Guest post from my extern

I've turned this post over to my friend and psuedo-mentor, Harry Oldman.

Dr. Oldman has been in the wine business for decades. He used to be a computational physicist at a national laboratory in New Mexico, involved in computational fluid dynamics of wine. But after getting sidetracked on a trip to California by Randall Grahm, he has never been the same.

He shares his thoughts and opinions on wine and wine writing on various online wine boards, but I of course don't listen to what he has to say (you know, with me being a Millennial and all).

Since 1WineDude and The Hosemaster of Wine^TM have occasionally handed their blogs over to their interns, I figured I’d open my blog to this extern. Plus, this will allow me to put in extra hours on social media and get my beauty rest all at the same time.

So, with out any further ado, here is Dr. Oldman:

How to sell wine before it's finished and alienate people

There are so many ways to sell wine it can make a vintner's head spin. Finding the easiest and most efficient way is the goal of every winery. Case in point: en primeur. Every spring, the châteaux of Bordeaux invite the wine world to come taste the wines that are sitting in barrel from the previous harvest. En primeur is a method for selling wine while it is still in barrel. It is often referred to as "wine futures." Payment is made 12-18 months before the finished wines are bottled. The idea behind the system is that wines may be cheaper during en primeur than when they are released on the open market. Though, with the exorbitant prices the top châteaux now charge (Mouton Rothschild, Château Margaux and Haut-Brion released their 2012 wines at €240 per bottle ex-negociant, and that was roughly 33% less than the release price of the 2011 vintage!), investment opportunities are not going to be as easy to come by as they were in the early 1980s.

Many wineries around the world offer future wines for sale, but the producers of Bordeaux have been fine tuning their system for what seems like eternity. The system has been in place in Bordeaux for centuries. Why do they do this and why do other producers attempt to do the same? Well, producers benefit from the early cash flow. They also often sell their entire inventory before the finished wines are released. Pretty good deal, huh? It's almost like printing money. Or at least painting your own masterpiece...

Steve Heimoff doesn't like me...

Last week, Steve Heimoff wrote a book review of two new books. In the review, he accused Jancis Robinson and Linda Murphy of receiving money for placing labels in their soon-to-be-released American Wine. He also gets in a bit of name-calling as he says Robinson's name is "over-exposed," but that is not my fight to fight. Though I do not agree with is opinion of the content of the book, he is more than welcome to it. However, Heimoff seems content to only make mention the California regions he surrounds himself with, and I have to wonder (I’m just raising the question, not making any allegations) if Heimoff actually read the whole book. It is pretty sleezy to review a book without actually reading it.

Five more people you should be listening to...

Last week I wrote about five social media personalities to whom Colorado wine peeps should be listening. The list includes five pretty kick-ass guys, but no women! This grave error didn't occur to me until after I hit the publish button. I still think those five guys are some of the most important people wine industry members in Colorado should start following, but I'd now like to invite everyone to get to know these five ladies.

1. Kendra Anderson, Westword's Swirlgirl. Kendra has a bit of work to do to make Colorado's winemakers believe that she truly is a supporter of the local industry after this article appeared in Westword this past summer. I know that she is, but that headline really ruffled some feathers. And the thing is, the article was rather positive despite the sensational title. Kendra is a true supporter of the local producers and has written many more positive stories than negative. She is turning into one of Colorado wine's biggest advocates. She truly wants Colorado wines to be found on every restaurant wine list in Denver, but she is not afraid to offer constructive criticism to the local winemakers and that is important. Make sure you are reading what Kendra has to say. You can follow her on Twitter at @SwirlGirlDenver.

2. Michelle Cleveland, Creekside Cellars. Michelle is the winemaker at Evergreen's aptly named Creekside Cellars. She is quickly becoming one of Colorado's most prolific social media gurus. She's on Facebook and she's on Twitter. Just last night, she tore up #winechat about #VAwine. If you're not hip to that last sentence, you need to get in touch with Michelle. Oh, and apparently she makes her own label, Nippersink Creek (which I still need to try). Follow Michelle on Twitter at @MCWineMaker.

3. Brooke Webb, Mesa Park Vineyards. Brooke is fairly new to the wine industry. That hasn't stopped her from making a big impact! Brooke and her family took over the reigns at Mesa Park Vineyards and have quickly turned it into one of the hottest wineries in the state. They are on the wine list at Frank Bonanno's Mizuna and quickly expanding to Denver's other big-name eateries. On top of raising the profile of her winery, Brooke was also just elected as the President of the Colorado Association for Viticulture and Enology (C.A.V.E.), the state's wine industry trade organization. Fresh into her new duties, Brooke is working hard to improve the newly renamed Colorado Urban Winefest in downtown Denver. You can follow Brooke on Twitter at @MesaParkWines.

4. Jennifer Broome, Fox 31 News and Swept Away with Jennifer Broome. You're probably asking yourself why I put the meteorologist for Good Day Colorado on this list. Well, Jennifer also does the occasional travel bit on the show and publishes her own travel blog. As such, see has been visiting a variety of Colorado's wineries and vineyards and has become bit of an advocate for the local wine industry. She is also going to appear on the consumer perception panel at the Drink Local Wine conference on April 28. Make sure you get to know Jennifer before attending DLW and get some good weather advice along the way. You can follow Jennifer on Twitter at @JenniferBroome.

5. Jancis Robinson, Master of Wine. Ok, so you've probably figured out that not all five of these lovely ladies will not be at the 2012 Drink Local Wine conference, but it would be really cool if Jancis attended (please, Jancis....). For those of you who do not know her, she is sort of akin to the female and British version of Robert Parker, Jr. (in as much as she is probably one of the most influential members of the wine industry in the world). She was the first non-wine trade member (she's a writer) to rise to the ranks of Master of Wine. She writes for a number of print publications, including Financial Times and The World of Fine Wine, and has taken the lead in online publication with her eponymous website, www.JancisRobinson.com. Every time she writes or talks about wine, you should be listening. Follow her on Twitter at @JancisRobinson.