CHILL, warmer weather is almost here. Soon you will be sipping on your chilled white wines in the backyard, around the pool, at the beach and on the boat. The struggle can be, how do you keep your white wine chilled so it doesn’t start to taste warm and flat? Check out these three options below. Click the links to add them to your cart to have them just in time for that hot summer day.

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You love Nectar Tasting Room! You love Washington wine! Now you can purchase wine from our 5 Nectar wineries online, in one convenient online location. Whether you’re travelling through and need wine shipped to your home or you want your out of town relatives to enjoy one of your favorite wines, our online shopping cart is here for you.

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It’s official, long time friend and Nectar wine slinger is moving on in June. Ben has been with Nectar since week 3 in January 2011. Many of you consider Benny a great friend and we will be sad to see him go. We’ll give you more details soon on the exciting adventures Ben is off to pursue. Save the date for Ben’s going away party on May 24. With that, it’s time to announce that we are hiring a Tasting Room Manager. The position will be filled by the end of March, 2013. This will allow the new person to get acclimated to the systems, learn about our culture, and meet each of you before Ben’s last day.

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Goals are like magnets – they’ll attract the things that make them come true ~ Tony Robbins

Our second full year at Nectar has come to a close. The last few days I have put the finishing touches on the 2012 recap, our 2013 marketing strategy, and an evaluation of our strengths and areas of opportunity. Last year, I did the same thing in preparation for 2012. It is interesting to look back and see how my crystal ball of goals turned out. The first year was a journey of lessons learned, amazing momentum, and occasional surprises. We entered year number two with clear goals:

1. Offer more food options
2. Promote our event space
3. Market more like a winery

Our goals helped direct our path. The principle – “Our direction goes where our energy flows,” continues to show itself to be real. We sold 15% more food, hosted 10 wine dinners, grew our event revenue by 300%, and saw a 10% increase in wine sales. What makes me most proud is that YOU, our social ambassadors made this happen. I spent $250 in two traditional marketing (direct mail) campaigns last year (with minimal results). The remaining marketing strategy was delivered by social networking and word of mouth marketing.

WHAT WORKS

The thing that continues to prove itself over and over and over again that works is RELATIONSHIPS. I truly love this business and consider each and every one of you my friends. I am proud of the fact that we have cultivated such a large following online and through email. When I hear negative things about me or Nectar (and yes, I do hear them from time to time – I am human and have bad days), it breaks my heart. Ben, Christina and I pour our hearts into each and every weekend and I think it shows with the results.

We also love giving back to the community. We hosted some amazing charitable events this year for the Inland NW Blood Center, Make a Wish Foundation, The Pour, Teen Closet, and more. We were honored to have hosted events for our three major University alumni (WSU, EWU, and Gonzaga) as well as some major corporate events for Washington Trust, Witherspoon Kelley, Sterling Savings, US Bank, Providence Health Care and Inland Imaging.

We look forward to more of the same in 2013.

In the coming weeks we will make 3 major announcements surrounding our next steps for the year. We are excited about what lies ahead. Major changes will be happening at Nectar and we know that you will embrace the change with us and be our ambassadors of communication.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FOR 2013

• A greater retail exposure (locally and nationally)
• Continued partnerships with local charities and corporations
• Continued growth and focus on event rental at Nectar
• A change in the web site that highlights our new focus
• Improvements to our wine clubs offering greater member benefits
• Expansion to other markets – while not 100% done, I will be investigating the viability of opening additional Nectar Tasting Rooms

Before I close, I want to thank you for some very proud moments. You voted us #3 in The Inlander “Best Wine Bar” category. Hope we can move up in the ranks this year. You also voted us #2 in the KREM2 “Best Wine Shop” category. You also selected us as a best First Friday spot.

We hope you will join us for our 2nd Anniversary on January 11-12. The first 100 customers will receive a Nectar logo wine glass. Saturday, we’ll be giving away $500 in prizes. See you soon – Enjoy life with friends, drink happy!

If I could only find a job where I could get paid to drink wine, use Pinterest and entertain people…hmmm…oh, wait, that is my job! Recently we had our first ever PINTEREST party at Nectar Tasting Room! Wine, crafts and spray paint, what could go wrong?

Pinterest is the popular social media site where users create interest boards and pin various images from across the internet for a visual favorites/reminder/inspiration site. Many pins are food, craft, clothing and decoration related. Inspired by my popular “12 Merry Christmas Wine Decorations” blog post, I decided to host a crafting party where my friends could make these amazing wine craft ideas.

Download the Pinterest Wine Craft PDF

Step by step instructions and shopping list for each craft

The Sunday afternoon was a great example of how wine brings together friends for laughter and memories. A good group of 20+ people showed up to explore their creative side. Some, like me, were crafting newbies, while others showed their craft prowess for the whole group. We had fun, learned together and consumed quite a few glasses of grapes in the process. Everyone left with at least one fun Christmas craft and lots of memories.

Snowy Wine Bottle Centerpiece

This craft only requires a bottle (or more) of wine, white primer, epsom salts, and any assorted decorations you want to spruce up your display. The lesson learned here is to spray your bottles in a well ventilated area. One can of spray paint will fully cover about 8 bottles.

Evergreen Festive Bottle

I really loved how these crafts turned out. With a little metal twine and some evergreen sprigs, holly berries, pine cones, and decorative elements, a regular ole wine bottle can be a festive accent piece.

Oh Corksmas Tree

Our crafters really got in the spirit with their corksmas trees. With a little glue and some creativity, we had a great variety to cork themed trees.

Cork Wreath

All you need is 5 corks, some glue and a little ribbon for this holiday ornament. I think a whole wine themed Christmas tree should be a goal for next year’s party!

Special thanks to my craft helpers at the party and to photographer Jeff Schindler. See all of his amazing work here and view all the pictures from the party on his Facebook page (like it while you’re there).