Drink Local in Virginia

By now, you should know that I am a big supporter of the local wine (and food) movement. This year, the DrinkLocalWine.com conference will be held in Virginia, shining a spot light on the state’s burgeoning wine industry. I am planning on attending if I can swing it. I’ll report back with any special insights.

Below is a copy of the announcement:

DrinkLocalWine.com will hold its second annual conference April 24-26, 2010, in Loudoun County, Va. The event, presented by the Virginia Wine Board, will focus on the diversity and quality of the 157 wineries in The Old Dominion.

“The Virginia Wine Board is pleased to sponsor the second annual Drink Local Wine Conference,” says Rock Stephens, the wine board chairman. “In 1979, Virginia had only six wineries and today we have well over 150. From the Shenandoah to Jefferson’s Monticello to George Washington’s birthplace to Virginia’s Eastern Shore, we are proud of the diversity and quality of wines produced in Virginia and look forward to providing attendees the opportunity to experience, as well as, sample some of our outstanding vintages.”

The conference, which is open to the public, will feature some of foremost wines in Virginia and Maryland, the top winemakers and growers, and the region’s leading sommeliers. In addition, some of the best wine bloggers and writers in the country will attend.

DLW 2010 will include three panel discussions focusing on issues unique to Virginia and regional wine – its grapes and terroir, how the state’s winemakers have used social media to advance their cause, and why local wine should be part of the local food movement. There will also be a Virginia Twitter Tasteoff, where participants will be able to blog or Twitter about the wines they’re tasting. Admission is $65, which includes the three panels, lunch, and the Twitter Taste-off.

Virginia is the fifth-largest wine producing state in the country, and the state has made important strides in the past decade in producing world-class Chardonnay, Viognier, Cabernet Franc and red Bordeaux blends.

DLW 2010 follows the success of DrinkLocalWine.com’s first conference in Dallas in 2009, which featured Texas wine and sold out within days. DLW also holds an annual Regional Wine Week in October, in which more than 40 wine bloggers, writers and columnists from the U.S. and Canada write about their favorite regional wines, ranging from Ontario to New York to Florida to Texas to Colorado.

DrinkLocalWine.com’s goal is to spotlight wine made in the 47 states and Canada that aren’t California, Washington, and Oregon. It’s the brainchild of Washington Post wine columnist Dave McIntyre and wine blogger Jeff Siegel, the Wine Curmudgeon.

Other conference sponsors are Landsdowne Resort, Tuscarora at the Mill and Magnolias at the Mill.
For information or to register, call (978) 276-9463 or send an email.

Tags: drink local wine, drinklocalwine.com, virginia

PALATE PRESS and Brother, Can You Spare a Bottle? have teamed up to help the relief effort in Haiti. Wine for Haiti is a program where wine collectors can donate wines from their cellars to be auctioned off in a benefit for disaster relief. It’s a great cause, and an easy way to show your generosity. For more information, check out the Wine for Haiti article on PALATE PRESS.

How’s it goin’, eh? I’m just back from the Great White North. Okay, maybe I wasn’t THAT far north, but I was close. As is our usual tradition, my family and I strapped on our snowshoes and traveled to our homeland of Michigan for the holidays. The year 2009 kind of ended on a crazy note, with a noticeable upsurge in activity and interest in communications services. This bodes very well for the new year, and I’m looking forward to a prosperous 2010.

It wasn’t a happy new year for everyone, however. Anyone who has read this blog regularly will be aware of the changing landscape of wine communications. Over the past few years, many wine critics and journalists have seen their columns cut-down or canceled altogether. Some fairly major wine writers have found themselves looking for new jobs. So, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised with the news that the venerable Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher will no longer be writing their Tastings column for the Wall Street Journal. In a footnote on their December 26th column, they announced that “This is our 579th—and last—”Tastings” column. The past 12 years—a full case!—have been a joy, not because of the wine but because we had an opportunity to meet so many of you, both in person and virtually. Thank you.” Truthfully, I am shocked. Dorothy and John were an institution. Pillars of wine writing virtue. They stood apart from most others by keeping to a strict code of how they acquired and reviewed wines. No media samples and no winemaker meetings. They bought everything from local stores, and kept everything on a no-nonsense level of fun and enjoyment. In this way they established a loyal following and a sense of credibility that was absolutely unique.

No official word has been given as to WHY they will no longer be writing their column for the WSJ. Speculation by Alder Yarrow on his blog and Gil Kulers in his weekly newsletter, suggest that the blame lies squarely at the feet of the Internet and its ilk. They are probably right. The shift from paid subscriptions to free content, as well as the fragmentation of media in general is making it harder and harder for traditional outlets to support a viable business model. While I think the advent of blogs and wine social networks is a great influence overall on the expansion of wine appreciation, I can’t help by mourn the loss of so many experienced, knowledgeable, and credible wine writers/critics.

A few writers have adjusted to the current environment by launching websites and blogs themselves, but their is justified concern on how they will be able to continue a career in wine writing. When there are so many outlets that provide free content, how is the professional wine writer to survive? A few have even crossed over to the other side (Alan Goldfarb for example) and have begun working for wineries promoting their wines to other writers and bloggers.

What’s the bottom line? Right now, the world of wine writing is a mixed up jumble of print and online content with everyone scrambling to figure out how to make it all work. It is up to all of us wine communications and marketing professionals to rally behind these writers and help them succeed. If you haven’t already, check out the Academy of Wine Communications. The AWC was founded for this very purpose years ago, and we have come full circle. 2010 should be a very interesting year for wine communications. Hold on to your seats, because it is likely to be a bumpy ride.

Tags: academy of wine communications, blogging, dorothy gaiter, john brecher, wall street journal, wine communications

If you are like me and work in the wine business, or just really like wine, around the second week in December you start to experience anxiety. No, I’m not talking about “What champagne should I drink for New Years?” I’m referring to the challenge of traveling with wine.

Before some wackos decided to fly some planes into some very important buildings, air travelers used to be able to carry on wine. I miss those days. It was so much simpler. For a time, I used to check through a case or two of wine, until the airlines decided to charge crazy fees for checked baggage. So, that leaves me with one option: stash a bottle or two in my suitcase. This, however, is always fraught with the danger of the bottle breaking and ruining your clothes.

So, this year I’ll be trying the WineDiaper. The product is a simple concept, but ingenious nonetheless. It’s basically a plastic bag, lined with absorbent padding on the inside. So, it serves two purposes: protecting the bottle from breakage and in the event that fails, it absorbs the wine so that it doesn’t leak. It’s not guaranteed to work, but it would certainly be a good bit of insurance against disaster. So, crossing my fingers, I head into another holiday season.

Disclaimer: I received two WineDiapers as media samples.

Tags: travel, wine, winediaper

Question: How do you take a wine that is mostly misunderstood, with a stodgy image, and incredibly difficult to market?

Answer: Price it at $10, give is a modern package, put it in the hands of the Gallo marketing machine, and stand back.

I love Riesling, but it’s damn hard as a wine marketer to get consumers to take it seriously. Especially if it’s from Germany. Try selling a Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatllese or a Nackenheimer Rothenberg Riesling Trockenbeerenaulese to the average American consumer. Yea, no wonder people don’t get it. Add to that, the plonk sold under the Liebfraumilch label through the 70s and 80s, and it’s easy to understand why most consumers think of Riesling as sweet, uninteresting kool-aid wine.

This is why I dig the Polka Dot Riesling, an E.J. Gallo import from the Pfalz region of Germany. No funky wood-block label or unreadable names. It is a clean, simple, modern package with a blue bottle and screwcap finish. Basically, it pays homage to the Riesling of old (i.e. Blue Nun, though that was mostly Muller-Thurgau) but with a modern taste profile. It isn’t the kind of Riesling that you are going to ooohh and ahhhh over it its complexity. Only 10.5% alcohol makes it very easy to drink. It’s simply delicious with huge QPR at $10 per bottle.

Traditional review: Aromas of granny smith apple, asian pear, wet gravel, and honeysuckle leading to a soft, slightly sweet palate and crisp acidity. It has a relatively long finish.

Disclosure: This wine was sent to me as a sample.

Tags: Gallo, Polka Dot Riesling