Crazy-smart wine biz innovators VinTank (Twitter), have successfully launched a new route on the Direct To Consumer (DTC) superhighway with their Deals from the Vines Facebook Group (DFTV). A relatively new feature on Facebook, closed Groups are an elegant yet simply powerful new component of the social media behemoth. VinTank has seized upon this new feature to form their version of the popular flash sales site phenomena that has taken over the interwebs during this Great Recession. While many of these sites have proven to be quite the boon to the budget-conscious wine consumer, they are not always so profit-friendly to the wineries, chateaux, Bodegas and Quintas that have participated in the various sales. VinTank's DFTV has already effectively smacked that paradigm with vigor, creating a sweet win-win for wino's and wineries, alike.
Category: Wine
The Mutineer Magazine Holiday Comedy Festival
Those loco wit' the cake kids at Mutineer Magazine (Twitter) have rounded up some holiday misfits and done it again: set the stage for yet another massive blowout of fine beverage festivities! Ever resourceful in the comedy department (witness Editor & Loco Alan Kropf's (Twitter) brilliant 2010 American Wine Blog Awards presentation (sort of) alongside compat Ben Morrison (Twitter)) The Mutinous crew has assembled an A-List of comedians to entertain your mind as your palates and gullets are treated to a regular bevy of fine beverages.
The tasty drinks provided in quantities surely above any 2 drink minimum, will be courtesy of Don Roberto Tequila and Jacuzzi Family Vineyards (Twitter, WineLog), the awesome location for this event. I had the pleasure of visiting Jacuzzi and tasting their well-made Italian varietals back in 2008 on the Pops & Son 4th Wine Trip. Good stuff and a beautiful Carneros AVA estate. The lineup of guests include Jonathan Goldsmith, Natasha Leggero, Bryan Callen, Ben Morrison (of course), Daryl Wright, Greg Wilson and Ben Gleib. Clos LaChance, the PGA and the Frys.com Open
Sometimes wine can take to you places that are just plain cool. Well, cooler than the usual cool things that come with wine...or something. In any case, last month I had one of those experiences where my interest in wine took me to something new: my first PGA Tour tournament, complete with a winery on site. A golfer for the last few years, this understandably had me a bit fired up. Golf and wine!? Heck yeah! After graciously accepting a PGA Tour Media pass, the Lady, Steve and I headed into the Frys.com Open at Cordevalle and Clos LaChance for a day of sunshine, wine, incredible golf and new vinopanions, all along the cart path. Jordan Winery: A 2010 Harvest Estate Stay
Two weekends back, the Lady and I had the very fortunate experience of a tour, a tasting and an overnight stay at the breath-snatching estate of Jordan Vineyard & Winery (Twitter, WineLog) in Alexander Valley. Blessed with a perfect harvest weekend of weather, we we able to visit courtesy of Communications Director (and photographer/videographer extraordinaire) Lisa Mattson. After dropping off the Pug with the parents in Napa, we headed across the valleys in the brilliant morning sunshine. The weather really was tremendous that weekend, sunny, a few puffy clouds and about 80 degrees at its peak. I really had no idea what to expect for the next couple of days however, since the Jordan site didn't really have a whole lot of information about the four suites or homes that were available for overnight visits. 5 Questions with David Cole of James David Cellars
So a mad apology is needed from myself to my tireless vinopanion known as David Cole, AKA @ColeDavid. I first started this interview NYE of this (last?) year and it is now finally seeing the light of the interwebs. Thank you for your patience David, here it is in the pixels! Actually, this interview coincides quite nicely with some exciting news from David's joint family winery, James David Cellars. They are launching a new website, have just put out some new wines and are of course, currently tackling the very challenging 2010 harvest from their home base in Paso Robles. Following the interview, I've listed all of the tasty wines from David's wine labels mentioned below that I've had the fortune to taste over the years. Onward!