Gary Vaynerchuk gets back into the wine game...

The 2015 edition of Premiere Napa Valley saw a fundraising record for the Napa Valley Vintners. PNV15 also saw the return of Gary Vaynerchuk to Napa on the ninth anniversary of the first episode of WineLibraryTV. Gary helped his father successfully bid on 11 lots (840 bottles) to a tune of $377,000 ($449 per bottle). Gary energetically tasted with vintners during the barrel tasting prior to the auction and frequently posted selfies to Twitter (without the aid of a selfie-stick). I caught up with Gary briefly after the auction to discuss WineLibary's purchases and the possible return of WineLibraryTV.

Wine Library's Gary and Sasha Vaynerchuk at Premiere Napa Valley 2015

What you say in advertising is more important than how you say it, unless...

...you sell wine in California. A few weeks ago, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) cracked down on a few small wine and beer producers because they tweeted (well, actually retweeted) information about a retailer's (Save Mart) event that featured their products. What's wrong with that, you might ask? Don't most businesses want to inform their customers where their products can be purchased?

Dr. Harry Oldman on the Wine Bloggers Conference

With the 2014 Wine Bloggers Conference wrapping up over the weekend, I heard from Dr. Harry Oldman, my extern. I was actually looking forward to attending this year, but my wife was in Panama for a conference and I had to stay home with Ben. Having never attended a WBC, I don't have a whole lot to say about the event, but Dr. Oldman was insistent on chiming in. I know I shouldn't give the crotchety old guy the attention he wants, but I suppose everyone is entitled to their opinions.

So, apparently the Wine Bloggers Conference was held this past weekend in Santa Barbara County. I don't consider myself a blogger (more of a human chameleon that can become a master at whatever I choose), so the big event wasn't on my calendar. You know how I found out about the conference? I saw it all over the news. ABC, CNN, FOX and NBC all picked up on the story. It was all Bill O'Reilly and Brian Williams were talking about over the weekend. Even Wine Spectator published a special issue on the conference that arrived this morning.

Marketing myopia in the wine world

This morning, my good pal Steve Heimoff published a blog post about how wineries can get famous. He raised some interesting points about the changes that have taken place in mass communication between the present and 1994 when the movie Disclosure "made Pahlmeyer a star." Obviously, he discussed the rise of social media, but concluded that a critic's score was the "best way to get huge notice by the public."

Prognostications old, prognostications new... (A look back at 2013 and a peak at 2014)

A little over a year ago, I wrote an article outlining my five predictions for 2013. Today, I want to briefly examine those statements and make a few new guesses for 2014.

My first prediction came on the heels of Robert Parker, Jr. taking on foreign investors and yielding editorial control of the Wine Advocate to Lisa Perrotti-Brown, MW. Going against popular belief at the time, I said that the Wine Advocate would expand and increase its popularity. Well, I didn't quite nail this, but the publication did not shrivel up and die like many other people thought it would. Many wine aficionados still wait with anticipation for the release of each issue. Wine prices still jump when Parker (or his other reviewers) throw high numbers at already expensive wines. I still think Robert Parker and his henchmen will remain pertinent (but not dominant) in the American wine industry, but will look to expand to Asian markets as they rapidly grow.

My first prediction may have been a push, my second prediction was both spot on and a bust. I thought that regional wine, and especially Colorado, would see more coverage in the major publications (Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator). Wine Advocate maintained the status quo on ignoring wine from the other 47 states despite having a reviewer living in Colorado (Jeb Dunnuck) who is eager and willing to taste and review Colorado wine. Dunnuck had personally told me that he wanted to get CO reviews into the Wine Advocate, but "the powers that be" have squashed that idea.

The Wine Spectator actually took a step forward before jumping three steps back. In 2013 alone (prior to a policy change), Wine Spectator reviewed more than 115 Colorado wines, doubling the number of Colorado wines reviewed by the magazine the previous 20 years combined! Moreover, both James Moleworth and Harvey Steiman had written relatively positive blog posts about Colorado wine (read more on my take here). But unfortunately, the gains regional wine saw in 2013 looks to have all but evaporated going into 2014. An assistant tasting coordinator at Wine Spectator informed several Colorado wineries that Wine Spectator will "not [be] tasting any wines from Colorado at the moment. Furthermore, we have a new policy which requires all importers and wineries to send the info sheet with samples listed that they would like to submit and then they wait for our approval." For this, they were bestowed a Curmudgie by local and cheap wine proponent, Jeff Siegel. Unfortunately, I don't think regional wine will gain much traction with the large wine publications in 2014.

Voiceless

After reading Dr. Oldman's guest post a few weeks ago, another friend of mine wrote me and demanded to contribute to the blog, too. I had to ask her to remind me who she was again, and then it hit me. Her name is Remi Burmí. How could I forget her, with her bright red, Buddy Holly glasses and Converse low tops. She's a few years older than I. She's a self-taught wine expert whose dad was an award-winning science fiction author (I think his last novel even won gold at the California State Fair). Her mom was a sex therapist from Mendocino. She writes a biennial wine column for Examiner.com (or at least that's what she claims). Her writing makes me think of Eric Asimov and Jon Bonné co-publishing an online magazine using a nom de guerre.

Any way, she said that with all the Baby Boomers and Millennials writing past each other in the wine blogosphere she felt like she was part of a forgotten generation. She said, for some reason, that my blog was the hispster-est place to speak out for these forgotten beer wine consumers. Oh, and to even make it more hipster, she wanted the post to go live after 5:00 EDT on a Friday because no one will read it over the weekend and people will still be talking about the non-cabernet Parker perfect wine and the imminent wine shortage. Oh and it's a poem... (Oh Lorde, save yourself and just stop reading right now!)

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...

An antagonistic approach (a reputation you get when you question authority)

This weekend, a colleague of mine introduced me to a friend of his at the third annual Colorado Urban Winefest. Part of his introduction include a reference to my wine writing. He referred to me as an "antagonistic blogger." Both of those terms are used pejoratively in the world of wine writing. Now I have no problem being called a blogger. I write about wine on this blog. I have also contributed to Palate Press, Sommelier Journal, Wine Spectator and Decanter. So I am a wine blogger, and I also consider myself a wine writer.

Wine as a food or a lifestyle?

In the New York Times last week, Eric Asimov wrote an article about how little consumers pay attention to what ingredients are actually in wine. This article sparked a 6-page long (and still going) thread on the Wineberskers online forum about ingredient listings on labels and was the catalyst for a multi-day Twitter discussion between Bruce Schoenfeld, Keith Levenberg and myself (there were a few others in there, but those were the principals) about marketing wine as a food. Asimov pointed in his article out that Americans "weigh the nutritional, environmental, humanitarian, aesthetic and even political consequences of what they cook and consume," but do not do the same for wine. He concluded that perhaps if we were to start considering wine as a food that "standards for quality and authenticity" may start playing a part in wine consumers' purchasing decisions. I figured that this post would be much more conducive to laying out my argument than the restrictive nature of Twitter.

I actually disagree with Asimov on two points. First, many, many Americans don't give two seconds worth of thought about any consequences of what they eat. More than one in three Americans is obese; and that number is rising every year. Cheap and easy is easily more important to more people than any nutritional, environmental, humanitarian, aesthetic and even political consequence of food (or food-like product). Why would people care what is in their wine when products like sodas, hot dogs and chips are considered a traditional American meal. How many people look at the ingredient lists of those foods? Those three "foods" aren't even food. Now don't get me wrong, I've consumed all three in the last week, so I definitely live in a glass house. But wine is already confusing enough to the average consumer that they don't want to think about what's in their bottle of chardonnay.

On top of that, and as Asimov started his article, wine is still considered to be "natural" product. I don't have the numbers to back me up, but I'd be willing to bet that most people think only grapes are used to make wine. Just as when you buy an apple or orange juice, you probably assume that's all you're getting. I think people actually consider wine a food. People might like chardonnay more than merlot just like they like Golden Delicious more than MacIntosh. Perhaps wine is not thought as a natural accompaniment to the nightly dinner table (well, Europeans might, but not most Americans), but neither are apples. Consumers also think of wine as a glamorous lifestyle choice. But can wine be both?

When I saw Bruce Schoenfeld (who I often agree with, but love to argue with) tweet, "promoting wine as a lifestyle adjunct comes at the expense of promoting it as a staple food ... Not saying one or the other is better, but they're kind of mutually exclusive," I had to jump into the discussion. Bruce (for some reason I just can refer to him as Schoenfeld) was hitting on the point in Asimov's article that treating wine as a food would cause more consumers to care about the ingredients that go into making a bottle of wine (not all remain in the finished wine). Asimov and Bruce both are correct in there assessment that in America wine is most often marketed as an aspirational product and not generic food. "Drink my wine because it'll make you fun or make you more alluring," is the premise of most wine ads. There is the occasional, "drinking my wine will make you feel like you're at this beautiful, pastoral place when you're just on your couch." But by and large there is no "Got Wine?" campaign in the United States. There is no push to make a place for wine on your dinner table.

That's not to say there couldn't be. And that happens to be my main point in my argument with Bruce. He can think what he wants, and I'd love to shake the hand of a person that has actually changed Bruce's mind. Commodity and luxury are not mutually or intrinsically exclusive of each other. Why do people buy those asinine 2002 Chevrolet Earnhardt Signature Monte Carlos? The car itself serves the same purpose of a regular Monte Carlo, but offers the aspiration to be like a NASCAR driver (yay, I know how to make left turns...). Same could be said about designer jeans or lots of other products. Even foods like bison, heirloom tomatoes and farm-fresh eggs could be considered luxury staple foods. Marketing wine as a generic foodstuff and a glamorous aspirational good can and does happen.

Does it happen often in the U.S.? Nope. But travel to Europe. In Spain, ask for a glass of tinto at a bar and you'll be brought a glass of red wine and a tapa. The bartender most likely will not tell you anything about the wine. The wine's brand is a mystery, yet the brand exists. And I'm sure the winery that made that wine has several other wines that they market as a premium wine. Wine is both a staple food and an aspirational good in Europe. I've only spent an evening in France (and I ate pizza...) and never been to Italy, but I've heard anecdotes about house wine there too being just a generic wine.

Some restaurants in the U.S. also have brand-less house wines, but wine is definitely on fewer tables. My in-laws drink lots of house wine. They don't care what brand it is, they just order a glass of white wine at a restaurant. The fact that many fewer tables are graced by wine is not from wine being inherently incompatible as a lifestyle good and a staple food, but more from America's puritanical history. European history is steeped in wine. American history is not. In fact, it was outlawed for more than 13 years less than a century ago. Nudity and sex are also taboo in the U.S. (though slowly becoming less so) whereas in Europe or Asia the naked body or a sexual act is not something mutually exclusive from decency. Our culture is the reason wine is not usually considered a nightly dinner accompaniment. Marketers in the U.S. know this and have used the wine as a lifestyle campaign to their advantage. But that's not to say wine couldn't be marketed as a food. Wineries would just be barking up a tall tree if they were to attempt that approach.

Though someday the wine as a food campaign may not be so difficult in America. Take the Drink Local Wine movement. All 50 states now have wineries. Today, America wine isn't as much as a special product from the mystical land of California, but something that is much more approachable. Much of the argument for local wine supporters is that wine can be every bit as local as local cheese or local vegetables. Local wine should be considered (considered, not mandatory) when thinking about eating locally. The locapour crowd is much more wine as a food oriented than people that only want to drink top Napa or Bordeaux wineries. Yet, the locavore movement is also about aspiring to a certain lifestyle. And so the circle continues...

Drink Local Wine: Maryland, pt 2 (an assessment)

The 2013 Drink Local Wine conference in Baltimore two weeks ago was eye-opening for me because of more than just the high-quality wine; the content and organization of the conference and dynamics of the Maryland wine industry deserve a few words. My thoughts on the conference stem a lot from my position with the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board and the fact that Colorado hosted the conference last year. As I said in my first post on the subject last week, I think Maryland might have put on a better show overall.

However, as for the quality of the wines, I think Colorado has the edge (and not just my opinion...). The Twitter Taste-Off is the headline event for the conference, so wineries try (or at least should try) to put their best foot forward. There was a lot of mediocre wine at the conference both this year and last year. Yet, both states showcased some pretty outstanding wines. I think that because Colorado has almost twice as many wineries as Maryland, Colorado is able to produce more high-quality wine (though the ratio may be similar). But that being said, I plan on adding a few Maryland wines to my collection.

As the the rest of the seminars that preceded the tasting, the sessions in Maryland were slightly more interesting (probably because I was hearing the info for the first time). However, the topics were pretty much the exact same. One session was a superficial introduction the region and another session harped on the the lack of a locapour movement. If these topics are repeated every year, the conference is going to get stale. We get the fact that many locavore restaurants are ignorant of their local wine industries. Let's do something about it instead of complaining. I really like the blind tasting of Colorado wine versus California wine last year. However, the last session in Maryland was something that I really enjoyed. Dr. Joe Fiola shared six different experimental wines (two whites, two reds and two dessert) that he hoped would show wineries new options or possibilities for Maryland wine. I thought that three of the wines were good and three weren't so good, but the creativity (Russian hybrids!) was infectious.

Now quickly back the Twitter Taste-Off. In Colorado, we had 150 or so consumers attend. Baltimore sold 400 tickets! That's not necessarily saying there is more consumer involvement in Maryland (both events were sold out due to venue capacity), but it was impressive nonetheless. I heard many people in the Warehouse at Camden Yards (a superior venue) ask for sweet wine only (a paradoxical situation for many wineries), but I also saw and heard many consumers truly interested in learning of their local wine industry; some for the first time! The turnout, facility and food spread for the Taste-Off in Baltimore were truly impressive.

Another interesting thing that I learned during my time in Baltimore was that Port of Leonardtown Winery is actually a cooperative winery, one of only a few in the entire country. Over one dozen vineyards established the Southern Maryland Winegrowers Cooperative and jointly founded the winery with the Town of Leonardtown and St. Mary's County. The growers sell grapes to the winery and when the winery is profitable (hasn't yet happened) the vineyards receive a dividend. This structure isn't without it's challenges, as some vineyards' grape quality aren't necessarily the highest, but it is a very interesting concept. I know that wineries and vineyards don't always get along, so seeing a cooperative winery producing quality wine was one of the high points for me.

Along with with a willingness to work together, the acceptance of hybrid varieties was almost universal. In Colorado, I can count all the wineries that regularly use hybrid grapes one one hand. I, personally and professional, believe that hybrids have to be used to grow the Colorado wine industry. I don't think hybrids are for every winery nor are going to produce $30-bottles of wine. I do think wineries can make inexpensive blends with fanciful names that incorporate hybrids. I saw Maryland wineries doing that. I also saw a lot of varietal vidal blanc and chambourcin and even a sparkling chardonnel. Are Maryland consumers that much more aware of those varieties? I never got that answer. But it is obviously working; take note Colorado wineries...

Overall, I thought being on the other side of the conference (guest versus organizer) was much more relaxing and interesting. I was able to notice things that I didn't notice in Colorado. And knowing that the conference has grown and improved every years since the first conference in Texas five years ago bodes well for the future. So where will the conference go next year? I heard that Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania were on the short list. I'd love to see Idaho, Michigan or New Mexico, but they may have to wait a few years. Yet, I wouldn't be surprised if one of those three emerged as the frontrunner. Where ever the organization decides to take the conference, I will look forward to going and supporting the movement.

A Good Wine Seldom Mentioned Is Soon Forgotten

As I begin to read Doug Shafer's A Vineyard in Napa, a motto he attributes to his father, John, and founder of the renowned Shafer Vineyards made me think of the current debate about the state of wine criticism. "A good wine seldom mentioned is soon forgotten." To me, this maxim speaks volumes to me about how both we as writers/critics and consumers talk about wine.

Showing Colorado some wine love

It is not often that you see wine regions other than the big four (California, New York, Oregon or Washington) mentioned in the national media spotlight. Combined, those four states make up over 97% of U.S. wine production. The other 92% of states account only 3% of domestic wine production, so it kind of makes sense that they don't get a lot of press. As a result, it is a big deal when states like Colorado share the spotlight with the big states.

Of wine writers and idiots

A few days ago, I read something that both puzzled and impressed me. Steve Heimoff wrote a rambling article about the Alma Wine Academy and orange wines. What caught my attention was that Steve professed his ignorance of this rather unusual, and small category of wines. Orange wines actually have a long history, but they have seen an increased awareness in the media (and not just no-name bloggers like me but big hitters like Ray Isle and Eric Asimov) for more than a few years. Sure, these skin-macerated white wines, often aged in clay amphora, are not the next-big-thing in the wine world that even my mother knows about, but they're not a new, unknown phenomenon.

I figured, and so did a lot of other readers, that a "fairly well-known, a big fish" like Steve would be in the know. However, I was even more impressed that Steve was willing to share his ignorance with his readers. It is not too often that the biggest names in the wine writing world admit that they don't know something. It takes a lot of confidence to undermine one's expertise. If only more critics would admit when they get something wrong or don't know something, we'd all trust them a bit more. Well done, Steve.

And what exactly is a Twitter Taste-off?

Tomorrow afternoon, I will be emceeing the Nomacorc Twitter Taste-off at the Drink Local Wine conference in Denver. Two dozen Colorado wineries will each be pouring two wines to a group of wine writers and approximately 150 consumers. Every person will be tasting and tweeting their thoughts, opinions and desires about Colorado wine. Their tweets will be displayed on screens at the taste-off, and everyone involved can follow the discussion - I encourage followers and wine lovers from around the world to join in on the fun. You can follow the conversation on Twitter on April 28 from 2 to 5 p.m. MDT using the hashtags #drinklocal and #colwine. Don't forget, this tasting is a "competition;" the media's choice and the People's choice will be recognized as the best wines of the afternoon.

Some pointers for those of you participating:

1. Tweet often!

2. Be honest. Sometimes constructive criticism is necessary. (Wineries, don't be offended if someone doesn't like your wine, it is not a personal attack on you.)

2. Retweet other's comments on your favorite wines.

3. When you're not tweeting, take advantage of being able to talk directly with the people responsible fro crafting the wine. This is an excellent opportunity to learn about what makes Colorado wine special.

4. Don't be afraid to spit. With almost 50 wines being offered, we don't want to have to clean up any messes or remove overly indulgent guests...

5. Use the hashtags #drinklocal and #colwine. This is our best way of generating buzz for Colorado wine at this event.

6. Have fun!

If you're there, be sure to stop by and say hi to me!

Five social media personalities to whom Colorado wineries should be listening

A few weeks ago, I spoke about social media at VinCO 2012 in Grand Junction, CO. I was supposed to provide a broad introduction into social media tools that wineries can use. My talk consisted of a summary of Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Yelp, CellarTracker and WineBerserkers.com, but due to so many questions I was only able to get through the Facebook part and a rushed 2-minute primer on Twitter. My goal next year for the conference is to have a full day of social media workshops where each session is dedicated to only one platform, but that is a topic for another day.

Social media isn't just about how wineries can get their brand in front of consumers' eyes, it is about building relationships. One of the best ways that wineries can build relationships is by listening. Listening is important to find out what consumers want to hear, what critics are saying and simply gaining a broader knowledge of the industry as a whole. Most of the winery owners in Colorado do not have an extensive wine background. None are as knowledgeable about wine as they could be (some may think so, but are not...). The biggest reason I dove head first into the social media realm of the industry is to learn things from those that know more than I. Wineries should do the same. So, today I am offering a list of the five most important social media personalities (other than myself, of course) to whom Colorado wineries should be listening. They all share a commonality, too. See if you can guess what it is.

Battle of the Grapes (Cabernet and Tempranillo Days)

Last Thursday was proclaimed Cabernet Day by Rick Bakas and Tempranillo Day by the Tempranillo Advocates, Producers and Amigos Society (TAPAS). The goal of the concurrent events was to encourage people to open a bottle, enjoy the fun, and share their experiences online with their respective hashtags. While I understand the objectives, I fell that both events are contrived and fail to achieve any real benefits, especially Cabernet Day.

First, cabernet does not need the recognition, it is the king of wines. However, tempranillo is an underappreciated grape in the U.S. that might just benefit from this type of exposure. But how much exposure was really gained from a handful of wine aficionados talking to each other? Rick Bakas claimed that 4,200 unique Twitter users combined to tweet 17,000 times and create 60 million impressions for Cabernet Day. Sounds impressive, but how many of those impressions were limited to just those 4,200 individuals? A group of people can stand around and pat each other on the back hundreds of times and say they received millions felicitations.While a few non-industry people might have participated, on one of the biggest online wine forums, Wineberskers.com, few enophiles had even heard of the virtual event. And, I saw no mention of Tempranillo Day on the forum.

Although, these virtual tweetups may have salience for specific regions or minor cultivars, cabernet does not qualify on either account. I was going to boycott the competing days all together, but had to support the Colorado Wine industry by retweeting a few of the local bloggers' and wineries' Cabernet Day tweets and I even popped the cork on a Colorado tempranillo. I tend to root for the underdog and I figured that a Colorado tempranillo fit the bill.

2008 Woody Creek Cellars Tempranillo

This naturally produced (I'm not jumping into that shark tank) wine is dark purplish red in color. Kirsch is prominent on the nose with hints of tobacco. It tastes jammy with gobs of cherries and blackberries but is a bit grapey, but hey isn't wine fermented grapes? This easily compares to a modern-style Rioja at about the crianza quality level. It is very smooth with very fine tannins and a spicy cigar finish. 13.8% abv Sample $30. Good/Very Good

A drive up Eastside Road (with stops at Copain, Marcassin and J Vineyards and Winery)

Tasting Room at Copain Wine Cellars

After judging the NextGeneration Wine Competition (results now posted), I had a an afternoon free in the Russian River Valley AVA. I only had one appointment made ahead of time, and planned to just drive around and see what I could find after my first stop. The day before the competition, I contacted Copain Wine Cellars via Twitter to arrange a visit. After the unveiling of the sweepstakes winners, I made my way up Eastside Road to one of the most beautiful views in Sonoma. The winery overlooks the Russian River and the vineyards that line the banks. Unfortunately, my appointment did not make it on to their calendar, but I did still get to taste through the wines that they had open. First up was 2009 Tous Ensemble Viognier from Mendocino County. This was a nice crisp and acidic viognier with notes of citrus, melon and honeysuckle on both the nose and palate. The highlight of the lineup for me was the 2010 P2, a blend of 50% pinot noir and 50% pinot gris co-feremented. This unique red wine was filled with strawberry and floral aromas. The flavors of tart cranberries were quite intense and complemented the zesty herb flavors of savory and thyme. It is a good thing that Copain decided to make more of this after the initial vintage was bought in its entirety by the Napa culinary mecca, The French Laundry. The Les Voisins pinot noir and syrah that I tasted were very good wines, but did not meet the expectations I had from comments about Copain on Wineberserkers.com. The 2009 Les Voisins Pinot Noir was a blend of vineyards from the Anderson Valley. It was a typical pinot with hints of brush, red raspberry, strawberry, hints of spice, nice tannins with just a touch of cherry cola and violets. It was very refined when compared to many California pinots. The Les Voisins Syrah from the Yorkville Highlands was bright purple, with big fruit, grippy tannins and woody herbs. Both were very good wines, just not anything special. The two single-vineyard designated wines that I did get to try did approach being special wines. The 2007 James Berry Les Copains was a blend of 40% Grenache, 40% Mouvedre and 20% Syrah. This sample showed big, yet supple dark fruits along with smooth tannins. It was well balanced and provided a long, rather complex finish. Likewise, the 2007 Alder Springs "Spirit Rock" Syrah was impressive. It had a very aromatic, floral and fruity nose. The tannins were much grippier than in the GSM, but still refined. Blackberry and blueberry jam combined with a Rhônish meatiness and subtle herbs to produce a quite tasty wine. I can see why the buzz with Copain lies with their reasonable prices (all the wines I tried were less than $42 a bottle) and quality (higher-end) single-vineyard labels. The view alone is worth a visit.

A Drive Through Napa Valley (or how social media influenced why I visited Pine Ridge and Alpha Omega)

Last week, I was a judge at the NextGeneration Wine Competition in Santa Rosa, CA. Instead of flying directly into Santa Rosa via a 5 hour stop in Seattle for twice the price, I flew into Sacramento and rented a car for the remainder of my journey. I also flew in the day before to avoid waking up at 3 am the first day of the competition. Apparently karma is getting even and since I've been back, Ben has been getting me up at 3 almost every day. Flying into Sacramento the afternoon before the competition started allowed me to meander my way through the Napa Valley the afternoon of my arrival.

Caves at Pine Ridge Winery

A few days before my visit, I saw a tweet from Pine Ridge Vineyards (I believe my only Napa Valley winery follower at the time) announcing a vertical tasting of their top of the line Fortis label the evening after the competition. Unfortunately, my schedule precluded me from getting back to Napa on Friday afternoon, but I was able to schedule a visit on my way in. After a brief stop at my first In 'N Out Burger (well worth the two U-turns), I was greeted at the winery by the e-marketing coordinator for Crimson Wine Group (Pine Ridge's parent company). As I arrived only 30 minutes before the tasting room closed, I did not get to tour the winery, but did get to taste through most of the wines.

I started with two chardonnays, but the 2009 Petit Clos showed the crisp yet full-bodied flavors I enjoy in a chardonnay. It was very floral on the nose and provided flavors of pear, green apple, lemon and even a bit of grass along with fresh vanilla bean. Of the five 2007 cabernet sauvignons (Napa, Stags Leap, Oakville, Rutherford and Howell Mountain) I tasted, the Rutherford bottle stood out to me as providing the best balance between fruit and body. It could be great tonight or in 15 years. Those who want more assertive tannins might enjoy the big Stags Leap cabernet a bit more.

While I did not get to taste the Fortis, I did taste the 2006 Andrus Reserve, 2006 Epitome and 2008 Onyx. All were very nice wines, but the sweet cherries and plums of the Andrus were the tastiest of the bunch. The Epitome was (as it is no longer being produced) made from select blocks of estate cabernet and has gobs of raspberry, tobacco and tannins that will integrate even more with a few years of bottle aging. While the Onyx was nice, I'd rather drink (several) Argentinian malbecs for the cost of admission. Overall, I was impressed with both the wines and the use of social media at Pine Ridge. Having a good social network presence that is matched by high quality wines will lead to more success at Pine Ridge. Not shilling product, but announcing events and interacting with consumers who happen to follow on Twitter or like on Facebook is the way that wineries need to use these networks, and Pine Ridge gets it.

Alpha Omega Winery

Another aspect of social media PR is promoting others in your industry. As I was leaving, the tasting room staff recommended that I visit Alpha Omega Winery. I have read good things about this newish winery on the Wineberserkers.com online wine forum, but had not had the opportunity to try the wines. I don't know how many wineries monitor the conversations on forums such as Wineberskers, the Wine Spectator Forums or the Wine Library Forums (I used to read the bulletin board over at eRobertParker.com before the pay-wall went up), but I would highly recommend that they do so. Reputations can be made or lost with a only a few positive or negative comments on these sites. With the recommendation at Pine Ridge and the positive reviews from other digitally savvy winelovers, I made my way to the other side of the valley and up to the tasting bar at Alpha Omega.

Alpha Omega is a small (less than 5000 cases annually) winery that uses flying winemaker Michel Rolland as a consultant. The facility just off Highway 29 is exquisite and inviting. I started my tasting with a sauvignon blanc and chardonnay that did not impress me, but the 2010 Rosé was quite memorable. Pomegranate and strawberries flavors were present on the forepalate, but as I had a few more sips, a strange (but good) creamy yogurt flavor presented itself only to morph into a white chocolate covered cherries finish. Not the usual light and crisp rosé, but a tasty wine nonetheless. I did not find the 2008 cabernet sauvignon all that impressive, but the 2008 Proprietary Red Blend and 2009 Era (barrel samples because the 2008 is sold out) were both big and bold wines showing blackberries, raspberries, currants and espresso. The Era was slightly deeper, jammier and more complex than the Blend with sweeter fruit and more supple tannins, but both will undoubtedly impress those who like big Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon dominated blends. Neither are cheap, but might actually be steals considering what some other Napa wines are going for nowadays.

While Alpha Omega does not use Twitter or Facebook nearly as much as Pine Ridge, they definitely have a following on wine-centered social network Wineberserkers.com. Understanding how these marketing tools work, whether a winery chooses to participate or not, is important because consumers are participating regardless. Many consumers choose which wineries to visit and which wines to buy from recommendations via social networks. Even wineries in established wine regions like Napa can be helped or hurt through social media, but developing regions like Colorado have the most to gain from utilizing these tools to develop personal relationships with current and potential customers.

Wine Credentials

A few days ago I was looking at my website statistics and two thoughts came to mind. The first was, why are my Blogger statistics and my Google Analytics statistics so different? They are both run by Google so it is only reasonable to assume that they measure the same data. I wishfully trust the Blogger statistics as they show about 900 visitors per month over the past three months, whereas Google claims that I've had only about 300 visitors per month over the same time. I'm not going to discuss this thought, but if you would like to continue reading about this conundrum, go check out Steve Heimoff's post on a very similar question from January. However, while looking at these statistics I noticed that many my most popular posts were about my experience with the Society of Wine Educator's certification program that I went through. I then realized that I had not posted about my results. And with the interesting conversation over on Twitter a few weeks ago with Lenn Thompson, Joe Roberts, Steve Paulo and Joe Herrig, I thought I should report on my results and discuss other wine certification options. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for you, Mr. Roberts posted an excellent vlog about wine certifications over at 1WineDude.com. So here, I attempt to put into written word, without plagiarizing, what the amateur-gone-pro has done via multimedia.

As Joe Roberts said in his video, there are only three widely recognized wine certifications programs. These are, in no particular order, the Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS), the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), the Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW) and the Society of Wine Educators (SWE). Each has a different purpose, audience and variety of levels. If you are thinking about obtaining one or more of these credentials, think about why you want a certification. Do you need a certification for a job? Are you an enthusiastic consumer that just wants to have a structured environment in which to further your wine knowledge? Are you looking for instant credibility for your winery or wine blog?

I'll be honest and admit what most other bloggers won't and say that part (not most) of my desire to obtain a certification was to have a bit of credibility for my new wine blog (yes, the one you are currently reading). However, most of my motivation involved my two paying jobs. I work in the wine industry as a part-time staff member of the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board. I thought having a some type of credential would help me in my work with Colorado's winemakers and grape growers. Turns out not many of them are familiar with or a care about highfalutin wine certifications. However, my other job is as an adjunct instructor at my alma mater (and current school for my Ph.D. work), the University of Denver (DU). I currently teach a sequence of environmental science courses but secretly (or maybe not so secretly) desire to teach a Geography of Wine course. Degrees and credentials are important in the field of education and a wine-related certification may go a long way to convince the powers that be to let me create a wine course. Thus, the obvious choice of certification would be offered by the aptly named Society of Wine Educators. For this reason, I decided to embark on the journey to become a Certified Wine Educator (CWE).

The first stop on this journey was to become a Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW). This certification is based on the results of a 100-question multiple-choice exam and "recognizes a high standard of academic wine knowledge and the mastery of key elements within the world of wine and vine as determined by a team of wine industry educators." As I explained in previous posts, I purchased the 214-page SWE CSW Study Guide, access to the online SWE wine academy and browsed through my collection of wine books on loan from the DU library. I studied for about six weeks before I was scheduled to take the exam here in Denver. After the exam, I waited another six weeks for the results and was proud that I passed with a score of 91/100. While I would not call the exam easy, I would say that the 75% passing level could be achieved by most people with a moderate amount of wine knowledge and lack of test anxiety.

The next level of wine certification from SWE is the CWE. From what I can tell, this entails a much greater level of knowledge and ability. While a shorter multiple-choice exam is still part of the process, an essay question, a varietal wine identification tasting, a wine components and imbalances tasting, a wine presentation skills demonstration AND proof of responsible alcohol service certification (such as TiPS) are required. This level of assessment "recognizes a fluid ability to draw comparisons and recognize contrast within and between the various wine regions, grape varieties and wine styles of the world from both a theoretical and practical standpoint." When you see CWE next to someone's name, you should expect to meet a person with excellent knowledge about wine and the ability to educate others about it. One my 2011 goals is to complete the CWE certification (along with hoping they offer an exam in Denver!).

For those of you in the service part of the industry, the Court of Master Sommeliers might be more appropriate. The ultimate credential offered by this organization might be the most well-known wine credential in the United States. The focus of this program is not only on academic knowledge but also on professional wine service. Yet, before one becomes a Master Sommelier three other levels must be achieved. The first, the Introductory Sommelier Course and Exam, is "given over a two day period with candidates receiving intensive review, instruction and training by a team of Master Sommeliers on wines and spirits knowledge, proper wine service, and blind tasting." This program is concluded with a 70-question multiple-question theory exam with only a 60% score needed for passing. The second level exam consists of a blind tasting of two wines, a written theory examination, and a practical service examination. Again, the required score to pass this level, and obtain the Certified Sommelier designation, is 60%. If a candidate has passed both the Introductory and Certified Sommelier exams, and has at least five years of wine service experience, he or she may apply for the Advanced Sommelier Course. Three days of intensive lectures by Master Sommeliers are followed by a two-day exam in which candidates must present practical wine service, a written theory exam and a blind tasting of six wines. Candidates pass this level with a minimum score of 60% on each of these three sections. At this point, candidates may be invited to take the Master Sommelier exam. This final assessment is similar to the Advanced exam except that the theory section is oral and the passing grade is 75% on all three sections. Once this is achieved, the title of Master Sommelier is bestowed. Only 180 individuals in the world can lay claim to this title.


Perhaps most prestigious credential in the world is given by the Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW) based in the U.K. However, the unofficial feeder program for those wishing to become a Master of Wine (MW) is the WSET, also U.K.-based. Again, the WSET has a variety of levels of qualification. The entry level, 1-day Foundation Certificate provides basic wine knowledge. A total of 70% correct on the 30-question multiple-choice exam is required to achieve this level. The level 2 Intermediate Certificate in Wine and Spirits provides vocational training and is assessed with a 50-question mutliple-choice exam, with a mark of 55% considered passing. The third level, Advanced Certificate in Wine and Spirits, is a more detailed program that requires a 55% grade on a 50-question multiple-choice exam, two essay questions and a blind tasting of two wines. The fourth level, Diploma in Wine and Spirits, is the WSET's flagship qualification and is considered a stepping stone to the MW credential. This program is divided into 6 units and participants must pass each unit with a minimum score of 55%. After obtaining this distinction one should have "expert knowledge of the principal wines and spirits of the world combined with commercial factors and a thorough system for the professional evaluation of wines." After earning the WSET Diploma, the IMW offers the MW program that "promotes a cross-disciplinary approach to understanding wine at the highest level" that only 288 others have achieved.

Finally, groups like the International Wine Guild, the International Sommelier Guild and even Wine Spectator and Robert Parker's Wine Advocate are offering their own wine certification programs. While these programs provide a structured learning environment that may suit your needs, they are in a different league than credentials from the big four mentioned above. Like with all things, a savvy consumer will consider bang for the buck, so if you are interested in earning a wine credential, do yourself a favor and do some research. Go to each organization's website. Ask people with credentials what they think. If you're going to be spending your hard-earned money and valuable time on these post-nominals, find the program that is best for you.