastructure partner? Questionable.
simonjwoolf.com
I've wrestled with this. I migrated to Substack at the start of 2024.

I asked myself, how many far right extremists use Wordpress, a Facebook group or an account on Medium to get their word out?

I'm not saying Substack is perfect. But is it any better or worse than any other media platform?
simonjwoolf.com
Not sure about AI? Here's how to stop search engines from showing you AI answers in preference to actual web sites.

Google: use www.udm14.com (performs google search with the option &udm=14)

Better yet, change your default search engine to DuckDuckGo and don't forget to tweak this setting:
simonjwoolf.com
And Slovenia 😉
simonjwoolf.com
Different options I hear... Beehiiv, Ghost and others
I
simonjwoolf.com
With all the press about Substack pivoting to a model that prioritises advertising integration, I'm starting to face up to a possible migration soon.

Perhaps you got out at the right time @katiematherkm.bsky.social
simonjwoolf.com
25 young winemakers on the Italian/Slovenian border have launched a wonderful initiative, Senza Meja (without borders) to represent their work.

Better still, they've opened an enoteca in Gorizia where you can buy and drink all of their wines. Dream boutique!

themorningclaret.com/p/wine-witho...
Wine Without Borders
Senza Meja, a ground breaking new association of Italian and Slovenian winemakers
themorningclaret.com
simonjwoolf.com
It's all part of the job I guess. Carry on writing for long enough and you're bound to offend someone eventually.
simonjwoolf.com
I rarely write about myself, but this week was the right moment to pull back the curtain and talk about journalism, what it means, and how it can blow up in your face sometimes.

themorningclaret.com/p/a-week-in-...
A Week in the Life of a Wine Journalist
Spoiler: It wasn't wandering around vineyards sipping and spitting
themorningclaret.com
simonjwoolf.com
Looks like people still like their herbicides there?
simonjwoolf.com
Drinking the cheap stuff I see!
simonjwoolf.com
I finally made a starter pack.... if you want to find some more wine people to follow on here, maybe it will help.

go.bsky.app/U3ZkLQr
simonjwoolf.com
I think it's been common for a while though. Bianca Bosker talks about it extensively in her book Cork Dork.