It's taken me months to work on this post. Why? Because there are exactly one gazillion places for you to publish wine writing, and I also know nothing about wine writing. So instead of me trying to come up with a halfhearted list of oenophile-related publications, I spoke to an expert, writer and Freelance Marketplace member Jim Clarke, about what he knows about writing about wine.

"Know the subject; people who are likely to read a wine article are going to have some knowledge, so you need to be a step ahead. A sommelier course is a great help: try the American Sommelier Association, the International Wine Center, or other organizations. Avoid groups that are more about certification than education (for example, the Court of Master Sommeliers) and some courses for consumers, which can be more social events than classes.

"If you're pitching anywhere with any sort of regular wine coverage, you need to do better than just being seasonal or covering the latest vintage to be released - they'll already have that written into their calendar and assigned. Find more creative angles. For newspapers, think locally - broader topics are too often covered by syndicated writers.

"Profiles and travel pieces are great; access to that person or place may be your "in" when pitching the piece.

"Describing individual wines is a ridiculous business; unless you have an established voice that lends authority to your description, you're better off quoting an expert. Sommeliers are often up for this, since it promotes their restaurant. It's best to err on the side of caution - overly fanciful descriptions (think Miles in Sideways) will cost you the readers' trust.

"A lot of people write or try to write about wine, because the title "wine writer" often entails some great freebies - tastings, free bottles, etc. Many write for the perks, and receive only token pay for their actual writing. This means a lot of writers only tell the positive side - the good wines and happy stories - for fear of biting the hand that pours them a glass of 1990 Barolo. The ethics of wine writing are much debated, and not much has changed since David Shaw's 1987 assault in the L.A. Times. Tread carefully. It's a small market, but on the other hand, few people both know wine and know how to write well, so there is room to break in if you've got the goods."