Mar 22 2012

Feeling Slimed by Food Labeling?

March 22, 2012 – 2:56 pm

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By now you have probably heard of “finely textured beef” or at least its more popular name, “pink slime,” which has been in our ground beef for years, and recently brought to public attention. In fact, unless you have only consumed organic ground beef, you have probably ingested it. J.M. Hirsch did a great job describing where it comes from and how it tastes compared to “unadulterated” beef in his story yesterday. Many large grocery retailers are quick to announce that they will no longer sell ground beef containing this filler. This will be challenging given that ABC News also reported that 70% of ground beef at supermarkets currently contains pink slime.

The challenge for shoppers now, is that there is almost no way to know from the packaging if this filler is in the beef you are buying. Because it is made from scraps of other cuts of beef, USDA does not require separate labeling. Starting this fall, schools will have the knowledge and choice of whether to serve ground beef with or without scraps treated with ammonium hydroxide. Some school districts are already announcing their plans to eliminate it from school lunches and fast-food restaurants are also making the move.

clip_image004While the debate on whether or not it is safe continues, there is another debate on the transparency of our food labeling and regulation needed to protect consumers, or at least inform them. Sometimes what you don’t know won’t hurt you, but it may gross you out. For me it was when my older sister pulling back the curtain on Oz and telling me about her part time job at McDonald’s. Being a pre-teen at the time, it really wasn’t until Super Size Me that I gave up fast food, with the exception of the occasional road trip pit stop.

This debate is not new. We have seen some labeling transparency slowly added, like Country of Origin Labeling on seafood, meat and produce. In other instances, like with the term “All-Natural,” only minimal definition from USDA has allowed for some products to make all-natural claims despite having artificial hormones or being genetically modified. GMO labeling is also very loose. Connecticut is trying to establish its own requirements for GMO foods, but many feel that the federal government should be setting standards nationally. Like this latest controversy, the government and industry tell us its safe, and it very well may be, but for many it is a matter of freedom of choice.

It has been over 100 years since Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle exposed dubious practices by the meat packing industry leading to the Pure Food and Drug Act and Meat Inspection Act. As consumers become increasingly aware of how their food is raised and where it comes from, they will demand more transparency. Retailers with nothing to hide are happy to offer details about the food they sell. For those who continue to count on an uneducated or uninterested customer, they may be looking ahead to a sticky situation.

Photo Credit: 2RadicalDudez and imdb.com

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Jason Stemm | Posted in Wine, Food & Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
Mar 15 2012

Strong Perimeter Offense Key to Grocery Marketing

March 15, 2012 – 2:00 pm

By Jason Stemm

By some estimates, $175 million will be lost by employers in the next two days due to lower productivity resulting from the start of the NCAA tournament. Hopefully this blog post opened for you despite all the bandwidth being used by your coworkers streaming live hoops action.

In the Big Dance, smart perimeter play can propel a Cinderella team deep into the tournament. This is a lesson that should be adopted by grocery retailers looking to grow sales and build customer loyalty. “Shopping the Perimeter” has been a top recommendation from groups trying to guide shoppers to a healthier diet and recent research from Kantar Retail shows that this message is getting through. In their study, they found that 50% of shoppers claim to only shop “in select aisles to get what’s needed” rather than going up and down every aisle. This is a 6% increase from 2008. They credit the recession as being the driving factor, but I think there is more to it. This presents a challenge and an opportunity for retailers to maximize the size and value of the shopper’s basket.

Understanding consumer in-store traffic flow and where they spend most of their time can help guide merchandising strategies. While the center aisles still account for the majority of sales, it is the perimeter where customers are spending most of their time. Why? There are a few factors I see at play. In addition to the renewed interest in consuming more healthful, less processed food, the perimeter is simply more interesting. There is also more variance at play that can influence the time needed: customer service, meal planning, price, seasonality and quality. Here are some simple tips to capitalize on the time and attention that customers are spending on the perimeter, to increase their basket size and money spent on the interior.

Customer Service: A great opportunity for building loyalty. Give your employees a chance to have first-hand knowledge of new items to speak to customers about them. Also create an environment that encourages interaction. For instance, during the NCAA let employees where hats or shirts supporting their favorite college team in the tournament. Even if it is a customer’s arch rival it provides the opportunity for a little friendly ribbing.

Meal Planning: Providing meal solutions to customers is a great way to build incremental sales. Promoting fish for Lent? Give shoppers ideas to complete the plate and drive them to other departments such as produce, as well as in the center aisles for pastas, sauces and other items. You can even reach them before they hit the store with recipe ideas in your store circular and on digital assets. Consider your natural store flow and offer secondary locations for some items such as lemons to reduce the need for customers to back-track.

Price: Today’s economy has made consumers more price sensitive, but the perimeter is an area where they are willing to pay more for quality and other attributes. Store margins are also stronger on the perimeter. The center aisles have products competing with competitor retailers and store brands. On the perimeter, you can distinguish yourself from the store down the street with quality and service. You will still have the bargain shopper looking for the cheapest chicken available, but you will also have shoppers willing to pay more for attributes like hormone-free, organic and free-range.

Seasonality: Your first thought is probably produce, but the perimeter offers many other seasonal opportunities, many of which revolve around food. You know it is November when the island case of turkeys is out, and expect hams to be featured as Easter approaches. In the summer, the meat department is focused on grilling. Take it a step further with an integrated merchandising strategy on the perimeter to capture customer interest. It doesn’t just have to be candy for the next holiday. Capitalize on holidays where food and entertaining are a center piece such as Easter, graduation parties and Memorial Day in the coming months.

Quality: As mentioned earlier, the perimeter is a place to distinguish your store from competitors. One reason people are spending more time here is that the quality can vary from week to week. While you always know what to expect from a can of Campbell’s Tomato Soup, the avocado you enjoyed last week may be coming from a different farm or country this week. While apples and pears are sold by variety, many other fruits are comingled. Peaches may be separated by the color of flesh, but berries tend to have one identification, such as strawberries.

You have to fish where the fish are, which unless frozen, will be found on the perimeter. This is where your customers are spending the majority of their time and open to point of purchase influencers. The center aisles have become the battleground for price competition, both from private label and retail competitors. While they are still important to sales, it is the perimeter that is going to convert customers into fans, though if you want face paint and pompoms, I suggest you start streaming from cbssports.com.

Photo Credits: http://www.homemakers.com/

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Jason Stemm | Posted in Wine, Food & Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
Mar 7 2012

My Love Affair With Sommelier Spokespeople + How To Make It A Happy Marriage

March 7, 2012 – 9:00 am

THE BOOZE BIN

 By Laura Petrosky (@aushunmon)  

I admit it – I have a professional crush on sommeliers. As PR experts, we are constant matchmakers between our clients and available spokespeople, trying hard to find “the one” person who will represent our brand best. Celebrities known for everything from movies to music, athletes, (former) politicians, authors, bartenders and chefs – the list of potential candidates is long. Having worked in hospitality, automotive, food and wine PR, sommeliers are by far my favorite spokespeople.

clip_image002I am not talking about the kind of sommelier who makes you overpay for a bottle of French wine while making you feel like a complete idiot in the process. I am talking about a new kind of sommelier to whom Jay McInerney recently dedicated a Wall Street Journal feature, titled “Why Sommeliers are the New Restaurant Stars.” My favorite paragraph of the article: ”Nowadays, sommeliers are as ubiquitous as reality-TV stars, likely to be too young to remember where they were when Kennedy was shot, and eager to sell you on a moderately priced, small-production Pinot Noir from Tasmania. The new generation of somms can talk about floral scents and mineral undertones if necessary, but they may also refer to ‘sick juice’ in moments of enthusiasm.”

The next generation inhabiting “Planet Somm” is exactly what the wine industry needs in order to reach Millennials. The most promising age segment to fuel industry growth is 70 million (!) people strong, and according to the Wine Market Council, drinks on average a full glass more than those 65 and older. Last year, Millennials led the increase in wine consumptionclip_image003 in the U.S. (+34%), followed by Gen X (+28%). Another cool thing about younger sommeliers is that they are most likely on Facebook and Twitter, two social media platform heavily frequented by 20-something wine drinkers (speaking of Twitter – here are some somms you should definitely follow: Belinda Chang, Joe Campanale and Hristo Zisovski).

What else made me fall in love with sommeliers as spokespeople? Former Food & Wine editor Lettie Teague puts it best: Somms have the stamina of a marathoner, the tact of a diplomat and the callused feet of a door-to-door salesman. All great character traits of a spokesperson, if you ask me. And compared to working on a restaurant floor all night, a spokesperson’s responsibilities seem like a piece of cake.

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Here are some things I have learned about working with sommeliers that will ensure your professional courting will not end with the first date, but grow into a long and happy marriage:

  • Don’t expect sommeliers to only talk about your wine: Especially if you are partnering with a sommelier who is working at a restaurant, don’t assume they will limit their recommendations to both media and consumers to just your wine brand or region. As long as they honor the scope of the spokesperson commitment, let them be what they are trained to be – independent experts on all wines of the world. You want your spokesperson to maintain credibility and professional integrity in the wine business for your client’s sake. Or else, no serious wine publication will quote the sommelier you are working with.
  • Do your homework and go for the best natural fit: Wine folks know that Paul Grieco, owner of Terroir and Hearth, has a passion for Riesling, and Master Sommelier Rajat Parr from Michael Mina’s Restaurant Group counts wines from Burgundy to his favorites. Find a sommelier with a true passion for your wines instead of forcing a bond where there isn’t one. Passion goes a long way in the wine business and will make the difference between a good and a great spokesperson.
  • Invest in your relationship for the long-term: Besides compensation, think about what you can offer your spokesperson during your partnership that will pay off in the future. If you have the funds, offer a trip to the wine region so sommeliers can experience first-hand what your wine is all about. If that’s not an option, invest in a tasting of some incredible, hard-to-find vintages or arrange for winemaker meetings whenever they are in town. The knowledge and experience a sommelier gains about your client will serve him, and you, well for years to come.

What are your top tips for working with industry experts as spokespeople? Share below!

Images courtesy of Wall Street Journal, BoozyNyc.com, Caterbid.com and Foodandwine.com

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By lpetrosky | Posted in The Booze Bin, Wine, Food & Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (3)
Feb 29 2012

Wine Biodynamics: Poop, Cosmos and Chickens

February 29, 2012 – 7:30 am

THE BOOZE BIN

By Cassandra Bianco (@cnbianco)

 

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Monday afternoon I attended Return to Terroir, where 77 wineries from Chile to Slovenia to Australia showcased their biodynamic wines. My colleague and I circled the energetic room chatting with winemakers from Corsica, Georgia, France and Italy, and inquired about the vast differences of terroir. It was interesting to find that a number of these vineyards could afford to be sustainable mostly due to the ideal geographic microclimates. But none of the conversations led to how terroir relates to biodynamics, so I decided to look into this further.

In short, biodynamic agriculture is a method of organic farming that emphasizes the holistic development and interrelationships of the soil, plants and animals as a self-sustaining system. Biodynamic farming has much in common with other organic approaches, such as emphasizing the use of manures and composts and excluding of the use of artificial chemicals on soil and plants. I came across Lily-Elaine Hawk Wakawaka’s four fantastic diagrams (two included in this post) that visually help explain the process.

Dana Nigro at Wine Spectator recently reported on the current organic wine debate, which highlights how the U.S. and Europe view organic wine practices differently causing consumer confusion.

Given the trend for all things green, seeing Biodynamic on a label does have a certain caché. But from a marketing perspective, I’m curious to see how the biodynamic movement plays out, and if it will continue to recycle. One thing for certain, organic horticulture practices are here to stay. Marketers, we are now tasked to make a conscious effort in working towards clarifying consumer awareness on what makes products truely organic, for all wine and food products.

 

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Cassandra Bianco | Posted in The Booze Bin, Wine, Food & Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (5)
Feb 22 2012

The Skinny On Low-Cal Wine + Why Skipping Dessert IS An Option

February 22, 2012 – 8:30 am

THE BOOZE BIN

 By Laura Petrosky (@aushunmon)

 Skinnygirl, the ready-to-drink, low-calorie cocktail brand from ex-Real Housewives of New York reality star Bethenny Frankel, is introducing its first low-calorie wines to the U.S. in March. After selling 595,000 cases of the brand’s margarita, sangria and white cranberry cosmo last year, Beam Global Spirits & Wine (who bought the brand from Frankel) is planning to leave a not-so-skinny impact on the wine market.

clip_image002With an initial production of 200,000 cases, three low-calorie California wine blends (including a red blend made primarily with Syrah, a white blend made primarily from Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio, and a rosé blend featuring Grenache and Syrah) priced at $15 each will target the fitness- and health-conscious female wine drinker. The market is there: Women buy roughly 80 percent of “everyday” wines, while they only make up about 60 percent of wine drinkers. And the brand promise is enticing: Merely 100 calories for a five ounce pour of Skinnygirl wine.

 

clip_image004Beverage marketers have long known that even peeps who watch their waist size want to have a good time. When was the last time you walked into a bar and could not order a light beer or a skinny cocktail? Even marketing wine as a lower-calorie option is not new – most glasses of wine only contain 125-150 calories, per say. Clever marketers such as beverage giant Diageo capitalized on this when they noticed an uptick in consumer interest in healthier beverage choices without actually changing their winemaking styles. After a new ruling by the U.S. government in 2004 allowed beverage makers to place information about calorie and carbohydrate content on its back labels, Diageo started to market its high-volume BV Coastal, Sterling Vintners Collection and Century Cellars brands as “low-carb.”

Moscato, a grape variety naturally low in alcohol content, has become increasingly popular for its lower calorie count compared to its taste or food-friendliness. Numbers don’t lie: In 2011, Moscato achieved by far the largest year-on-year gain in U.S. wine sales, up 73 percent in value and volume compared to 2010.

 Highlighting an existing product feature because it fits into a current lifestyle trend is one thing, but tweaking the product to fit the demand is different. Many American winemakers and marketers have reported an increased interest in wines in the 11-12 percent range, as opposed to 15-16 percent. That’s why, in 2004, Napa Valley’s Beringer Blass Wine Estates launched White Lie Early Season Chardonnay, the first reduced-calorie wine from a major vintner since the 1980s. By harvesting grapes early in the season, they were able to control their sugar content.

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 And now there’s Skinnygirl. As a consumer, I applaud more variety to choose from. As a wine lover, however, I hope that people will continue to choose wine based on taste, not calories. The craftsmanship that goes into producing a stellar bottle of wine is too important to ignore just because one glass of vino has 125 calories compared to another that has 100. When it comes down to it, omit something else from your diet – like dessert – and still indulge in that great bottle of wine.

 Images courtesy of CelebrityChatta, Eater, RedOrbit.

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By lpetrosky | Posted in PR Industry Trends, The Booze Bin, Wine, Food & Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)
Feb 10 2012

Swapping Swag??

February 10, 2012 – 5:13 pm

Vibrant Rioja on ebay

By Maliya Rooney

Finding a piece of our Vibrant Rioja branded materials for sale on ebay the other day got me thinking. How can we measure the value of our swag?

Marketing your brand takes many forms but by using promotional items you have the opportunity to make a personal, daily impression on the consumer. That’s why when choosing a promotional item you should consider it carefully. Keep in mind that the item could be representing your brand long after they walk away from your event. It should have some kind of value to the consumer so that they want to keep it, use it and display it, if appropriate.

You can’t really go wrong with a pen or a coffee mug but consider something unique. Maybe a screen cleaner that conveniently sticks to the back of your iphone or the new Toddy. Also, consider how you brand the item you choose. How about adding a QR code as well as your logo, url or message? These can be customized so that it’s not a jagged, black box but another representation of the brand.

Add interest to an otherwise boring t-shirt or re-usable tote bag with a custom QR code and you now have tech-savvy billboards. Of course, if you do, don’t neglect the need to have an interesting mobile site to direct them to.

Cost is always at the forefront of our decisions but there are good choices of items at nearly every price point that you won’t see in the trash the next day. So how valuable is our swag? To one consumer in Utah about $9.34 plus free shipping! But we hope it stretches even further than that.

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Maliya Rooney | Posted in Branding, Wine, Food & Nutrition | Comments (0)
Feb 8 2012

3 Wine Social Media Tools Worth Sipping

February 8, 2012 – 12:22 pm

THE BOOZE BIN

By Pia Mara Finkell (@piamara)

 

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This is my last Booze Bin post before Baby Finkell joins the party, so I thought I’d leave you with some of my favorite wine social media tools and platforms for 2012. Don’t worry though, my much smarter and wittier colleagues will be pinch hitting for me while I’m on maternity leave. The Booze Bin lives on!

 Now on to those hot tools for grapey greatness. The first applies to much more than wine, the second saves you time and keeps you engaged (for free) and the third offers a good solution to small business owners trying to get on the social train.

word-for-the-day1. Pinterest: I’ve heard mention of it so many times in the past month that it seems a waste to not start a drinking game, or at least scream Pee-Wee’s Playhouse word-of-the-day style with every reference. For those of you without estrogen running through your veins or a close female friend in her early 20’s, Pinterest is an invite-only, visually-beautiful, digital bulletin board that takes your magazine cutting and scrapbooking habit online, and makes it searchable for others with similar interests.

Pinterest Wine

Now one of the top 10 social networks, Pinterest is perfect for wineries and wine regions looking to engage potential customers online with cool visual (image + video) elements of their winery and wines, pairings and recipes, new label ideas, etc.

2. Social Connect: Created by a friend’s wine digital think tank, the second is a killer tool to help the wine industry listen and engage with their customers in the online sphere FOR FREE (yes, actually free, forever). It was a cool tool as Cruvee, but the spanky newest version of this web application mines and delivers all online conversation around your wine brand on wine blogs and discussion boards, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare, CellarTracker and others. It has lots of new bells and whistles, but bottom line, it’s a great free tool to measure online discussion specific to the wine industry. Rad.

Social Candy3. Social Candy: Great for individual wineries on a shoestring marketing budget (take a look at their client lineup), Social Candy offers small businesses simple, online tools to create and manage Facebook content, including wine e-commerce, events and integration with other online mediums (blogs, websites, etc.). One of their customers from Lambert Winery testified, “the integration to our eCommerce system allows us to change content in a single location, and it automatically updates on our website and in Facebook at the same time. Social Candy also makes it easy for us to change our featured wines, update event information and showcase our beautiful winery.”

Cheers y’all and thanks for reading the Booze Bin. Lordy knows I’ll need a stiff drink once this baby is on the outside, so you can be sure you’ll hear from me soon.

Photos courtesy of Godammit.com, Wine Industry Network and AppsBistro.

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Pia Mara Finkell | Posted in The Booze Bin, Wine, Food & Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
Feb 1 2012

Branding Lessons from the “Sweetest” Wine on the Shelf

February 1, 2012 – 8:30 am

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THE BOOZE BIN

By Emily Valentine (@ebvalentine)

Just before the holidays, I invited a friend over for a glass of wine and asked her to bring a bottle of her choice. When she arrived at my doorstep bearing a bottle of Cupcake Chardonnay, I couldn’t help but smile. This must’ve been exactly what the Cupcake marketing team had in mind when it built the brand back in 2008.

Picture a 20- or 30-something woman browsing the supermarket wine aisle. She wants something tasteful, but she doesn’t have much time or money to spend. Suddenly, her eyes land on a bottle that might’ve rolled right out of an Anthropologie store. It’s elegant, classy, chic … just like the woman she aspires to be. When she picks it up for a closer look, her decision is sealed – and if this wine brings her as much enjoyment as its pastry namesake, she’ll be a very happy customer.

Consumer opinions on Cupcake’s approach to winemaking and labeling vary, but with a million cases sold in 2011, the brand is no doubt basking in its success. And, regardless of whether you like Cupcake wines, there’s much marketing wisdom to be learned from their example:

1) Know your audience – Cupcake’s first shrewd move was to identify a) the customer group with the greatest potential to grow wine sales and b) what that group wants from a wine. The Cupcake line, says winemaker Adam Richards, is designed to “please the palates of the next generation of wine drinkers” who are always looking to try something new, especially at an affordable price point. In a somewhat miraculous feat, Cupcake has managed to bottle a lighthearted, feminine formula that delights everyday wine drinkers without appalling the wine elite.

2) Differentiate – No other winery before or since has used such sugary terms to describe its blends, but it’s working for Cupcake. The genius of calling a wine Red Velvet, Angel Food or “reminiscent of lemon chiffon” is three-fold: it’s unusual enough to make an impact, familiar enough to stick, and simplifies wine terminology for beginner wine consumers.

3) Appeal to emotion – In 2008, the gourmet cupcake craze had begun to take hold in the U.S., and Cupcake’s founders sought to emulate the emotional drivers behind this trend. The Cupcake brand was crafted to invoke the feeling people get when they reward or indulge themselves – be that with wine, sweets or other “bite-sized bits of fun.”clip_image002

4) Curate relevant content – Brands that find a way to be relevant to their customers’ lifestyles and continuously offer fresh, useful content are apt to succeed in today’s marketplace. It didn’t take Cupcake long to figure out what occupied its customers’ minds … and how it could get a slice. The brand now has an entire section of its website geared toward brides-to-be. Visitors to Cupcake’s Bridal Headquarters can find advice on everything from party planning on a budget to selecting the perfect wedding wines. (Eat that, Martha!)

As its blue and white wine bottles continue to fly off store shelves, Cupcake has taken its branding recipe to the next level with a line of flavored vodkas that promise to be “as rewarding and delicious as the wines that came before it.”

So, look out … the next thing you know, your millennial friends will be ordering Frosting and soda or Devil’s Food tonic.

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Emily Valentine | Posted in Branding, The Booze Bin, Wine, Food & Nutrition | Tagged , , , , | Comments (9)
Jan 18 2012

It’s Always Happy Hour on the 4th Hour – How To Pitch Your Booze Brand for “The Today Show”

January 18, 2012 – 8:00 am

THE BOOZE BIN

By Laura Petrosky (@aushunmon)

I love “The Today Show.” As a PR professional deeply rooted in wines and spirits, I am a huge fan of the 4th hour with Kathie Lee and Hoda. It’s every booze brand’s dream to get on a show that celebrates “Tuesday Boozeday” and “Winesday” with two hosts who are disappointed if their late-morning beverage is actually non-alcoholic. Since Chelsea Handler introduced alcohol to the 4th hour in 2008 while promoting her book “Are you there, vodka? It’s me, Chelsea,” alcohol has become a signature staple of the show. Even “Saturday Night Live” paid tribute with a hilarious spoof.

In a country where local TV stations in places like Texas or New Orleans won’t even allow an unopened bottle of wine on morning television, Kathie Lee and Hoda celebrate everything from National Margarita Day to Oktoberfest in front of 2.3 million viewers nationwide.

Since November 2011, the 4th hour also gets repeated at 2 a.m. the next morning, averaging a healthy viewership of around 683,000. Can this get any better for peeps in liquor marketing, one may ask? It can – the 4th hour attracts the sought-after audience of women ages 25 to 54 and has a mind-blowing social media following. 369,000 Facebook fans and 36,600 followers on Twitter, to be exact (@klgandhoda).

So how do you land a gig on “The Today Show?” Two former clients of mine, a champagne and a vodka brand, each got their two minutes of fame on the most famous Happy Hour of morning television. If you ask me, here’s what they did right:

  • Pitch a story, not a product: We’re in PR, not in sales. Pitch a compelling story that fits your brand message, while including some other non-competing products. Working for an eco-friendly brand? What about “Sip a cocktail, save the earth! Cocktails that give back for Earth Day?”
  • Invest in an A-list spokesperson: After all, it’s national broadcast. Partner with established experts, such as the editor-in-chief of Food & Wine magazine. Stuck with a no-name spokesperson? Invest in local TV exposure first. The producers of “The Today Show” expect excellent B-roll footage of people they have never worked with.
  • Know your audience AND your anchors: Did you know that Kathie Lee does not drink boxed wine? Get familiar with the anchors and their female-skewed audience before you even think of proposing a story. The manliest cocktail of mankind is probably not going to be the right fit.

For more general tips on how to successfully pitch the 4th hour, check out Sabina Ptacin’s blog post on Preneur.net.

What Comes After Kathie Lee's "Winesday"?

Oh, and one more piece of advice, if you represent a liquor brand, always, and I mean ALWAYS, have professional bartenders on set when your brand will be featured on “The Today Show.” A producer once insisted that he only needed the recipe and would make the drink himself in order to save time. The facial expressions Kathie Lee and Hoda sported live on air when they tasted my client’s cocktail haunted me for a while.

Photos courtesy of the Today Show, Jezebel and Xfinity.

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By lpetrosky | Posted in The Booze Bin, Wine, Food & Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)
Jan 4 2012

5 Wine Blogs for 2012

January 4, 2012 – 10:12 am

THE BOOZE BIN

By Pia Mara Finkell (@piamara)

the-well-read-wine-lover-cartoonWith the New Year well rung in and my resolutions still irresolute at best, I thought I’d focus on ways to improve my mind this year. Full disclosure: I am 7½ months pregnant and quickly entering the waddling phase, so delusions of improving my body have flown straight out the window. Plus, given all the at-home time in my near future, I figure when I’m not rocking, changing or gushing over my new little man, I’ll need some good reads to keep my mind from turning (entirely) to mommy mush.

So, on that note, here are my top five go-to wine blogs for staying tuned-in, learning something new, being inspired as a (pseudo)writer and self-proclaimed wine dork, or perhaps just having a good laugh. After getting Tina Fey’s Bossy Pants as a gift, I feel comedic writing is by far the most admirable, so hopefully there will be more than a few good laughs. Given sleepless nights and mom jeans are a foregone conclusion at this point, I’ll likely need it.

1. Dr. Vino

If you’re into wine, you probably already read this blog and for good reason. Tyler’s writing is smart with a dash of dork, and his content teaches me something new almost every time I tune in. From quirky observations and fun facts to juicy exposés with an equally interesting comments section, I read Dr. Vino more than any other and you should, too. Period.  

2. 1WineDude

1WineDude_MIWbadge-8x6Now that this dude has made the scary leap and joined the wine biz full-time (congrats Joe!), we can all look forward to more funny, tell-it-like-it-is blog and vlog posts for the intermediate wine lover. Graduated beyond wine 101? Three pieces of good news for you: everything is more interesting from here, it’s more about enjoyment than dissection (i.e., to really “learn” about this stuff, you have to swallow more than you spit) AND there’s a wine blog just for you. 

3. Dave McIntyre’s WineLine

Since moving from the big city to small-town, Virginia wine country a few years ago, I’ve fallen in love with the local movement, especially #eatlocal and #drinklocal. Dave’s blog has served as a good forum, offering deeper insight into local wine news (and beyond) and new bottles to try. Since I prefer to buy chèvre from a local goat cheese producer, beers from a local brewer and, of course, wine from a local vintner, I appreciate a blog with similar interests.  

4. Terroirist

I got into this blog during last year’s Wine Blogger Conference in my hometown. Simply stated, it is good stuff. I love the format (daily and concise), the weekly winemaker interviews and various contributor voices. And since my free time for reading blogs is limited, as I’m sure is yours, the “Daily Wine News” posts offer a succinct summary of interesting discussions on other wine blogs and news.

5. Drink What You Like

drvino_iamnotacrook_ebenReasons why I like this blog: 1) Frank is a fellow Virginian and through his writing, openly proud of our local juice. 2) He is one of the few people who seems to travel more than me, but makes the best of it through his love of wine and writing. 3) He drinks and writes what he likes, and I tend to like it, too. 4) He has a newborn at home and still seems to find time to enjoy wine, food and time with his family. This gives me hope for the year to come.

Cheers!

Photos courtesy of Wine Travel Media, 1WineDude and Alex Eben Meyer.

 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Pia Mara Finkell | Posted in The Booze Bin, Wine, Food & Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (5)