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Brad Harrington

I hope you're asking yourself, what is westcoastwine.net?
westcoastwine.net, also known as the West Coast Wine Network, is a community of wine enthusiasts. We have been brought here together out of our common interest, and love, of wine.

The central aspect of this site are the wine related discussion forums.

These forums are here to provide an avenue for the sharing of wine information without the fear of being subjected to ridicule. We encourage the involvement of all people, regardless of background or experience. If you are new to the world of wine, don't feel intimidated, drop on by and tell us what you like.

We do have a large population of experienced wine lovers here, but that doesn't mean they are snobs and unwilling to help you out. If you look around the site you will see that there is a great deal of discussion about all kinds of wines. From $5 to $500, from CA to Australia and France.

One of the most positive aspects of getting involved with this site is the people. There are some truly incredible folks who hang out here. I guarantee you will find friendly, sharing individuals who would rather help you to learn and enjoy than hinder you or ridicule you in any way. So don't sit there thinking we are a bunch of wine snobs, because that is not what we are about.

This site is also heavily monitored by yours truly and you will quickly notice that I won't put up with any rude nonsense. This is really a great place, it even amazes me at times. Stop on by and say hi, you'll be glad you did.

Who's Brad Harrington and what is his background?
My wife and I honeymooned in Napa during January of 1995, where I had my first "spiritual" wine experience. Prior to that, I had enjoyed wine for over 20 years but never took it beyond casual appreciation. I bought some nice wines back then, though more out of luck than actual knowledge. After our honeymoon, it took very little time for me to become a full fledged wine enthusiast and I immediately started thinking about ways to involve this love of wine with my interest in the internet.

I've been a computer hacker type way before PC's became common in most homes. My first computer was the Atari 800, still have it in storage somewhere! I started using the internet around 1992 or so, just about when Mosaic was giving way to the first iteration of Netscape.

Realizing I wanted to combine my two passions, I started searching the internet for personal sites, both wine related and not. I came across a couple of discussion groups and thought it was a natural for wine to have a discussion group site. At this point I started searching for existing wine discussion groups and came across some sites which held my interest. I hung out at them for a long time and enjoyed it a great deal. I was learning quite a bit about wine and enjoyed the interactions and friends I had met.

Knowing a good thing when I found it, I figured why bother to start another site? But somewhere along the way, I changed my mind.

Why, you might ask? Well honestly, I was finding so many wines available to me that just weren't getting discussed at the other sites. Being an American wine enthusiast, I found that there were many boutique wineries whose products were not as easily available to some people and not getting nearly as much discussion as they deserved. I wanted to be able to discuss these wines with others who also had the opportunity to taste them. I wanted a place that had an emphasis on west coast wines of the United States. Hence, the West Coast Wine Network. I started the WCWN around the middle of 1996 and have never looked back.

Is this site only for western wines, or just for people from the west coast?
Heck no! Sure we have an emphasis on these wines, as do many wine lovers from all over the United States. But all of us love wine from everywhere. Personally, I love Rhone wines from just about every corner of the globe. Australia, France, California, Washington and South Africa are all making syrahs that I enjoy drinking. I love Chateauneuf du Pape from the southern Rhone as well. Great wines are made everywhere! No place has a monopoly on top quality, despite a few die hard snobs who insist they know the truth! Trust me and trust yourself, they don't!

What's so great about this place? Why should I spend my valuable time here?
Why should you chose this place over other highly publicized sites? There are a number of reasons that make this place worthwhile, special and unique. One, we are your site. A consumer based site, which is not the same as going to some other sites which are obviously there to propagate their own agendas. At westcoastwine.net, your agenda is our agenda!

While it is our intention to help everyone learn about wine, it is our philosophy that you are ultimately the ones who really know about the wines. Your opinions are the ones that matter and can ultimately shape the market. I am just another one of you. This site is intended to be a place where all wine lovers can come and lend their input, a place where you can learn to have faith in your own judgments on wine quality. You don't need anyone to tell you what you are very capable of figuring out for yourself!

The goal of this site will always be to give the consumer a major voice in the wine world. As we gain more notoriety and popularity, we gain it for you, not for some other organization, or individual, whose agenda may not be anything close to your own. Often times the support of someone's business does not benefit the consumer, due to their own self interests.

I am not going to pretend I don't have any personal interests with this site, I do. I've sunk my heart and soul into it, but the difference is, I know who got me to the point of being able to do this much. You, the consumers have! I know that and realize you are what makes this site so incredible. I want you to have an interactive voice here. I want your agendas to be heard and discussed in a meaningful way.

I think we all help ourselves here and if you have any interest in the American wine market, this is the most influential information site based on the consumers point of view. This site is here for you. I have dedicated myself to making this site the best consumer based wine information site in America and we are well on our way. I hope you all can see and agree with what my vision is for this site.

Who uses this site?
Another thing we have going for us is that we have attracted people who appreciate wines from around the world. In fact, I believe we have attracted the most diverse blend of wine enthusiasts on the world wide web. We have many Italian, French and Australian enthusiasts along with our American wine enthusiasts. Wines from all areas and corners of the globe get discussed and we will continue to encourage them to be.

Some sites are more elitist than we strive to be, in the end, it is my belief that this site will be more rounded and open to whatever wines interest you.

We have also managed to attract a wide range of participants, from winemakers, restaurants owners, chefs, sommelier's, vineyard owners, and wine writers while still managing to maintain this site as a consumer based environment.

Many wine industry professionals have told me that they believe this site gives them the best access to the true pulse of the wine consumers. They have told me they feel this site best communicates the true views of the American market. That makes this place very valuable to them, it also gives the consumers a chance to interact with the industry representatives and know their words are being heard.

To wrap it up!
We have managed to mix many different types of people without much conflict. It is our intent to keep this place civil and polite. A place to share ideas without resorting to name calling or ill will. This is a positive place that offers the opportunity for interaction to both newbies and professionals alike. Winemakers can get an honest opinion about the pulse of their buyers opinions. Newbies can learn in a fun, non-critical, environment, so that they are better able to enjoy wines they can afford to buy. This is a place where we can all learn about what goes into the wines we love and the issues which surround them.

I have recently switched from being a noncommercial hobby site to a commercial site. If you are interested in placing a banner ad on this site, please feel free to contact me. Going commercial has presented many challenges for me. It got to the point that I could not sustain all the chores involved with running this site without giving a large portion of my time. I was able to do this early on because I was in school and had the time available, but I had to make a choice when it was time to start bringing in an income again. I either had to give this place up or see if I could take it to the next level. We will see how it goes, but I am attempting to see if the next level can sustain the site. My intent is to keep this place free to all participants and make my income through advertising and possibly selling some products. I ask you to help me achieve some success here. If my advertisers have products that you will use, let them know that you found them from WCWN. Look at the banners when you can, they are helping me keep this site open and that is a benefit to us all. I won't bug you all too often, I do not like being spammed myself, but I hope you do take the time to appreciate what we have here and that is one way you can show it. Thanks!