The Buy Local Wine Challenge
Buy Local! It makes sense supporting local businesses; higher profit margins, more money stays in the local economy and the capacity to create jobs increases. For the New Year, I vocalized my desire to buy more of my wine locally. I am extending this challenge to all of my wino friends. The resolution is not to buy ALL of my wine locally, just more of it. I commit, where possible and when fiscally responsible (I’ll explain later) to purchase most of my wine from local wine shops or directly from the winery. Who’s with me? Does it make sense? For […]
Episode #20 Latah Creek Winery Spokane
Only a handful of wine makers in the state of Washington have as much experience as Mike Conway.When Mike opened Latah Creek and Hogue Cellars in 1982 (in a partnership with Mike Hogue), there were only 18 wineries in the state. After two years as the head wine maker at Hogue, Mike left to concentrate on Latah Creek. The full history of Latah Creek can be read on their web site. Mike crafted his winemaking skills in the 70’s working for wine giants E&J Gallo, Franzia Brothers and Parducci. It was while at Parducci that he honed his skills for white […]
The Dudes Guide: Part 3 Snort Suck Swish
Her smell is intoxicating. The aroma seductively locks you in a trance causing you only to think about her taste… Dude, you wanna kiss her! We don’t realize it but women are toying with our minds with all their elixirs, concoctions, and perfumes. The smell is the erotic trigger to our brain causing us to lose all sense of logic and control. Tasting wine is a similar experience. Wine is a lover to be enjoyed, caressed, and passionately embraced. This is something that guys need to learn. We’re not used to the delicate intricacies of a woman (or wine). Most of […]
Episode #19 Nikos Wine Bar Spokane
When wine in Spokane meant a handful of wineries and a small selection at the local grocery store, Niko’s owner Laith Elaimy anticipated a trend and took a chance by hiring Pauline Riley, his wine representative from a local distributor, to run his wine menu. The seemingly odd pairing of Niko’s Greek Restaurant and its mediterranean menu and the Niko’s Wine Bar has resulted in one of Spokane’s finest places to enjoy not only a great dinner but a huge variety of wine. “Wine is food for the soul,” says Pauline, “we want to provide a place to bring people to good conversation and […]
How To Fail at Social Media in the New Year
Anyone can succeed. Failing is an art form. With all the how to succeed without even trying articles and books in the world, I figured, “who’s here to help the guy that wants to fail?” Obviously, I jest. No one intentionally sets out to fail, however there are several things that lead us down a path of failure. In the wine industry (which these posts are originally intended), the majority of wineries are small businesses with 1-10 employees. It can be a challenge for these small business owners to jump into the Social Media waters. NOT getting involved could put […]