Much of the conversation revolves around red wine, although from time to time it does drift into less opaque matters. A few small makers contribute to the Forum on a regular basis, but I know for a fact that this forum is read extensively by many people in the wine business. Sometimes the most incredibly complex questions are asked, and the answers given show an enormous scientific and practical understanding of winemaking, from viticulture to marketing and everything in between. The depth of technical wine and viticultural knowledge of some of the people that post on this forum never fails to amaze me. Frequently I'm left scratching my head trying to understand the technicalities, and yet those with less wine experience, but a greater scientific understanding, have no trouble in grasping the topic. Such is the makeup of this forum, and whilst it is hardcore, it welcomes new posters with open arms. Although the forum is moderated, the owner has an open attitude resulting in a light hand on the controls, and very few posts are nuked.

The one aspect I dislike about this Forum is that unregistered people can post as “Guests.” Unfortunately, sometimes when you have multiple Guests posting in the same thread, it can lead to confusion; however the biggest downside is that some “Guests” are serial drive-by Richard Craniums with nothing positive to contribute and just enjoy posting stupid, inane, argumentative or inflammatory comments to disrupt the flow.

About two and a half years ago, the Auswine Forum was slammed by the new kid on the block, when StarForum was started by Bert Werden as an offshoot of Strathmore Cellars, (and its internet e-tailing arm WineStar.) The forum was an instant hit for a number of reasons. Firstly, in a clever move, a StarForum Panel was established; the panel was made up of independent wine lovers and many wine samples were sent to the panel for review. The tasting notes were then posted on the forum, and were seen to be independent of the retailer himself. Naturally many the wines that rated well were also featured in the weekly newsletter, which was good for business. The Star Panel members got trade show tickets and were offered other "inducements and privileges" which helped their standing in the forum community; however they still had to build and maintain their own credibility. In the early days, the Star Panel members were major contributors to the forum and were key to its success, although in recent times the panel has basically vaporised.

StarForum has a number of hardcore, vocal players who have obviously become firm friends, and as a result the forum has a very cliquey atmosphere. Whilst they welcome new members with open arms, you are either part of the clique or on the outer and whilst being on the outer may not bother many members, some people don't like it. This is not a criticism of the forum or its members; it is just a characteristic of the nature of this group. Whilst there are some members of the forum with extensive wine tasting experience, it tends to be dominated by younger wine drinkers than those on Auswine. Many participants have developing palates; as a result they are taking their taste buds on a journey of discovery, so the discussion is moving into foreign territories (literally as well as figuratively, there is a strong move to French / Old world styles amongst the more affluent members). The forum is moderated; one of the biggest sins that can be committed his providing a link to other sites that do not meet with the approval of the board owner, these are quickly deleted.

One other forum that is worth mentioning is the old Winepros Forum which was originally part of the James Halliday Winepros site. In its heyday, whilst it was never a great forum, it certainly did a good job of getting people interested and involved in wine. Unfortunately, over the years Winepros failed to be financially viable and sometime ago it was sold off to a winemaking and retailing conglomerate. Since then, it has gone further downhill; indeed if it was a horse, it probably would have been put out of its misery by now, they should just kill it off rather than letting it linger a slow and painful death.

The UK, Europe etc

The biggest and best wine forum in the UK is located on Tom Cannavan’s wine-pages. This is an interesting, all-in-one wine site that has been around for about a decade and looks to be financed primarily by advertising. The UK Wine Forum insists that all posters use their real names and whilst debate can be intense, it is always exceptionally polite, typically British. The UK wine market is one of the most competitive and diverse in the world, and this diversity is reflected in the tastes and broad spectrum of wines being discussed. It is a cosmopolitan board with a vast cross-section of tastes amongst members who argue and discuss in a good-natured fashion.

Members of the board, naturally enough, tend to support UK wine writers and whilst there may be some support for Robert Parker, when the inevitable and regular clashes occur about critics, the general consensus is predictable. Non wine-related topics such as cricket and rugby tend to be favourites. The makeup of the members experience is as diverse as the UK wine market itself. Whilst there is a broad depth of experienced Old World palate, there is a good level of knowledge about New World wines as well. The board can be as forward thinking as tomorrow, for example its acceptance of screw caps; whilst at the same time being as stodgy as last century, as illustrated by some member’s belief that terroir is the be all and end all of fine wine. I have a lot of time for this forum, as the people are polite, knowledgeable and have a sense of humour I can relate to.

Bordeaux Central is a site that I have very little experience with, but its reputation seems to be good. The site is actually run by an elected committee, which in itself is unusual. The one drawback of this board is that messages from new posters must be “approved” by the moderator before they are actually put up. This is a security measure to stop troublemakers and attacks on the site. Once they know who you are, the restriction is quickly lifted. If you are into European wine, or want to be, it’s worth checking out this site. Some of the forums are in European languages; impressive. In the same way as the Australian sites are Ozcentric but contain some “foreign muck,” this site is Eurocentric but contains some “new world muck” too. Australian wine drinkers who are interested in French wine in particular, should check out this site. The format is a little different to most, but it seems easy to navigate and use. Unfortunately, unless I miss-read how it works, there have been no new tasting notes added since January, which seems a shame. The main discussion forum doesn’t get a huge amount of traffic either but it looks friendly.

Strat’s Place is an interesting one, the site is hosted in the US and is dedicated to wine, gardening, and the arts; quite an eclectic mix. Like many of these sites, it is a labour of love and in this case, like many others, a modicum of income is derived from small amounts of advertising. The key site of interest is the Strat's Wine Forum which is moderated and run by Daniel Rogov in Israel. Daniel is Israel's leading food and wine critic and without him, this forum would be a shadow of itself. Daniel prides himself on being a curmudgeon, when in reality he is a friendly teddy bear.

Whilst this forum may have a very limited number of posters, it has a real family atmosphere. The majority of the participants are either based in Israel or the US, although there are is a smattering from as far away as Finland and Australia, as well as a French connection. Much of the conversation revolves around Israeli and Kosher wine, but the balance covers all wine regions of the world. Interestingly enough, there are very few requests for tasting notes where Daniel has not tried the wine, he must be a very prolific taster. Whilst many of the participants are reasonably new to wine, there are a few experienced old hands who haunt this forum as well.

The Good Old US of A (and Canada)

The biggest has been saved till last. Wine forums have been around since before the Internet as we know it started, and many of today’s incarnations had their genesis way back in those times. Probably the first dedicated forum was WLDG (Wine Lovers Discussion Group) which is hosted by Robin Garr on his Wine Lovers Page. Running this site is a full-time occupation for Robin and it is paid for by advertising. As it has been around for a long while, it is a mature site and the base membership tends to have mature palates and know what they like and dislike. As well as its mature base, this seems to be a site where many inexperienced people go for advice and guidance. This board seems to have a very high level of “wine conversation” which seems to be “for the sake of conversation” amongst friends and acquaintances; rather than for wine enlightenment.

In some respects, it has an old world club like atmosphere although new members are made to feel welcome. There tends to be an emphasis on both French and American wines, although wines from other parts of the world do get a little coverage. One of the hottest topics of debate which frequently rears its head on this site revolves around Robert Parker. There certainly seems to be a high anti-Parker feeling amongst many members of the site. The layout of the site tends not to be as user-friendly as others. Whilst Robin has a very open attitude towards the subjects debated, he is fiercely protective of his own territory.

The forums are broken up into sections which make discussion easier. For example, you have General Discussion in one forum and Tasting Notes in the second. The original software has been heavily modified and whilst it is good, from a personal perspective there are others that I more intuitive and faster to navigate through. In days gone by, I would have been critical about the heavy-handed nature of forum moderation, but nowadays it is sensibly managed.

Undoubtedly the biggest and most popular forum is the Mark Squires’ Bulletin Board hosted on the Robert Parker web site. Whilst this bulletin board has been around for some time, it surged in popularity with its move to the Parker site. Parker is a huge drawcard, and as his Wine Advocate publication reviews wines from all around the world, discussion on the site tends to be just as diverse. There is a huge variety of palate experience, from newbies to old hands. The site also attracts a lot of people who are in the wine business, importers, wholesalers, retailers, winemakers; you name it and they are there. Whilst all this professional experience can be helpful, there may be hidden commercial agendas at play.

Parker drops in from time to time and posts his thoughts which are highly appreciated by the majority of participants. As expected, there is a huge amount of support for Parker and his thoughts on this forum, but there are some posters who are not as enamoured with Parker and are not afraid to articulate their thinking. This can sometimes make for interesting reading, but after awhile, it can be incredibly boring. This is one board where it appears a number of people like to hear the sound of their own voice, or more accurately see their thoughts in print, even if they have nothing constructive to add and are repeating things that have been said ad nauseum; it doesn't stop them from posting the same old thing over and over again. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but if they are not adding anything constructive to the debate, why bother? Still, there is a lot of useful information to be found on the site, the problem is sorting through the chaff to find it. The use of real names is mandatory, and as past experience has shown, if the moderator doesn't like your name, registration can and will be denied. This site can be a bit of a snake pit, but is nothing in comparison to the next one.

The Wine Spectator Forum is not moderated and “discussion” on this board can make two Pit Bulls fighting it out for their very lives look like kindergarten amateur hour. This forum is owned by the world's largest wine publication and as an outsider looking in; it looks like they regard it as a necessary evil and have it because they have to, rather than because they either want it, or because they think it provides any business benefit. Unlike Mark Squires’ Board where Parker drops in and uses the board to positively promote himself, the staff of Wine Spectator avoided their bulletin board is though it had a dose of pox.

Whilst there are a few old hands with experienced palates that frequent this forum, the majority of the posters tend to have less experience, but most of them have a good thirst for knowledge. The cross-section of wine discussed is broad, but tends not to be at the lofty price points that can dominate wine discussion on some other forums.

There is a huge amount of non wine-related discussion on this forum; much of it gets very heated and personal. The funny thing is, that despite its bear pit nature, visiting the site is a bit like being sucked into a poor quality soap opera; watch it once and you can get hooked. Especially recommended for those in the US, who are new to wine and don't want to get to serious about it.

Vino Cellars was an offspring that was created out of continuing major conflict at Wine Spectator a couple of years ago, when of many of the regular contributors departed. Brad Molzen runs the site as a hobby and it is financed by both donation and minimal amounts of advertising. Whilst many forums are easy-to-use, without doubt, this is the best laid out forum. The break-up of topics into sections is simple and sensible. The site is incredibly easy to navigate and is well managed. Unfortunately, in recent times it appears as though the moderator is becoming a little heavy-handed with the delete trigger and is deleting posts on principle, rather than letting commonsense dictate the action.

It has an interesting mix of contributors, many seeming to have mid-level experience, but the thirst for knowledge looks healthy. It is also a genuinely very friendly forum. It has a good balance of wine-related matter that is broken up by friendly banter that is not excessive. In some ways the greatest strength of this forum is also its greatest weakness. Whilst it is incredibly well organised it can be incredibly boring. For example if someone was to post a tasting note on the 2001 Shirvington Shiraz, rather than starting a new topic, you can bet your sweet bippy they would do a search first and it would be added to the original thread that now contains 58 replies. In many ways of this can be seen as positive but unfortunately the same cannot be said for a couple of other threads. How about the one titled “Glassware Losses – 2005” which has 129 replies and has been viewed 1989 times. But that's nothing, how about the thread titled “How much wine do you have on order?” It must be riveting stuff; there are 613 replies and the thread has been viewed 11,221 times and still growing strong. Thoughts of “going to the life shop in buying one” come to mind. Despite this criticism, the site is essentially a very good one and has excellent long-term potential; primarily because of the enthusiasms of contributors: let's just hope it doesn't get bogged down in mindless trivia, and the participants’ palate maturity develops faster than the proliferation of essentially useless posts.

Probably one of the smallest wine forums in North America is located in Canada. Wine Fanatic is as a hobby run by three keen and enthusiastic wine lovers. They basically started their own site so that they can do their own thing without anyone telling them what they can and cannot do. A fairly smart plan, especially when one of the three has been known to be “somewhat controversial,” but that is the pot calling the kettle black. It's small, it’s cliquey but in its favour it’s genuinely friendly to “outsiders” who are made to feel welcome. “A spade” is frequently called ‘a bloody shovel” but that is part of its charm. It's the sort of place where you can have a healthy disagreement, without it getting bitter and twisted, and then laugh about it at the end.

Last but not least is Wine Therapy. Now I'm all for eccentricity, but this place raises the art to dizzy heights. Frequented by knowledgeable, free thinking, experienced wine drinkers, who are not your average sheep or lemmings following anyone else's palate, this place seems really weird to the uninitiated. Whilst it maintains a very open and friendly atmosphere, although it has no pretension or desire to be so, it is very much an exclusive club with a select membership. There is a hard core group of experienced, mature palates that has an Old World to focus, and as cliquey as the site may seem, the contributors are the complete antithesis of stuffy Old World wine snobs. Its irreverence and lack of wine bovine manure is a refreshing contrast, bit what it lacks in wine mystery, it makes up for in coded communications that can only be understood by insiders. Still, it’s worth a look.

Wine forums can be a load of fun and very educational places; equally they can absorb huge amounts of time. No matter your level of knowledge, experience or choice in wine styles, there is probably a wine forum that is suitable, so don’t be afraid to put a toe in the water (but maybe don’t dive in head first until you see how deep the water is.

Finally, in last week’s story I examined the credibility of wine forums in general. There is one key factor that many people may not think about when posting on a wine forum; they are not private clubs where everything that is said stays inside the hallowed halls; they are open and public for all the world to see; so how do you want the world to perceive your posts and would you say the same thing directly to someone’s face?