I’m thinking of changing the name of my blog. No less an authority than Jancis Robinson (for it is she) thought that it sounded ‘rather unappetising.’ Evines, a online merchant, said that it ‘sounds dangerously like a smash up of binge drinking youths.’ I was hurt. I said to my wife ‘but you like the name don’t you?” Turns out she hates it, she thinks it sounds louche.’ ‘But I am louche’ I replied. ‘Isn’t that why you married me?’ ‘No, I married you for your dancing’ she retorted.
There is actually a very good reason why my blog is named as it is. A couple of years ago I wrote a book proposal called ‘Empire of Booze.’ Ever the publicist, I started the blog to increase my online presence and gave it a name that would bring readers back to the book. It’s called putting the cart before the horse. The book never happened. No one wanted to take a gamble on me (incidentally if any enterprising publisher is reading this intrigued, you can contact my agent, Raymond Duck.)
So my blog is lumbered with a name no one likes based on a stillborn book. It’s time for a change. Here’s my shortlist for a new name:
1) The Impecunious Amateur (this is the subtitle for the blog and Jancis Robinson thought it much more appealing.)
2) The Wine Bore (I like this name though every wine blog has the word wine in the title: the wine explorer, the wine sleuth, the wine shepherd, world of wine, wines of the world etc. etc.)
3) errr that’s it.
I’m therefore inviting readers to come up with a name for my blog. The winner* receives a bottle of Kurucver 2007 – a lovely Hungarian red (by the way, I still have a couple of cases left if anyone wants to buy. I give you good price.) Entries below or you can email or contact me on twitter @henrygjeffreys
*I can only send the wine to mainland Britain.
Henry's World of Booze 
From a wine blog which DOESN’T have the word wine in its title…
We like “The Impecunious Amateur”.
Yours from the impecunious amateurs at The Sediment Blog.
My vote is for The Impecunious Amateur.
Empires of Booze? I like booze. As you well know.
personally I’ve always liked henry’s world of booze as it’s fun, irreverent and unthreatening, and personal as I am interested to find out more about Henry. The impecunious amateur sounds like the typically slightly twee, whimsical sort of thing that every other wine blog in the world has done ad nauseam. so it will probably be very popular…
I like Henry’s World of Booze too. It has an unpretentious, Ronseal quality that makes it stand out from the crowd, especially in a list of wine blogs. To the uninitiated, it must surely be attractive to know that the blog is written by a real person, with all that that implies in terms of commitment, personality and so forth. I feel it is the best-named Wine Blog I have seen by some way. The word ‘booze’ alone does not imply that you are an egregious yobbo like the Gordon’s Gin and Tonic man. In fact it has a gentle, Omar Khayam-ish quality.
Omar Khayam! It’s not often one gets comments of such erudition. I like the idea of having a Ronseal-esque quality though I’m now getting images of people sniffing varnish in dilapidated sheds.
I agree with worm. It depends on your target audience I suppose…
Maybe it’s a boy thing. But I hate the word booze. It conjures images of sun-damaged cricket mums and idiot college boys. It’s a word that reeks of regret and sounds common and cheap. Which you, my darling, are not.
1) i don’t know what ‘inpecunious’ means, so I can’t comment. Not sure if it would come up much in Google for people searching for blogs about booze…
2) inaccurate, so not ideal – your blog is not boring, it’s ace
3) i’m with Tom – how about Henry’s Empire of Booze?
It means skint. Thanks for the kind thoughtful words.
Boring response, but I think the advantages of consistency outweigh any potential benefits from those names. Impecunious Amateur is twee and needlessly plays down your considerable expertise. Wine Bore is perfectly fine, but why give people something new to remember? Just stay as you are and let your excellent writing speak for itself.
I like to think that it has a Wodehousian quality but I can see why you might think it twee. I’m glad you like the writing. It’s nice to have some positive feedback.
Impecunious Amateur – dreadful, even if you are poor. The Sediment Blog so-so, but The Sedimentalist is better (with ‘mental’ in the middle), but I see it is taken. I don’t think you should change whatever ‘er indoors feels about it. It’s you. It fits you like a condom. Quick thoughts if you are set on a change….The Dionysian……The Lead Pencil(HB)……The Quaffer……but don’t change!
Oh yes – I love the writing, and have been a fan since…..since we had the cat spayed. So, I guess that whether you twist or stick, that will remain. I feel calmer now….
What’s wrong with HenryJeffreys.com? The URL is taken, of course, but you should go and buy it from the fellow in SA (who isn’t using it). Seriously, make a name for yourself. You certainly have the talent for it – and your name fits.
I came up with loads of dumb booze related puns when you first wrote this blog post, but have since forgotten most of them. The only ones I can remember are:
1. …drink therefore I am
2. The Quaffington Post
I actually quite like them. They’re better than the other nauseating puns I generated like a sub-editor with Tourettes.** I think “The Impecunious Amateur” and “The Wine Bore” are awful, but agree with Gavin that HenryJeffreys.com could be a good idea. Or just stick with what you’ve got. As they say in Australia “you can’t polish a turd… but you can roll it in glitter”.
**1. Shall I campari thee to a summers day 2. Rioja around the clock-a 3. Fino need no education