As 2020 ends, we say goodbye to the craziest year the world has experienced in decades. Although it was a year where everyday freedoms like going to restaurants in groups were stripped away from us overnight; I found we were able to take time to reflect on the things that we were grateful for that we once took for granted. For me, 2020 really signified the turning point in getting my sh** together in life because that’s what I needed most. At the beginning of the year, I heard about vision boarding and how putting your goals in an artistic, visual way helped people manifest their dreams and make them a reality. Even though it didn’t seem like much at first, vision boarding helped me unlock my potential, set my priorities, and get closer to my aspirations than I’ve ever been able to do in previous years. So if you’ve ever tried or not tried vision boarding, I highly recommend you make one for 2021 because manifesting WORKS!!
I have had a lot of accomplishments this year, one was creating my wine blog in February. I created this blog to spread my knowledge of the big world of wine and inspire my audience to become passionate wine connoisseurs. After I created my blog, roadblocks started arising and I didn’t expect to spend all the time and effort it took to maintain it. Nonetheless, through this journey, I’ve been able to find purpose in my life by sharing my passion and continuously learning about wine. That’s when I decided to make my blog official in May by purchasing my domain name wineisseur.ca. Later in November, I added an online wine lifestyle store with my blog, which was yet another milestone in my journey this year. With that, I’m going to share a toast to a challenging, yet meaningful year, and celebrate by sharing with you the 5 most read blogs on Wineisseur in 2020.
I joined the Mark Anthony Wine Career Development Program unexpectedly this summer and went from being unemployed to packing my bags and heading to Kelowna in just a week. Mission Hill Winery was a fantastic place to work at with its beautiful architecture, amazing wine, and the opportunity to immerse into wine culture. Not to mention, the weather is a lot drier in the Valley, so I was able to avoid the rain in Vancouver for a couple of months. This was honestly the best way I could have spent a summer during a pandemic and now the Okanagan has a special place in my heart. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed sharing it.\
Rosé and chocolate, what’s not to love. This was my very first blog post to debut Wineisseur. When I published this 10 months ago, I never thought this would be the start of something fulfilling yet involved hours and hours of work. When I look back, I think that I started my blog at the right time because it was a month before quarantining with gyms closing and social gatherings being banned. My blog really gave me a way to spend my time usefully and have a creative outlet. After creating my blog, a lot of people reached out to me saying they wanted to start a blog as well and were inspired by my work, which was really encouraging and definitely boosted my confidence to ride along this journey.
It was clear that people were getting bored at home when quarantine became a thing, so I wrote this series with a list of activities to do at home to spark inspiration. It was a difficult time for everyone to get used to the new norms, so I’m glad I was able to help out my audience. Since this series became a big hit on my blog, I’ll be writing a Pt.3 in the New Year since I know y’all are still bored at home - I gotchu covered.
Most people would think the top gift on this list would be wine, but I'm the type of person that likes to be a little more creative with my Christmas gifts and give something that will surprise my friend. That’s why I created a list of products that allow people to express their love for wine (besides just wine). This included things like charcuterie sets, cork-filled wreaths, and wine lover masks. I also wrote this blog to debut some of the products in my wine lifestyle store that I opened in November. If you haven’t read this yet, be sure to keep it bookmarked so you can pull it out when you need ideas for a wine gift for your family or friend.
While I was in the Okanagan in the Summer, I took the opportunity to check out some of the amazing wineries in the Valley. Lucky for me, being an industry worker, I got to get free tastings at most wineries! Some of my favourite wineries that I talk about in this blog were Martin’s Lane, Cedar Creek, Kitsch, and Frind Winery. Check this one out to find out which wineries you can visit on your next trip to the Okanagan.
(Bonus) 6. Drinks that’ll bring Europe to Your Home
I added an extra blog to the list because I couldn’t leave this one out. I wrote this blog in the Spring when there seemed to be no end to the pandemic this year and I was sad that my trips to Italy and Ontario in the summer were canceled. Writing this blog brought a lot of great memories back about the incredible time I had on my first solo trip in Europe in Summer 2019, which is why this was one of my favourite blogs to write. Read it to learn about the wines and cocktails I had abroad and how to create them to bring a European experience to your home.
P.S: I just made a Facebook page for Wineisseur, so check it out.