Who blogs about wine?

I got a clue in New Orleans when I dined with some serious foodies. They told me they had a group blog on which they took turns describing every restaurant meal they ate. And they had a second blog — password-protected — on which they told a small circle of intimates what they really thought of those meals.

In Chicago, I watched a portly diner pull out a camera and snap photos of every course that was served to him. For his blog.

After all, the word "fan" is short for "fanatic."

There's a bit of the geek in bloggers, I think. But wine is cool, so maybe that polishes us up a bit.

Vinography (www.vinography.com), a top-rated blog by Alder Yarrow, a San Francisco wine fan and Internet consultant, lists 342 wine blogs that range from the practical to the hysterical.

One I admire is The Pour, by New York Times wine writer Eric Asimov (www.thepour.blogs.nytimes.com). He mused the other day about why it's so fashionable these days to dislike Bordeaux. He got 66 replies in two days from readers who called Bordeaux everything from too serious to too hard to pair with tuna. By the 10th reply, the readers had forgotten Asimov and were arguing among themselves.

The writers were knowledgeable. On the other hand, a lot of their replies were posted between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Insomniacs? People with no day jobs? No prospects?

At wine-scamp.com, you can read about turning a $100 wooden kitchen rack from Ikea into an 80-bottle wine rack.

And now I have a blog, Wine Beneath The Palms at www.MiamiHerald.com, I hope you'll take a look and join the conversation — start an argument if you like.

I'll close by talking about some actual wines in a welcome new trend called "Baby Super Tuscans."

As you may know, Super Tuscan wines are made in Italy's Tuscany region using more than just the traditional sangiovese grape that makes chianti. Super Tuscans might also have merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah and other "foreign" grapes. They're big, powerful, fabulous wines, but many cost $100 or more.

"Baby" Super Tuscans are, refreshingly, and don't cost quite that much. Here are two tasty ones: