Ben's Bubbly: Valentine's Day edition

This sweet child of mine is growing up so fast. Just a few months ago he was completely dependent on us for everything. Now, he actually is mobile and can communicate. And when I say mobile, I mean that he finally has started walking. He's still mostly crawling, but he now can walk about 10 feet across the floor before he either reaches a piece of furniture or decides to sit. While this is exciting (and at the same time terrifying) the cooler thing is that he is also starting to use sign language to communicate. We've been trying to teach him (and ourselves) sign language. We haven't used a whole lot of signs, but just this week he has signed "more" and "all done," in addition to "milk" (which has been doing for a few weeks, though he prefers the dive and grab approach for that one...). We are so excited that he is now able to express his own feelings to us (and the cats). He has been waving hello and goodbye for a few weeks now and he especially likes to greet the cats whenever they enter a room with a quick wave, but they usually decide to vanish when they realize they've been made!

This week for the bubbly we didn't just have a bottle after Ben went to bed as we usually do. We invited a group of friends over for a Valentine's Day party, sans babies. We asked each couple to bring a bottle of bubbly to share. All told, we had six bottles of sparkling wine and a sparkling wine-based punch that also included rum and pomegranate. The punch was a hit and we only opened three of the bottles. It was a fun way to celebrate the holiday and try a few different bubblies in one sitting. I was more concerned with cooking (though I still managed to over-grill the oysters) and didn't take notes on the wines, but I'll at least give my general impressions.

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.

Meet the Winemaker: Erik Mohr (Snowy Peaks Winery)

Erik and Candice Mohr

I've only had a Snowy Peaks wine a few times, but each time I was impressed. Their Rhône-style reds and whites are some of the best of their kind in the state. One other they do well is not making a wine for every customer. Instead, they promote their Colorado wine colleagues and sell a selection of wines from other Colorado wineries. I think that this is something other wineries might want to consider. This way, a winery can focus on the wines and styles they are best at producing and support their neighbors by selling theirs wines made from different varieties or in different styles. Be sure to check out Snowy Peaks Winery the next time you find yourself in beautiful Estes Park.

The death of the 100-pt rating system

Robert Parker's ratings are perhaps the single most important influence on the wine industry, ever. The main reason for this is his prescient utilization of the 100-pt wine rating system as shorthand for wine quality. The 100-pt wine rating system is well entrenched as the main way critics describe a wine's characteristics. Most Americans equate the scores to the equivalent letter grades we all received in school. How many students care how the final grade was calculated? Very few consumers care how a wine gets its 92 points. They equate high scores with delicious wine. What many consumers don't understand is that the scores they see lining the shelves at their local wine shop are a subjective assessment by one individual. The retailer usually just picks the highest score from the major critics (or not so major) and publications regardless of the varying range of scores.

Fortunately, this system is about at the end of its run. However, it is not dying for the reasons you may think. While its opponents eagerly wait for its dominance to fade, its proponents are actually the ones slowly strangling it. Most of these wine pundits are reviewing the same wines and are competing for consumer attention. This, amongst other reasons, has led to score inflation over the past few years. As the system has slowly been reduced from a 50-pt scale to a 10-pt scale, it is quickly on its way to a binary system. When it first was used, you would not be hard pressed to find scores in the low 80s (at the time a reasonably positive score), but now many pundits will not publish scores for wines that rate below 90 points.

These days, 94 points is run of the mill. If you subscribe to any of the flash sale sites (i.e., Wines Til Sold Out, Invino, etc.) you will notice wines scoring in the mid 90s being deeply discounted. If the wine is that good, why are wineries having to discount those wines? As critics who use this system keep inflating scores to remain salient, they are ruining the system. Now, a wine has to receive a score of at least 96 or higher for it to be a guaranteed sell out for the winery. This means that we are almost to the point of a binary system. The genius of the 100-pt system is its ability to sell wine and sell it well. A binary system does not differentiate the good wine from the great wine from the truly extraordinary wine.

So how do wineries sell wine if critical success is becoming harder and harder to achieve and even a score of over 90 is not a guarantee of sales? The answer is relationships. Wineries need to build relationships with the people that buy their wine and the people that they want to buy their wine. It used to be that the score was the beginning of that relationship. Not so any more. Social media is the beginning of that relationship now. I would attempt to describe this new era, but Alder Yarrow at his blog, Vinography, did so much more eloquently than I ever could, so please, I urge you to read his post from last week here.

Ben's Bubbly: Mamamango

Ben is turning into such a little person. Well, he's always been a little person, but now he is turning into a bigger person that actually expresses emotions. He gets frustrated, he gets impatient, and he also gets affectionate. That last one is our favorite. When we least expectt it, he'll give us the cutest little hug. He doesn't actually put his arms around us, but he does rest his head on whatever part he can reach and shows his affection that way. I'm really diggin' this cuddly interactive little boy!

Another funny thing that he is starting to do is taking food out of his mouth. We like to let him feed himself as much as he can. We give him Cheerios, cut up fruit and chunks of pasta on his highchair tray and he puts them into his mouth on his own. Just recently, he has also started taking the bites back out his mouth. He usually does this a few times before the item either goes down the hatch or on the floor. It really is a special meal when he generously offers one of his partially chewed foods to us to try.

Mamamango, Moscato + Mango

A post last week by W. Blake Gray, and the resulting comments, that discussed the possibility of ingredient listings on wine labels if the TTB was eliminated and control over alcohol regulation were split between the FDA and the IRS made me decide to buy this bottle. Now, on the surface I would support ingredient listings, but there would have to be exceptions to such rules that did not make this extra work for wineries any more onerous than necessary.

Anywho, when I saw this bottle of wine on the shelf at Costco, I had to give it a try. And while it is not a true indication of ingredient labeling on wine (this just listed: quality aromatic sweet sparkling Moscato wine, natural pulp of mango and natural aromas), you might start seeing something like this in the future on all wine bottles. I just won't be buying any more bottles that list those ingredients. This wine looks like orange juice, smells like mango concentrate and tastes like a cheap mango mimosa made with Squirt Soda instead of wine. I would only recommend giving this a try if you are too lazy to open two containers to make your Sunday brunch mimosa. 6.5% abv Purchased $9. Average

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.

A Call to Winemakers (Email me...)

You may (or may not) have noticed that last week's posts did not include a Meet the Winemaker interview. Neither will this week's. For this, I apologize. I should be more active in seeking winemakers' participation. But, I also have to ask winemakers to respond to my emails (hint hint). I have sent at least a dozen emails to winemakers, but have yet to hear back from them. Well, I have heard back from a few, but only to tell me that they would respond soon. I'm still waiting... I get the feeling that more than a few Colorado winemakers would benefit from reading 1WineDude's post on engaging the people who actually drink their wine.

Sure, there are still plenty of winemakers that I haven't contacted, and if you are reading this please don't feel like I don't want to hear from you; I probably just don't have your email. It is okay for winemakers to be proactive and contact me. In fact, I urge you to do so. (If I don't have your email, your website is probably not a great place to get information...)

If you are winemaker that has already participated or if you are just a fan of the site and enjoy reading this series as much as I enjoy writing it, please urge any other Colorado winemakers that you know to contact me. My email is quite simple: coloradowinepress@gmail.com. Part of the reason I decided to start this interview series was to get people in the industry to get to know each other. I have been quite surprised to find out how little Colorado's winemakers interact with each other. I'd like to think that winemakers might like to get to know their colleagues (and competition). But, hey, I've been wrong before (as my wife will eagerly tell you...).

That is all for today...