Four years ago I told my wife, “I want to open a wine and coffee bar,” a combination of retail wine, wine by the glass, and Starbucks. Money in the morning, money in the evening, a business model that combines the two things I love! While not quite that exact same vision, today marks the biggest announcement and biggest adventure I’ve embarked on.

Last year, I started this blog with the intention of reaching out to wine lovers in the Spokane area for an eventual business opening. I distinctly remember saying, “If I can open a business in a few years with 200-300 people that know who I am, I’ll be way better off than the guy starting from scratch.” Over the last 11 months, I’ve been blown away by the amazing local and national support of DrinkNectar.com. It is because of you, that I am excited to announce the next steps.

In November, Nectar Tasting Room will open in Downtown Spokane. Five Washington wineries will share one space offering thirty wines in one satellite tasting room. Over the next six weeks you’ll see several changes on this site.

• Branding will change from DrinkNectar.com to Nectar Tasting Room and Nectar Wine Blog (links to previous posts will remain intact) Links from nectartastingroom.com and nectarwineblog.com will redirect to one site.
• A new template will be introduced that will separate postings related to the tasting room and other wine blog posts
• Daily posts will continue around wine reviews, wine business, and general wine topics
• Spokane wine event news will move to www.spokanewinemagazine.com; As part of the Spokane wine scene, Nectar Tasting Room will promote and support all wine activities in Spokane
• As contracts are signed, I’ll reveal the five participating wineries

November 11, 2009, friends on Twitter and Facebook welcomed me to the virtual world. One year later, I ask your continued support as I embark on this new venture. You can help be a brand ambassador by sharing this announcement on Facebook and Twitter. Thank you! Please stay tuned as I share the progress and adventure of opening a brick and mortar business. Can someone go from nothing, to wine blogger, to successful wine business in a year? I’m counting on it!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FIVE WASHINGTON STATE WINERIES TO OPEN SATELLITE TASTING ROOM IN DOWNTOWN SPOKANE

Nectar Tasting Room is opening on the corner of Stevens and Main and will house the operations of five Washington winery satellite tasting rooms.

Spokane is home to 18 quality wineries that include some of the states oldest, Latah Creek and Arbor Crest. The region’s continued thirst for wine has encouraged the recent growth of 5 new wineries in the last four years. Growing wine interest has generated attention in Spokane among wineries across the state. 

“Spokane has established itself as a wine tasting destination,” says Josh Wade of Nectar Wine Blog (aka DrinkNectar.com) and creator of Spokane Wine Magazine. “The addition of other regional wineries will enhance the wine experience for local residents and increase the spotlight on the quality Spokane wine producers.” The 2000 square foot space will be a place to taste wine and also enjoy wine by the glass. Nectar Tasting Room will be open Thursday through Saturday and plans on live music for the weekends. “This will be a unique wine tasting room experience with iPads as menus, a comfortable urban vibe, and activities that promote interactive wine education as an extension of the participating winery’s main location,” says owner Josh Wade.

Final negotiations are still in progress but wineries from Walla Walla, Red Mountain, Lake Chelan, Tri-Cities, and Woodinville are joining in. Wade is working with local restaurant designer Josh Hissong to build out the space and expects the tasting room to open in mid to late November.

Josh built his business model over the last year strictly using social media sites Twitter and Facebook. The DrinkNectar.com wine blog has been viewed nearly 100,000 times in the last year, with a strong emphasis on promoting the area wine scene, now at a national level. The site is among the top wine blogs in the country in traffic and engagement. With the upcoming changes, DrinkNectar.com is becoming Nectar Wine Blog and will house the information for the tasting room, national wine news, and ongoing wine and social media education.

For updates and information visit www.nectartastingroom.com or www.nectarwineblog.com or contact info@nectartastingroom.com