Change is a good thing despite what some people might think. For quite some time I’ve seen features and used features on other blogs that my previous software platform just didn’t offer.

So today I’ve moved Grape Sense – A Glass Half Full to a new platform, with a new URL and new features. I’ve used WordPress at work for years and think it offers lots of flexibility. Here’s a quick overview:

The Look & Branding
I wanted a cleaner more dynamic feel to the blog that I can live with for a long time. I think I found it with this layout. I also realized that most of the top wine writers do their branding by their name. So, you’ll see more “Howard Hewitt” on this site than before.

Organization
Previously, I was not able to categorize blog entries and that really was the prior site’s biggest weakness. In the left hand column you will see a pull down window for categories. I have elected to categorize posts by topic and geography and not by the types of wines.

Instead of maintaining two blogs – one for my newspaper column and one for everything else – I can do both here. For example, the pull down window will give you my print columns by the year.

Now, all 660-plus entries have not been categorized yet but I continue to work feverishly trying to do so. With the launch today, I have more than 200 categorized.

The pages across the top include an “About” feature with more about me. And I have individual tabs for wineries I’ve visited in those states. I do have more to add to the Indiana tab since that’s my home base.

Thanks for checking out the new look and feel. The new platform provides a lot of options. Please bookmark howardhewitt.net — leave a comment or drop me an email.

And thanks for reading Grape Sense!