Best Beer and Best Wine Sites of 2009 Named by Chef2Chef.Net Community

Chef2Chef.net has announced the best beer and wine sites of 2009, as voted on by members of the Chef2Chef culinary community. More than 70,000 votes were registered across 12 categories by Chef2Chef.net community members and site visitors during the annual voting session. The top wine site was Verema.com, a Spanish wine site, while Club Sjarel International, a tastery club founded in Belgium, took the top spot among beer sites.

FOSTER CITY, Calif. January 10, 2010 -- The votes are in and the winners of the 2009 Chef2Chef.Net Community Awards for best beer and wine sites are Club Sjarel International, a tastery club founded in Belgium, and Verema.com, a Spanish wine site, respectively. More than 70,000 votes were registered among 12 categories by Chef2Chef.net community members and site visitors during the annual voting session.

"Being based in the U.S., we were surprised to see two international sites taking top honors in the beer and wine categories," Chef2Chef.net Spokesperson, Seth Restaino said. "Both sites are deserving and boast a motivated following worldwide. We would like to congratulate them as the top vote-getters and look forward to their showings in 2010."

During the annual competition of "the best of the best in all things culinary," food, beer and wine lovers from all over the world ranked their favorite beer and wine sites through an online voting process. Each category included 100 nominees and voting began in August. In 2010, voting will begin in February and feature an expanded group of categories and topics. Some new additions include regional categories, user-generated nominee profiles, Twitter feeds, and more.

The top beer sites of 2009 were as follows:

1. Club Sjarel International
2. BeerTutor.com
3. Malted Barley Appreciation Society Home Page
4. Boozin'Gear, LLC
5. FoamOnTheRange.org
6. Pivovara Osijek
7. RateBeer.com
8. MrGoodBeer
9. BeerGuide.com.au
10. St. Pauli Girl

The nominations in the category included the beer sites of major retailers, microbreweries, beer apparel, and equipment, as well as Web sites focusing on how to brew beer and beer history.

Chef2Chef users voted to following as the best wine sites of 2009:

1. Verema.com
2. Rogov's Ramblings
3. WeekendWinery.com
4. New York Wine Time
5. History of Wine
6. ThomasJefferson.net
7. ChampagneMagic.com
8. GangOfPour.com
9. WineGlobe.com
10. BiancaTrading.com

Visit http://www.chef2chef.net/rank/winesites.html to view the complete list of nominees in the 2009 top wine sites voting. The annual winners are considered the "cream of the crop" among Chef2Chef.net visitors consisting of culinary professionals, students and enthusiasts.

The Chef2Chef Culinary Portal is the "chef's practical guide to practically anything." Chef2Chef offers a Web-based community for culinary students to share their ideas, ask questions, and learn more about the art of cooking.