Wine

In any En Primeur campaign there are four key players: the chateaux, the negociants, the merchants and the collectors. For the system to work over the long term, all participants must stand to make money for it to be worthwhile....

Still think that social networks like Twitter aren’t worth your investment of time? Read this for an example and a couple of tools that might help change your mind (disclosure; Vrazon is reseller for the second) What I Wore Today (almost) A post by a friend, Poppy Dinsey (@poppyd) made me think about this issue today. Since I met her, via twitter of course, she has gone on to launch an internet fashion sensation – WIWT (What I Wore Today) and as she says: I have achieved endless things because of tweeting. Twitter is still one of the largest drivers of traffic to WIWT.com, a business I was only able to set up because of an idea that spread through – yep, you guessed it – Twitter. Twitter has enabled me to market my business, my sense of humour, my opinions, my style and my writing to literally millions of people. I’ve been able to work with brands from teeny tiny boutiques and emerging designers to global giants like Vodafone, Universal Pictures and Unilever, often solely because somebody has found me on Twitter. I’ve never once paid a PR agency, but have appeared in nearly all the mags and papers of this country for something or other…again, often simply because of journos following me on Twitter or someone recommending me via Twitter to a journalist who otherwise would never have found me. I know this isn’t your ‘usual’ Twitter experience, but it’s one I’m massively grateful for and lord knows I’ve put a LOT of time into tweeting to make it happen. I didn’t have ANY contacts in fashion, tech or property when I started in each of these industries…but I made sure I made them using Twitter. It has been hard work, but she had a goal, and put in the time and effort. So how might you benefit too? LEAD GENERATION TOOL Lead Generation Sample Today Twitter announced a new feature that will make it MUCH easier to capture important, and USEFUL, information on your audience: Lead Generation Cards. This new tool will allow businesses to embed a small form in a tweet that users can complete and send back with little or no effort. This will allow wine businesses; wineries, retailers, journalists selling subscriptions and so on, to get the three most important bits of data for generating a return on investment in twitter; a user’s name, Twitter handle, and email address. Twitter is great for several things, namely conversations (that you can start, join, or listen-in to), quick questions and answers, and sharing links. However, businesses should have a goal and twitter is not the place for lengthy, detailed explanations, private conversations or selling. Email still is the best way to do this, but if you take them together, you can not only capture people’s email addresses, you can build the kind of relationship that ensures they actually open and read them. INTELLIGENCE GENERATION TOOL Vrazon has discovered a great tool for getting to know the audience you have painstakingly built up with your time spent on twitter, facebook, linkedin and through email; Nimble. Nimble Contact Nimble is an online CRM tool that is specifically built to give you a much broader picture of the people you follow by combining all a user’s profiles on each of these social networks into a single place. You can have thousands of followers on Twitter and Facebook, and many professional links on LinkedIn, but combining this information is EXTREMELY hard. They key, of course, is email because it links them all together. An email address is still the most valuable bit of information, even in the age of the social network. All of a sudden, time IS money because you can finally convert effort into leads.

Give your summer guests the hard punch they deserve (and spend less time playing bartender) with these big-batch craft cocktails.

From the department of “daddy is allowed to have pregnancy cravings too”… The frito pie burger at HopDoddy “burger bar” in Austin, Texas. Super fun stuff…

craig.camp posted a photo:

Washington Syrah compares favorably with the best in the world. Washington Syrah generally falls somewhere in between the jammy Shiraz of Australia and the more austere Syrah of the northern Rhone. It generally has good acidity and tannins. Last Friday, we featured Washington Syrah from the 2009 vintage in our wine tasting dinner. All six wines paired perfectly with Mom’s dinner of tomato basil soup, mixed green salad with blue cheese, pecans, toasted walnuts, and dried cranberries tossed with a green onion, honey, Tabasco vinaigrette dressing, grilled beef tenderloin steaks, rosemary roasted sweet potatoes, asparagus with curry butter, and topped off with a German chocolate dessert topped with whipped cream and shaved chocolate. Four of the six wines received a Quality rating of 4 stars (out of 5). The 2009 Long Shadows Sequel Syrah came out on top in this outstanding lineup. Founded by Washington wine pioneer Allen Shoup, Long Shadows Vintners is a collection of ultra-premium wineries comprised of internationally acclaimed winemakers from the major wine regions of the world. Each winemaker is a partner in a unique winery dedicated to producing a single Columbia Valley wine representing a “best of type” that reflects the winemaker’s signature style. Sequel is a Syrah made by John Duval, one of the most famous winemakers in Australia and around the world. He is best known for his work with Penfolds Grange, Australia’s most famous wine, and now owns his own John Duval Wines. Really, you can’t go wrong with any of these wines. Washington State produces fabulous Syrah, and the winemakers who made these six wines are among the state’s best. From 1st to last in the group consensus rankings: 2009 Long Shadows Sequel Syrah (Columbia Valley, Washington): 99% Syrah and 1% Cabernet Sauvignon. Dark, dense purple. Gorgeous nose with spice, game, earth, and black fruit aromas. Blackberry, black pepper, game, herbs, and spice come through on the palate. Full-bodied with crisp acidity and high yet smooth tannins. Well-balanced with good complexity and a very long, lingering finish. Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5) QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5) Where to Buy: Winery, $50; Available elsewhere, $42 to $55 2009 Force Majeure Collaboration Series III (Ciel du Cheval Vineyard, Red Mountain, Washington): 100% Syrah. Winemaker Mark McNeilly of Mark Ryan Winery. Deep, dark purple. Nice nose with black fruit and cinnamon aromas. Black fruit, black pepper, cinnamon, and a touch of earth come through on the palate. Full-bodied with crisp acidity and high tannins. Well-balanced with good complexity and a very long finish. Force Majeure winery was previously named Grand Rêve. Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5) QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5) Where to buy: Winery, $55; Available elsewhere, $55 to $56 2009 Rasa Vineyards QED (Columbia Valley, Washington): 71% Syrah, 14% Grenache, 12% Mourvedre, and 3% Viognier. Deep, dark ruby red. Aromatic with black cherry, cinnamon, and a touch of smoke on the nose. Black cherry, spice, black pepper, and some oak come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity and medium to high, silky tannins. Well-balanced with a long, lingering finish. Quality: 4 stars (out of 5) QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5) Where to buy: Winery, $50 2009 Betz Family Winery La Côte Patriarche Syrah (Red Willow Vineyard, Yakima Valley, Washington): 100% Syrah. Deep, dark purplish red. Aromatic with black fruit and smoked meat on the nose. Black cherry, blackberry, game, and a hint of earth come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity and medium to high, smooth tannins. Well-balanced with a very long finish. Quality: 4 stars (out of 5) QPR: 2 bangs for your buck (out of 5) Where to buy: Winery, $55 2009 Fielding Hills Syrah (RiverBend Vineyard, Wahluke Slope, Washington): 94% Syrah, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc. Deep, dark purplish red. Nice nose with red and black f

Not cheap for a village level wine, but hey, it’s very good. Also, comes with a screwcap, which is worth a whole lot more.

Well, you sort of don’t know often, exactly, how much to include in the name of a wine. It’s all on the label anyway.

Have to say, from what I’ve tasted, 2012 is certainly a vintage where you can start to believe the hype.

It’s not the first time over the last 6 seasons that Don has ordered an Old Fashioned. I am happy, however, that he still does. For a while there, the show was overrun with Seagram’s alcohol and Johnnie Walker. It just got hard to write about things. However, this was just a nice, simple Old Fashioned. from AMC TV In 1935, my grandpa was a bartender. I currently have a couple of his bartending books, published in the 20s and 30s. I know Old Fashioneds have changed a bit since cocktails have become such an art, but I still like to page through the old books. This recipe (use the bourbon of your choice) really gets to the simplicity of the cocktail. From “Old Mr. Boston DeLuxe Official Bartenders Guide,” 1935: 1/2 lump of sugar 2 dashes bitters 1 jigger water Muddle well, then add a jigger of Old Mr. Boston Rye or Bourbon Whiskey and a large cube of ice. Stir very well and decorate with a slice of Orange, a twist of Lemon Peel, and a cherry. Serve in an Old Fashioned Cocktail glass.