Happy 23rd Birthday BWE!

[JimHow]

It was the morning of February 26, 2000, a Saturday like any other.
I stumbled upon a rudimentary program on MSN that let me create my own website.
It had a blog function that I thought might be conducive to notes and follow up interactions on the wines of Bordeaux.
I thought about it for all of about ten minutes, and off the top of my head called the site "Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts."
I emailed a fellow from Indianapolis by the nickname of Whuzzup_ who had been posting notes on the old Wine spectator blog.
Less than an hour later he join in, and BWE was created.
The site expanded rapidly shortly after genesis. Folks have come and gone, and come and gone again.
Little did we imagine at that moment the lifelong friendships that would follow, to this day.
What an amazing project! Congratulations and thank you, BWEers around the world, past, present, and future.
Your goodwill and generosity inspire me every day. BWE is truly an "oasis," as Mr. Vino has called it.
An amazing place filled with amazing people. Long live Bordeaux Wine Enthusiasts, the greatest wine website on the internet!

And so, as is our annual tradition, I post here that very first exchange between myself and Ben "Whuzzup_" Nelson, back on the morning of February 26, 2000. Twenty-three years ago!

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From: JimHow (Original Message) Sent: 2/26/2000 11:02 AM
I have created this community on 2/26/00 in the hope that I can get at least 10-20 Bordeaux enthusiasts to keep a lively discussion going on a weekly basis. I was very frustrated when Wine Spectator changed the format of their bulletin boards. We had a good community of Bordeaux "experts" under the old Wine Spectator system who came on board regularly and offered a lot of information on tasting notes, where to find deals, etc. For some reason, the editors at WS changed to a much less user-friendly system and they have arrogantly ignored our requests to go back to the old format. If we can get some of the old participants to visit here, and work out any kinks along the way to improve this site, I am convinced we can generate some of the old enthusiasm. Time will tell....


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From: Whuzzup_ Sent: 2/26/2000 11:51 AM
Hey JimHow. I am in full support. I have tried some interesting wines lately. When I have a little time this weekend I will post some notes. Thanks for taking the initiative. Ben


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From: JimHow Sent: 2/26/2000 11:57 AM
Great to see you here, Ben. I'm really game to give this a try. I'll be posting some tasting notes as well this weekend. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated greatly. Thanks, Jim.


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From: Whuzzup_ Sent: 2/26/2000 7:28 PM
Got a question for ya: I like to share TNs with you guys on non- Bordeaux wines from time to time. I figure we all have similar palates so that if I run into something I like I should share... is it ok to break out of the Bordeaux topic from time to time?


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From: JimHow Sent: 2/26/2000 11:40 PM
Of course you can write about anything, Ben, I always look forward to your comments. At this point, as we're just getting started, I'm looking for as much discussion as possible....I've got some essays in my word processor that I'm trying to figure out how to get to this site. I've got a lot of ideas on how we can improve this site, I just want to get to know it better. But by all means, give us your notes on California or anything else.... Thanks, Jim.JimHow

[Adrianthemeatball]

Perfect timing for my first post! Congrats on creating an amazing community and thanks for sharing so much wine knowledge with beginners like me!

I have been reading the posts for a while but never logged in or posted since creating this account, and I must say you guys have something very special here.

Will

[JimHow]

Welcome, Will, thanks for joining us! It's a fun group, you sound like a true Bordeaux Wine Enthusiast!

[JCNorthway]

Happy birthday to BWE. Hard to believe it has actually been 23 years!

[stefan]

Happy Birthday, BWE, and may you live to be 100.

[tim]

Bon Anniversaire BWE! And thank you Jim, our BD, for taking the plunge all those years ago.

And welcome Will! It is the combination of new members and old timers that keep this community vibrant!

[Nicklasss]

Happy birthday BWE. Who would have believe that 23 years later, we would be still there?

Friendship is what BWEers are made of.

[Harry C.]

23?! Boy, Jim, don’t you feel old!

[JimHow]

I'm so old now, that I'm six years older than Stefan was when we formed the site.

[DavidG]

What a wonderful ride it has been. Happy Birthday, BWE!

[JoelD]

Well I'm only 3-4 years old in BWE terms but it's been a great ride so far. Here's to hoping our BD can stay in office until year 40 or 50. Opening some 2040 Bordeaux, raving about them and convincing us to buy one more year!

[Blanquito]

Here's to hoping our BD can stay in office until year 40 or 50. Opening some 2040 Bordeaux, raving about them and convincing us to buy one more year!

Well, he does work on commission.

[JimHow]

Lol.... It's good to be here. It's good to be anywhere.