Years ago (before I started working at Wine Enthusiast in 1999)–and long before anyone had ever heard of the term social media–a lot of my interaction with fellow wine lovers was online via various forums, or bulletin boards. People would post notes on wines they had recently tasted, seek wine-related travel advice, maybe even organize offlines (in-person gatherings). It was a heady time for wine geeks, filled with open exchange of information and a spirit of generosity.

It was with great sadness, then, that I learned last night the wine forum billed as the world’s biggest, Mark Squires’ Bulletin Board on erobertparker.com, would no longer be an open community, but instead be reserved solely for paying subscribers. A huge number of participants (myself included) have lost one of our cyberhomes.

Thankfully, the online wine community is a large and vibrant one, and there are many alternative forums to which users can migrate. Here are some of my favorites:

West Coast Wine Network. The focus is obviously on California wines, but there are separate forums for Under $20 wines and Italian wines. One of the nicest, most laid-back groups I’ve found.

The Auswine Forum. Run by a retailer from Down Under, this is a great resource for enthusiasts of Australian and New Zealand wines because of the knowledgeable and local participants. If you plan on offlining with these folks, don’t schedule anything important for the following morning.

UKdrinksforums at Tom Cannvan’s wine-pages. A mainly U.K. crowd with an understandably Old World focus. Good place to go to gain a slightly different perspective.

Wine Lovers Discussion Group. One of the original forums, although it has moved about and updated a lot over its lifespan. Wide range of participants and wine discussion.

fortheloveofport.com Forum. For enthusiasts of Port and Madeira, with a separate forum for Portuguese still wines. Specialized, highly knowledgeable crowd, but welcoming.

Wine Disorder. Expect some brusqueness, some hipness and regular disses directed toward most New World wines and their manipulated ways, but if you’re interested in so-called natural wines, this is a top hangout.

Wine Berserkers. A lot of the folks from the Squires’ board were already here, with ranks that are likely swelling by the minute. There’s an understandable anti-Squires, anti-Parker undercurrent to some of the threads, but also lots of good info and separate forums for those ITB (in the business).

All of these communities have something to offer their participants, and will provide endless hours of geeked-out wine pleasure if you’re so inclined. Good luck getting any work done the rest of the day!

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