For thirteen month’s I’ve compiled a list of my favorite things across the interwebs, twitterverse and bloggersphere. I’ve used these “Nectar Honors” posts as a way to archive the monthly happenings in my life and in the wine world (at least the wine world as I see it). While January was bar none the busiest month of my life, it has not gone by without its sacrifices. One, my personal life and two, routine blog posts seem to be the two main casualties dashed on the floor like spilled glasses of wine. The build-up, branding and marketing of the last year became a beautiful showcase of Washington wine and an example of how online marketing and building relationships through social media can pay huge dividends. While this post is still about the best of January 2011, I just wanted to share some highlights from our first month in business. I share this, not to pat myself on the back, but to show the amazing potential of an engaged group of followers and ambassadors.

• $20,000 in revenue with absolutely zero $ spent in marketing
• 130 Club Nectar memberships sold
• Steady web site traffic with a noticeable shift in search terms to “Nectar” or “Nectar Tasting Room”
• Media exposure through newspaper, local entertainment publication (The Inlander), Journal of Business and two features on KXLY TV
• Sold out social media class
• Requests for speaking engagements to present on social media and business
• Four new clients for social media consulting and management

My nine blog posts and six wines reviewed was the lowest total since this project began. Since opening the tasting room, I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying wine from the five participating wineries. People are always asking me my favorite wines. While I hate to play favorites, I can say that I bought a bottle of 2007 Northwest Cellars 100% Carmenere (now sold out).

Top Posts from Around the Web

Favorite Social Media and Marketing Posts

Tina_Caviness “What is?’ – 5 Need To Knows For Marketing Superstars http://hub.am/g8Cgc0 RT @HubSpot

RickBakas begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting  begin_of_the_skype_highlig Social Media ad Spending INFOGRAPHIC http://bit.ly/i4svym #sm #marketing

Wine Business Posts

RemyCharest New on The Wine Case – Perfection is Personal: why 100 points by @robertmparkerjr is just his opinion. http://winecase.ca/l6o

Best Wine Expose

@vintank exposes @snooth for scraping data from @cellartracker http://bit.ly/hIgML4 

Posts that Made Me Spit Wine Out My Nose

@suburbanwino gives a hilarious “wine” review on cold medicine as he battles the sniffles http://bit.ly/hc8w4h

@stevepaulo New Notes: Pairing Wine With 1980s Action TV Shows: The Dukes of Hazzard http://bit.ly/fN0Y3G #wine

Most Viewed Nectar Wine Blog Post

Nectar Opens to A Packed House – The Social Media Experiment http://drinknectar.com/2011/01/13/the-social-experiment-nectar-opens-to-a-packed-house/