Portland Porks Out – Next Stop Seattle
Guest blog post from Tamara Belgard of SipWithMe Bacon is the new black, or so said the shirt on Cochon 555’s Master of Ceremonies. Sunday welcomed five chefs, five pigs and five winemakers to the Governor Hotel’s ballroom for Porkland’s culinary event of the year, Cochon 555. This national event pairs local wine with swine in order to promote breeding diversity and to help raise awareness for heritage breeds and family owned farms around the country. Portland superstar chefs Naomi Pomeroy of Beast, Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon, Andy Ricker of Pok Pok, Cathy Whims of Nostrana and Jason Barwikowski […]
From Sorority Girl to Sommelier
Guest Blog Christine Collier from @southernORwine I may look more like a sorority girl than a sommelier, but that is exactly the reason I am pursuing my Court of Master Sommeliers certification. I want to level out the playing field with more formal wine knowledge to offset my 23 year-old, blonde, perky self. As a wine blogger and social marketing coordinator for an Oregon winery, many questioned why I was pursuing the Court of Master Sommeliers program instead of the Masters of Wine. And to tell you the truth, the first reason was the higher cost of the MW, but more importantly, […]
A Consumers Perspective: Social Media and Wine
WELCOME GUEST BLOGGER Melinda Knapp There is a lot of talk about social media in the wine world these days. For me personally, social media has allowed me to meet so many wonderful people who share my love of the grape. As well as connecting with those in the industry. However, the question that often comes up when wineries are considering the jump into social media is – What is my return on investment (ROI)? This is something that is really hard to gauge. Now, while I am certainly no expert in marketing, I am one in consuming. I buy […]
Wine Accessories: Tools for the Journey Ahead
WELCOME GUEST BLOGGER Joshua Sweeney A favorite saying among online wine reviewers is that wine is a journey, not a destination. What this means is that we should be drinking wine for the experience of it, not the effect. When you’re in college (and this is the cliché that we always fall back on, as if there aren’t discerning drinkers pursuing a higher degree), quaffing whatever beverage loaded with a high alcohol percentage is proffered to us, any plastic cup filled from any jug, cooler, bathtub, or keg will do. Once we move beyond the destination of drinking to get drunk […]
Nothing New It’s Just Farming
Guest Blog #4 from @thomsonvnyrds If you’re interested in being a guest blogger, contact josh@nectarcoffeeandwine.com Two blogs were posted in April that underline the fact that what is going on in the wine industry is nothing new, it’s just farming. Jason Haas of Tablas Creek posted a blog on the challenging economics of making high quality inexpensive California wine. He runs the numbers on whether the Tablas Creek cost structure could support adding a vineyard that would either allow greater production of one of their least expensive wines (around $25 retail) or produce grapes to sell at the going rate […]