Thank you for 2025
Hello 2026
Thank you for reading Sipster’s Icons. If you also listen to the podcasts, then you’ll be reading something very close to the recently released podcast.
I did not produce as many podcasts as I’d hoped in 2025 and I was really hoping to be more consistent with my articles on Substack as well. Changes in my personal and professional life this year made things a little unpredictable, especially in the back half of the year. Thankfully, things have settled down and I can get on with a more stable routine in my life.
Thank you for being Sipsters, appreciating your senses, and taking the time to appreciate those little things that make life cool. It’s not always easy to recognize, but if you don’t try, you’ll miss out on a lot of amazing things.
I am very thankful for your continued support over the past year. Because of my change in attitude towards social media (i.e. not using it anymore) it has become more challenging to publicize articles and podcasts. If you’ve been listening and reading long enough, you’ll know that I’ve been critical of social media for many years now and have removed myself from most of the platforms. Where I used to be on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and Facebook, I have removed myself from most of those platforms. Facebook has been more challenging to eradicate. Although I’ve deleted most of my previous personal content, and most of Sipster’s / Wine Country BC going back a few years, I’ve kept Facebook around for the marketplace and messenger services mostly.
For context (in case you haven’t been listening or reading to my previous rants about it), the reason I’ve been leaving social media boils down to ethics. Social media does not align with my morals. I’ve always been bothered by this but it’s taken me a little while to really start to see practical examples of how this difference is manifesting itself in real life.
Being more on the outside of it now, I’ve noticed how it affects people. Is it social engineering? I’ve had two recent examples in my own life where close friends of mine have gotten so worked up about an event (a topic, issue, or whatever - it doesn’t seem to matter) that they stop thinking clearly about it. Everything becomes black and white. There are no shades of meaning anymore. It’s all about one way or the other.
Both times, I did what I could to get the conversation about it had to stop. In one case, I had to distance myself from this friend whom I have known for over 35 years. This was shocking and heartbreaking. In both instances, whenever the conversation changed to something else, everything went back to normal, almost instantly.
It was fucking weird.
What I noticed was that they lose their senses about something, which contravenes the Sipster philosophy that I’ve been cultivating over the past four years. Being a sipster is about appreciating subtlety, nuance, and inflections in everything, whatever it is. It could be wine, tea, paintings, sport, driving, walking through the woods, or even conflict. These are all things that happen in real life.
Subtle, nuanced things cannot happen over social media. There is no room for it in the shallow world of Instagram photos or TikTok videos. I would be a hypocrite to espouse this philosophy about nuance and subtlety through a medium like social media. It would be like trying to taste wine in the partially filled dumpster of a seafood restaurant. Try all you want, you’ll never smell the wine in that situation.
I can’t and won’t do it. I do not want to willingly contribute to the potential social engineering of other people (whether I know them or not) just to sell my books or ideas.
So, what can I do now that I’m out in the non-social media wilderness?
That’s where I run into problems. Publishers require all authors to have a strong social media presence and probably won’t sign anyone who doesn’t have an established network of followers in place to be their starting point. No social media means they don’t understand how to publicize you.
The best that I can do right now is reply on my books selling from the shelves of book stores through word of mouth from people who read and listen to what I produce. The ratings and comments from you on Substack or on my podcast are extremely important and I’ve chosen them for many reasons. They are less prone to the Algorithm Almighty and therefore, you the reader and listener still have the agency to choose what you want to consume. You have chosen to read this far of your own free will, not because I dangled something in front of you that the Algorithm thinks you will click on and consume in five seconds. You have chosen to read it. Thank you.
If you haven’t already, please leave a rating or a comment on this article or on my podcast. I recommend Apple Podcasts (even if you don’t have an apple product). Please stay away from Spotify if you can - they are not interested in humans, musicians, or podcasters at all. They don’t pay musicians (the primary resource for music) at all anymore. It’s a resource that can now be sourced my more cheaply through AI. In a few years, I predict that Spotify will be using AI-generated content for 99% of the music on the platform that isn’t produced by huge hitmakers like Taylor Swift or Ed Sheeran.
My podcasts are still available on Spotify but I think I might pull them from that platform. What do you think? Do you listen to podcasts on Spotify? Let me know in the comments.
Looking ahead to 2026, there are going to be no more Sipsters book on the horizon. (Sorry, spoiler alert.) I am still writing - researching a book about Canadian cider, which has been enthralling me for a while. I’m still searching for a publisher for that one. Let me know if you know anyone. Most of my Sipster-style writing is going to be here on my Substack. Please share this with someone you might think will enjoy it.
Also, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. You should know that if you do decide to pay for a subscription, most of the money goes to me. The company has fees, but they are very reasonable. When I am making a purchase, I want to know the producer actually gets the money that I paid them. This is why I love farmer’s markets and shopping locally at smaller retailers in general.
What do you get as a paid subscriber? More stuff!
The free subscribers get the goofier fun stuff, like the podcast release articles, book reviews, and the occasional rant. Paid subscribers get more in-depth articles that feature events and experiences, tasting notes, and commentary such as the Patriotic Pairings. The paid articles will also only be released to paying members. Sometimes writers will release the paid articles at a later time for free to everyone. I don’t do that. In my mind, you paid for it so it should still be yours.
If you have any questions about my articles, or the way that Substack works, please drop me a line. I’m happy to help.
For 2026, I will be continuing to live in the moment, enjoying as many of the little things as I can, and wishing you all a great new year!
Thank you for reading.
Luke