A Final Note; Or One Last, Uncomfortably Long Hug

This marks my three-hundred-and-somethingth post (or something) across both Eater National and Eater New York. It's also my last as Eater's Wine Editor. On January 28th I'll be taking an Editor-In-Chief position at a new project (which must remain nameless for now) and it's with a heavy heart, and little heartburn, that I say goodbye to Lockhart Steele, Amanda Kludt, Raphael Brion, Paula Forbes, Greg Morabito and the rest of the Eater crew. Thanks for giving me freedom and always making me feel at home.

Thank you also to all of the sommeliers, winemakers, bartenders, and distillers who have made my job possible.

And thank you America for allowing me to preside over Eater's drinks coverage during a time when both wine "butt-chugging" and a new guard of visionary American winemakers managed to reach new heights simultaneously. Great job, everyone.

When I look back on these three years I figure I'll probably wonder whether Costco's über-powerful wine buyer Annette Alvarez-Peters wishes she came up with just a few reasons why wine isn't the same thing as toilet paper." (Next time, Annette.) Or whether Robert Parker wishes he hired a PR person before he shrouded his bombshell in mystery and let it explode all over the internet.

Or maybe I won't think about the scandals, pranks, chocolate wine, and skinny bitch margaritas, and I'll remember the stories and news that helped remind me that we weren't one new wine brand away from drinking human feces—but that we are, instead, living in our own weird Golden Age.

I don't think there's any other site out there that would've let me cover the history of American wine from Ohio to Santa Cruz, and sommelier certification (and how touchy everyone is about it), and the spirit that's driving California vanguard, and the impact of counterfeiting on wine lists, all in one place. So, thanks for that. And thanks also for letting me try to find the answers to my questions, like whether or not farm-to-table restaurants are hypocritical if they don't support local wine, just how influential Robert Parker really is, whether the era of the sommelier as Delphic oracle is over, and if maybe, kinda, beer sommeliers are the next big thing.

See, it hasn't all been tamponing and lame drink marketing. Lastly, thanks to all of you, Eater readers, for exploring the high/low with me and for lending your support (and thickening my skin while you were at it). I hope you've had as much fun as I have.

If you miss me or simply miss telling me I'm a dummy, you can find me on Twitter at @TaliaBaiocchi. Until soon.

See you around the way.

· All Wine Coverage on Eater [-E-]