2011 Wine Blog Awards Dates Set

We have set the dates for the 2011 Wine Blog Awards as follows (NOTE: NOMINATION DATES BELOW ARE AMENDED BY TWO DAYS):

May 25 – 31: Nomination period open to the public
June 1 – June 19: Judging period to select top five finalists in each category
June 20 – 26: Public voting on finalists
July 23: Presentation of winners live at the 2011 North American Wine Bloggers Conference

We would like to bring several items to your attention. First, as has been the case since the beginning of the Wine Blog Awards, the awards are named for the year in which they are presented, not the the preceding year. Thus, this is the 2011 Wine Blog Awards.

Second, since the date of the Wine Bloggers Conference varies each year depending on its location, the presentation date of the awards also varies. To keep timing consistent, we propose to have the nomination period begin two months before the conference date each year. This, of course, means there is some variation in the award period but provides us with a consistent timing in relation to the conference.

Third, we are proposing eliminating the criteria for blogs to post a minimum of 52 times in the preceding year to be eligible, for two reasons. One reason is the “preceding year” is now less meaningful than if the awards were based on a calendar year. A second is that no one – especially our busy judges – wants to go through hundreds of nominated blogs to determine how many posts a blog made in the preceding 12 months. Instead, we propose a blog must have posted consistently and frequently during the preceding year, with the determination on what is consistent and frequent to be made by the judges.

As always, if you have thoughts or suggestions please leave them as a comment on this post.

We look forward to another great Wine Blog Awards year and will be back in touch prior to the opening of the nomination period on May 24!