Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Happy Wine Year 2020


Happy Wine Year 2020


In French, the number 20 (twentry) sounds like "vin", meaning "wine", so the French pronunciation of 2020 (twenty twenty) in French is "wine wine", so 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020

Let it be a good excuse to open more wine tonight and in the new year. 

Best wishes and all the best for the new year, 

Health, Happiness, Joy, and Success in all your projects! 


Here is a meme I did for you all!


Happy Wine Year 2020 ©ledomduvin 2019


Santé! Cheers!

LeDomduVin (a.k.a. Dominique Noel)

Friday, December 27, 2019

LeDomduVin: Potentially Fake Petrus 1961


Petrus 1961 - Close up on labels ©LeDomduVin 2019
Petrus 1961 - Close up on labels ©LeDomduVin 2019



Potentially Fake Petrus 1961




A few days ago, my colleague and I cleaned up the wine cellar from all the empty bottles consumed within the company over the last few weeks (as we do monthly). 

And, as usual, I put some empty bottles of the oldest vintages and most expensive wines aside for 3 main reasons: 
  • First, because, even if empty, these old ladies deserve a second life as a trophy on a shelf in an office or in a cellar (or anywhere else), as, after all, they are pieces of history that have resisted the passage of time when they were corked and will continue even without their content. 
  • Secondly, because there is always a sense of pride for a Sommelier (like me) to keep old vintages of top-tears bottles around, more especially when I have had the pleasure to open, prepare, taste, decant (if necessary) and serve them (even drunk a part of them in some occasions), for memory's sake.    
  • Thirdly, and more importantly, it is very useful to keep them as they can contribute to constituting a library of references for genuine bottles and fake or counterfeit bottles. 
In fact, they can come in very handy for a Wine Quality Control Director (like me) when in doubt while doing an inspection or authentication of some bottles prior to purchasing them or receiving them at the warehouse to compare them and check/verify the authenticity of the bottles, labels, capsules, corks, etc...     


While putting these empty bottles aside, I noticed two magnums of Petrus 1961 (in the picture above), and I suddenly doubted the authenticity of these 2 mags, especially the magnum on the left-hand side of the picture. It presented too many obvious faults and defaults to my liking to be genuine. 

This prompted me to make a video about it (and logically, this post afterward) to try to explain the reasons why I believe it is not a genuine magnum of Petrus 1961 by comparing it to other bottles of Petrus 1961 I also kept in the cellar for that purpose.   


Here is the video and the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAiEz_gfaxY (if interested) 




Did you like the video? 

I tried to keep it simple and clear, but for those who did not get everything and may not want to watch it again to grasp some of the points they still have questions about, I will recap the main points discussed in the video further below in this post.  


However, before going into the details and reasons why I believe this is a fake magnum of Petrus 1961, let me tell you a little more about what I do and my roles and duties as a Wine Quality Control Director. A position that I have been occupying for the past 8 years now. 



What is a Wine Quality Control Director (QC)? 

To make it short, let's say that at my current job as a Wine Quality Control Director (for the Wine Division of a large corporate company), I'm in charge of the following:
  • Quality Control, 
  • Standard Operating Procedures (implementation and maintenance), 
  • Market Prices Analyses, 
  • Market Trend, 
  • Stock Valuation, 
  • Provenance, 
  • Authentication, 
  • Wine inspection prior to purchasing and at goods receiving, 
  • Supervising container unloading, 
  • Stock accuracy: inventory, stocktaking, cycle-counting
  • Wine warehouses and cellars QC operations (conditions, environment control and security), 
  • Prevention, 
  • Staff training, 
  • ERP System, 
  • Quality Management System, 
  • Compliance, 
  • Audits, 
  • etc...
(And even: Wine Classes, Wine Events, and Wine Promotion, as well as French tutoring, French Classes among other things).

I know it seems like a lot, but once managed as a daily routine, it is not that bad. 



Standard Operating Procedures

So, parts of my duties consist of creating and implementing Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) within the various departments related to the wine division (Purchase and Sales, Cellars and Logistics, and Quality Control, etc...) in order to clearly define step by step, the official or usual way that people are expected to do particular things within the respective departments of the wine division (or, to some extent, even within the company or organization). 

Once created and implemented, and adjusted/amended/corrected if necessary, depending on the evolution of the business model and the evolution and changes of the department's daily operations, I need to make sure they are compliant. They conform to the rules (such as specifications, policies, standards, and/or laws). 

Within the wine division, these procedures are put in place to manage and control both the people and  the goods, as well as the environments, conditions, and security, and clearly describe: 
  • How are daily operations conducted and done, and by whom?  
    • who does what, when, and how (and even why)
  • How things are to be done (and in which order) to prevent from 
    • a mistake, accident, or incident to happen
    • security to be breached 
    • and/or even theft to occur 
  • And what needs to be done and how, if any of the above occurs

These SOPs are created and implemented for all the following respective daily main operations at the office(s) and at the various points of storage (warehouses/cellars):
  • Purchase Order / Wine Receiving 
  • Wine Inspection / Authentication
  • Wine Receipt in ERP System
  • Put Away
  • Wine Transfer
  • Sales Order
  • Wine Withdrawal
  • Wine Delivery  
  • Wine Pickup
  • Others (too many to list them all)


Once the daily operations system and related SOPs are done and implemented, and the staff has been trained, I can focus on the product: "the wine".



Wine Provenance, Inspection and Authentication


My role as Wine QC Director consists predominantly in

  • verifying and/or counterchecking 
    • the reliability and integrity of the wine merchants we are buying from
    • the origin, provenance, and conditions of the wines (history of the bottles, previous storage conditions, etc...)
    • the cost prices compared to the market 
  • Do the bottle's inspection and authentication (if needed) before buying the bottles, if possible at good receiving, to prevent fake or counterfeit bottles of wine from entering our warehouses and cellars. 

For example, when our Purchasing manager wants to purchase wines, a specific SOP tells us that the following main steps (SOPs are generally more detailed, this is just an example) have to be done prior to being able to purchase the wine: 





Wine Purchase Simplified Process ©LeDomduVin 2019
Wine Purchase Simplified Process ©LeDomduVin 2019



A. Wine Purchasing

  • The Purchasing Manager (PM) 
    • receives an offer or receives a specific request from a client (or from the boss) 
    • sources the wine from Négociants or trusted/reliable wine merchants, 
    • negotiates a reasonable price to generate a minimum profit based on the current market price and availability
    • asks for a quotation

  • The Wine Quality Control Director (QC) (based on the quotation)
    • verifies the reliability and integrity of the negociant or wine merchant: 
      • Reliable? or trustable? 
      • Did we work with them in the past? 
      • How is our relationship with them?
      • Are they in possession of the stocks or not?
      • If not, where are the stocks? And what are the current conditions of storage?
      • Are they buying the wines directly at the property? Or via a negociant or official agent? or via a third party?  
      • Are they able to guarantee the conditions and provenance of the wine?
    • Verifies the integrity of the source: 
      • Honest about the conditions and provenance of the wines? 
      • Practicing fair prices?
      • Are they flexible with the payment terms as well as the shipping/delivery terms? 
    • Does a Market Analysis to: 
      • Establish the fairness of the quoted prices compared to the current market 
      • and verify the potential Gross Profit Margin (GPM) compared with the average market prices   
    • Is it possible to inspect the wines prior to buying them? If possible and if locally sourced;
    • If not, ask for high-res quality pictures (if possible, and/or documents/proofs of origin if available) of the wines (cases or even bottles if available) to determine:
      • the quality
      • the conditions
      • the authenticity    
      • the provenance
    • inform PM if the supplier is reliable or too expensive, etc...   

  • The Cellars and Logistics Manager 
    • Liaises with shipping companies and gets quotations to compare and estimate 
      • The shipping cost (door-to-door, reefer container, plane or boat, etc...)
      • the time of the shipping (when, how long, etc...)
    • Choose the shipping company based on cost/efficiency/security/service/quality (the cheapest are not always the worst, and the more expensive are not always the best either)
    • Liaises with the negotiant or wine merchant to arrange for shipping/logistics details
    • Arrange for the ETD (Estimated Time of Departure) and ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) with both the negotiant or wine merchant and the shipping company
    • Inform and keep the warehouse team updated 







B. Wine Purchase Order Receiving


In most case scenarios, unless you buy directly at the property or from a Négociant or an official agent or a trusted wine merchant, it is going to be very difficult for you to get high-res pictures and/or documents/proofs of origin of the wines prior buying it. Let's say it's nearly impossible.

Same regarding the provenance and/or current (or even previous) storage conditions, there again, unless you buy directly at the property or from a Négociant or an official agent or a trusted wine merchant, you will never know if what they are telling you is the truth or not.

Yet, it is true that it may also happen with the Négociants, official agents, or "supposedly" trusted wine merchants. They may tell you that the wine comes directly from the property, while they may have bought it back from one of their clients or from a third-party seller. You'll never really know, in fact. You can only trust your guts, unfortunately.   

That's why it is very important to work with trusted wine merchants who can give some guarantee about the provenance or, if not, are willing to let you inspect the wines  (if sourced locally) and/or send you some high-res pictures of the wines for you to check them prior to buying them.

But because it is not always possible to check them prior to buying them (either physically or on pictures), even with the merchants you know and trust, that's where the role and job of Wine Quality Control is crucial, as he or she will have to inspect and/or even authenticate the wines at good receiving at the warehouse (or at the store or wherever they have been ship/deliver to) prior storing the wines, in order to immediately inform the vendor and sent the wines back, if not satisfied and/or if the conditions are not as described on the email, the catalog, the pictures or any other documents provided prior buying them.

The SOPs state that at good receiving:
  • The Cellars and Logistics Team
    • Arrange for delivery time at the warehouse
    • Unload the truck or container, weigh the pallets/cases, and mark them
    • Count the pallets, cases (and eventual loose bottles) based on the shipping documents and the purchase order delivery note 
    • Bring the wines to the inspection zone (usually an area prior to or within the storage area dedicated to inspecting the wines prior to being put away in the storage area)
  • The QC team 
    • Supervise/help with the unloading of the truck or container
    • Take pictures during the unloading to have proof of how the pallets/cases were when they were delivered and unloaded
    • Make sure that none of the wines have been put away in the storage area without being inspected first
    • Proceeds to the inspection prior to the Cellar and Logistics team putting the wines away



Wine Inspection - Authentication basic tools by ©LeDomduVin 2018
Wine Inspection - Authentication basic tools by ©LeDomduVin 2018




C. Wine Inspection


  • The QC team proceeds to the inspection case by case
    • A case of wine is put on the inspection table or bench
    • If the case is an unopened Original Wooden Case (OWC) or Orignal Carton Box (OCB):
      • the case/box is not opened
      • it is inspected carefully to check of any signs/traces of opening attempts 
        • If pristine, a sticker or security tape is put on it
        • If not pristine (meaning there are signs/traces of a previous opening), the case has to be opened  
      • the case is weighed to check if it has a correct weight
        • If correct, a sticker with the case weight is printed and put on the case
        • Then the case/box is banded with a band featuring the company logo for security reasons
        • If not correct, the case has to be opened to check its content 
    • If the case has been previously opened, then tape resealed or nail closed (no matter if OWC, OCB, or not) and or if the case/box has not been opened, but it is not an OWC/OCB and/or does not present any markings of any kind to indicate what is in the case/box, then it has to be opened to do the quantitative/qualitative inspection in order to check the quantity and quality (conditions) of its content.
    • QC staff should always come prepared for an inspection and have their tools at ready for inspection (here is a list with the most essential items to have for a wine inspection)
      • A portable LED flashlight (or light torch, however you call it) if it does blacklight even better 
      • A magnifier
      • A ruler
      • A cutter
      • Transparent tape
      • Tissue paper or wet tissue
      • A rollerball pen or a permanent marker
      • Small size Post It paper
      • A camera or smartphone to take pictures
    • During the inspection/authentication process, QC checks and takes pictures of the following (taking into consideration the vintage and origin of the wine, of course):
      • Overall bottle conditions
      • Label (pristine or damaged)
      • Capsule (pristine or damaged)
      • Level (correct, too high or too low)
      • Cork (depressed or protruding, check the vintage if possible for old and expensive bottles, and only if previously agreed with the vendor)
      • Color (correct, too young, too old) 
      • Sediments (present or not)
      • Bottle marks 
    • If all the bottles of wine in the same case pass the inspection: 
      • The bottles are carefully put back into the case/box, 
      • The case/box is turned resealed/closed
      • A piece of security tape or sticker is affixed on the case/box,
      • And/or the case/box is banded
      • The case/box can now be given back to the Cellar and Logistics team to be put away in the storage area
    • If some of the bottles of wine in the same case do not pass the inspection: 
      • The full case is put aside (either in the inspection area if secure or right behind the door at the storage area entrance, not to be put away yet and not to be mixed with other cases either).  
      • An email including details of the discrepancies/defaults + pictures is sent immediately to the vendor
      • Negotiations begin on getting something for the unsatisfactory bottles, either: 
        • a replacement
        • and/or a discount 
        • and/or send back the bottles and get partial or full reimbursement  
      • Depending on the negotiation's result, 
        • Bottles are replaced
        • A new invoice showing a discount is sent
        • The bottles are sent back and reimbursed



Although continuing on the subject might interest you, I will stop here regarding the SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures). Otherwise, you will be bored reading all these details. (if interested in the inspection's details, read my previous posts on the subject here)


However, the reason I wanted to share with you (parts of) these SOP details is to show you that we have an elaborate system in place to prevent fake and counterfeit wine bottles from infiltrating our warehouses and cellars in our various storage locations and that theoretically we should not have any suspicious bottles in our stocks (either fake or counterfeit or just in bad conditions) like this magnum of Petrus 1961.




Petrus 1961 - Close up on the suspicious label ©LeDomduVin 2019
Petrus 1961 - Close up on the suspicious label ©LeDomduVin 2019





Yet, this is not the case. The proof is that the suspicious magnum of Petrus 1961 (in the picture above) managed to get into our stock.     






💥Work in Progress - to be finished 💥















Cheers! Santé!

LeDomduVin (a.k.a. Dominique Noel)


NB: Over the last few years, I wrote quite a few posts on or including fake and counterfeit wines (if interested read the 2 most detailed ones here and here)


#wine, #fake, #fakewine, #wineinspection, #ledomduvin, @ledomduvin, #fraudulentwine, #wineeducation, #wineknowledge, #wineauthentication, #couterfeit, #counterfeited, #vin, #vino, #wein, #petrus


Unless stated otherwise, all rights reserved ©LeDomduVin 2019, on all the contents above including, but not limited to, photos, pictures, drawings, illustrations, collages, visuals, maps, memes, posts, texts, writings, quotes, notes, tasting notes, descriptions, wine descriptions, definitions, recipes, graphs, tables, and even music and video (when and where applicable).

Monday, December 23, 2019

Happy New Year 2020 & Bonne Année Vin Vin


Happy New Year 2020 

& Bonne Année Vin Vin



Happy New Year 2020 & Bonne Année Vin Vin  by ©LeDomduVin 2019
Happy New Year 2020 & Bonne Année Vin Vin
by ©LeDomduVin 2019



I wish you all a Happy New Year & Bonne Année and best wishes for this coming year 2020. 

I just hope 2020 will be much better than 2019. This past year has been weird, violent, controversial and unprecedented at so many levels and in so many countries around the world. I do not want to enter any debates and spoil the end of the year spirit and festivities, so I will just say that I'm just hoping things will change for the better and people will come back to their senses to make this world a better place for everyone and the coming generations.     

Be nice to each other and take good care of each other. We can work this out if we are all willing to make a change and change our habits and behaviors. 

I wish you all a happy end of the year, hoping you will be surrounded by friends and/or family to celebrate it. I'm also thinking about all the people that will be alone these days, hoping they will be ok. I wish 2020 will be a better year bringing you health, love and happiness to you, your family and friends. 

In French, 2020 is written "Vingt Vingt" and pronounced "Deux Mille Vingt" (Two thousand twenty) but could also be read and pronounced "Vin Vin" (Wine Wine), hence this little illustration I made for this very special year. 

As for the Christmas card and post, I posted previously, I decided to write "Happy New Year" (ou "Bonne Année" in French) in various languages on the illustration as wine is universal and is the only product with food, which bring people from all horizons together to share a moment, share their cultures, their traditions, their opinions and talk about everything and anything seating around a table,  drinking and eating together, despite their colors, religions or political views or even social ranks.  

And I like this optimistic, utopian idea of having people together, united, reunited, in peace with each other, sharing moments with each other rather than argue or fight with each other. I respect all races, colors, religions and opinions, yet I'm one of those atheists who believe that the world would be a better place without money, religions and politics.   

I let you meditate on this, and once again, Happy New Year and best wishes to your family and friends. 

As this post may reach many different people in many different countries with many different languages, here are the various ways of saying "Happy New Year" written on the illustrations. I choose some of the most common languages spoken on our little earth. 

Sorry, no offence if you cannot find yours, I couldn't put all the translations, too many and not enough space on the illustration. Moreover, and no offence once again, I choose some of these languages for the uniqueness of their written characters, rather than personal preferences.      


English: Happy New Year

French: Bonne Année

Spanish: Feliz Año Nuevo

Italian: Felice Anno Nuovo

Portuguese: Feliz Ano Novo

German: Frohes Neues Jahr

Chinese (Mandarin): 新年好 (xin nian hao)

Chinese (Cantonese): 新年快樂 (xin nian kuai le)

Japanese: あけまして おめでとう ございます (akemashite omedetô gozaimasu)

Korean: 새해 복 많이 받으세요 (seh heh bok mani bat uh seyo)

Russian: С Новым Годом (S novim godom)

Arabic: عام سعيد (aam saiid)

Hebrew: שנה טובה (shana tova)

Hindi: नव वर्ष की सुभकामना (nav varsh ki shubhkamnaye)

Greek: Καλή Χρονιά (kali chronia / kali xronia)

Polish: szczęśliwego nowego roku

Serbian: Срећна Нова година (Srećna Nova godina)

Thailand: สวัสดีปีใหม่ (sawatdii pimaï)


Voilà! Et encore une très belle année 2020 et tous mes voeux de bonheur, joie et de santé pour cette année a venir. 


Cheers! Santé! 

LeDomduVin (a.k.a. Dominique Noël)

#happynewyear #bonneannee #vinvin #twentytwenty #ledomduvin @ledomduvin #lesillustartionsadom #lesdessinsadom #lescreationsadom #bestwishes #meilleursvoeux #vin #wine #vino #wein #newyearcard #cartedebonneannee 

    
  

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Merry Christmas and Joyeux Noël


Merry Christmas and Joyeux Noël


Merry Christmas card with different languages by ©LeDomduVin 2019
Merry Christmas card with different languages by ©LeDomduVin 2019


Merry Christmas and Joyeux Noël to you all as well as your family and friends. And remember that Christmas is about sharing with others, having sympathy, empathy, compassion and consideration for others. So, be nice to each other and I wish you a lot of happiness and love for this end of the year holidays season. Take good care of each other.  

And as this blog reaches a lot of different people in many different countries speaking different languages, here is how you can wish "Merry Christmas" to someone in the most common languages spoken on our little earth. 


French: Joyeux Noël

Spanish: ¡Feliz Navidad

German: Frohe Weihnachten

Italian: Buon Natale

Portuguese: Feliz Natal

Chinese: 圣诞节快乐 (Shèngdàn jié kuàilè)

Japanese: メリークリスマス (Merīkurisumasu)

Korean: 메리 크리스마스 (meli keuliseumaseu)

Russian: С Рождеством (S-RazhdestvOm)

Arabic: عيد ميلاد مجيد (Aiyeed milad sayeed)



Cheers! Santé! 

LeDomduVin (a.k.a Dominique Noel) 



@ledomduvin #ledomduvin #lesillustrationsadom #lescreationsadom #lesdessinsadom #christmas #noel #joyeuxnoel #merrychristmas #chrismastwishes #christmascard #cartedenoel

Sunday, December 1, 2019

LeDomduVin: Lost Momentum


Lost Momentum by ©LeDomduVin 2019



Lost Momentum


In a way, a blogger is like a writer or even a journalist. All the posts are written based on the inspiration of the moment: a picture, an image, an idea, a thought, a fact, the news of the day, or even another article about a subject you would like to write about or whatever else could have triggered your interest and imagination to write that post, a movie or even a book, at this particular moment. 

As a writer, you usually go to sleep and wake up with at least one idea or more (it could also happen during the day, the evening or even at night). If at night before going to sleep, it might help to write it down so as not to forget it. 

Barely awake, with your idea in mind, you rush to your computer and start to write something. The words flow right through your mind like the rapids of a river where facts, ideas, thoughts, stories, souvenirs and other memories converge. 

With words mingling in your mind, the post or article is slowly taking shape and structure as the words appear to form phrases reflecting the idea, the inspiration and all other things you’re thinking about while typing them… 

For a brief moment, time stands still or does not even exist. Nothing counts anymore except writing. You are focusing hard on the idea, the words, the prose, etc.... Oblivious to what surrounds you and what could occur and anything else.  

You've been writing for a while now, but unfortunately, it's time to stop and move on to other things like preparing for work or attending to other tasks. This interruption breaks your inspirational flow, and you lose the momentum you have built up.

The facts, ideas, images, thoughts, stories, souvenirs and other memories you had a minute ago are now starting to vanish as your mind is occupied by other things you must think about to organise the rest of your day. 

So, even if unfinished, you publish your post anyway as you think that you wrote enough to trigger the interest of your followers and other potential readers. Thinking that you might return to it and finish it later or the next day. You even state in the post that it is still a “work in progress” and that it would “be finished soon”, evidently knowing that it is a white "lie", as this particular post might never be completed or finished, as you may never come back to it, and move on with other things to write about without ever having completed the previous one.   

If only you could have more time (and money) to be able to stay at home and write, or even go to other places to get the inspiration (a cafe, a bar, the park, the pier, the countryside, the beach, the mountain, etc…). But no, it is impossible as you have a daily job taking a large part of your day until late, every day, even on weekends. 

After work, it would be great to be able to go back to writing a few more paragraphs, but no, you also have your life with your family, wife and kids, and things to do with them and a multitude of other things that need to be taking care of, before being able to return to your bubble and write a little longer before going to sleep. 

A few days later, you realize that this great post or article you’ve started with so much excitement will be hard to complete and/or finish. You go back to it and start to revise it. Some new ideas start to flow. Yet nothing is as exciting as what you had in mind when you first started to write it. You wish you could have finished it on that day, when everything was in place in your mind and the writing pace was flawless and completely natural and didn’t require you to think as everything was there, clear and present in your head, and ready to be transcribed on the page… 

But this was a few days earlier already, and since, your train of thought has taken other directions. The inspiration of the moment has gone to make room for other thoughts. And the idea that was so great only a few days ago does not seem as appealing as it was anymore. 

Furthermore, other people beat you to it anyway, as they wrote about the same idea or subject in a more concise and straightforward manner, going straight to the point. Not like you, always trying to add more details and going more in-depth to finally produce articles left unread, as they are usually too long and as convoluted as your mind and thoughts.    

They beat you to it as thousands of articles and posts are posted daily on people’s blogs, newspaper websites, news sites and other media like social networks. So what’s the point of continuing writing, will you say, as at least 10 other people already wrote on the subject, finished and posted their articles on the day you started yours….. 

Does it ring the bell? It does to me, as it is pretty much the story of my blogger's life. 

How many times did I start to write a post and never finish it? Too many times. Countless times…. 

Maybe I’m trying too hard, or maybe I’m writing posts that are too long, too convoluted, too complex or too detailed sometimes... Maybe I should change my ways of writing and write simpler, more straightforward and more to-the-point posts and articles… I have tried many times, but it is difficult for a writer to change his/her writing style and patterns. It takes time, discipline and dedication. 

When I start writing, I'm always very excited. Yet, if I have to stop for diverse reasons, I usually lose the flow and lose interest in my articles.  When that happens, I always say to myself, "I lost the momentum."… 

I lost this internal force, driven by the inspiration, imagination and creativity that first sparked the idea in my mind but then vanished gradually in a couple days, as I could not finish the post/article on the same day I started it. On that day, everything was in place in my mind to write something that seemed good and interesting. A few days later, it went missing... Gone! Vanished! I just lost the momentum.

Sometimes I even say to myself: No one cares if you finish it or not! ...as no one reads blogs anymore, especially long articles like yours. And yet, my passion for writing and sharing my knowledge and experiences pushes me to continue posting most ideas, thoughts and other things that go through my head and mind daily, even if I lose the momentum and some of my posts will remain unfinished forever.    

This is my internal mea culpa to apologize for my blog's unfinished posts/articles. Like any writer, when the momentum is lost, there is no point in returning to it. Better move forward and write other things. 

Occasionally, it happens that I go back to and revisit an unfinished post or article. As I read through it, I add and delete, correct and refine my prose, and even may change things a little as my point of view on the matter may have changed or evolved. 

Sometimes, I rewrite entire paragraphs to make them flow better or just give them a different or more positive vibe. Sometimes, I have nothing to add as I have no inspiration or the subject has been covered by so many other people that it would be silly to believe that I can write something else that has not been written. So, I leave it as it is, unfinished... 

Sometimes, the inspiration comes just to rewrite some of the paragraphs, the ending or the conclusion, and it feels good to tell myself that I did not leave it unfinished… but usually, when the momentum is lost, it is definitely lost, so I usually move on and write on something else. 

A writer's life is filled with lost "momentum" that he or she can’t even avoid or prevent. The writing of a piece on a subject is never completely finished as the ideas and thoughts of the writer are always changing, growing or diminishing, vanishing or resurfacing, evolving, directly and/or indirectly, under the influence of so many factors and reactions, emotions and feelings, internal and/or external, interfering with his or her daily writing routine.

The most difficult part of writing is knowing how and when to end the story, post or article to consider it finished and not have to return to it. Not as easy as it may seem, I tell you.    

Most of the time, a piece of writing is just an expression of a specific idea, thought or moment that cannot be repeated and may never come back exactly the same way... 

And once it is gone, it's a lost momentum…. 

Thank you, 

LeDomduVin (a.k.a. Dominique Noel)



@ledomduvin #ledomduvin #lostmomentum #momentumlost #meaculpa #writer #writting


Unless stated otherwise, all rights reserved ©LeDomduVin 2019, on all the contents above including, but not limited to, photos, pictures, drawings, illustrations, collages, visuals, maps, memes, posts, texts, writings, quotes, notes, tasting notes, descriptions, wine descriptions, definitions, recipes, graphs, tables, and even music and video (when and where applicable).