Love Oregon Wine?

In Oregon, besides daffodils and cherry blossoms, spring is the time when wine events are in full bloom. It seems like there’s one popping up practically every weekend! So, if you’re trying to narrow down your list of events you must attend, I suggest you keep this one at the top.

With the sad (but hopefully temporary) disappearing act of the crowd-pleaser Portland Indie Food and Wine Festival, Unwine’d will making its inaugural debut with a bang at the end of this month. On April 29^th, from 3-6pm, approximately 100 wineries and 14 restaurants will gather together at the Left Bank Annex for a tasting not soon to be forgotten.

The "A" list alone includes recognizable heavy hitters like Adelsheim, Archery Summit, Anne Amie and Anam Cara, or find new loves sipping the goods from boutique wineries such as Angel Vine, Amelie Robert and Andrew Rich, just to name a few. Check out the extensive list of participants and you’ll understand why this is one event you definitely shouldn’t miss!

And if the impressive array of wine isn’t enough reason to attend, notable local restaurants including Allium Bistro, Blue Hour, Davis Street Tavern, Park Kitchen, Terrace Kitchen, Joel Palmer House and many more will be on hand serving culinary creations sure to enhance the flavors of these wines.

If learning’s your thing, visit the wine education stations to increase your wine knowledge. You’ll also take home a souvenir wine glass and can purchase bottles you just can't live without from the event’s wine store.

Thanks to the Oregon Wine Board, I’m offering one of my readers the chance to win 2 tickets to THE Oregon wine event of the year. And I’ll make it really easy for you by providing multiple ways to enter. Increase your chances of winning by entering each way. Do all three and earn yourself three entries into the contest! You have until Friday, April 13th (your lucky day) to enter. The winner will be chosen at random and announced on Saturday, April 14th.

1.  Simply comment on this blog about your favorite producer or the one that interests you the most. Include your name and email address so I can track you down when you win.

2.  Visit the Sip with Me Facebook page, like it while you’re there (you know I like you!), and comment on the post with your favorite Oregon producer or the one you’re just dying to taste.

3.  Tweet all about it. Copy and use this following phrase when Tweeting and BAM!, you’ll be entered to win.

I love #OregonWine! Enter to WIN 2 tickets to @Unwined_ORWine from @sipwithme! http://ow.ly/a69As #wine — Please RT

Understanding Social Media Through Wine

Call it Social Media 101, and probably not for the advanced user. With so many choices out there, navigating your way through the various social media channels, and trying to figure out which is most appropriate for you, can be more difficult than a non-TV watcher trying to decipher a cable TV guide (what exactly is the OXYGN channel anyway?). With a virtual web to get tangled up in, I know it can be a bit overwhelming, so I've attempted to make social media more relatable to the average wine drinker by breaking down each medium into its more simplistic form.  Hope it helps some!


Twitter: This is the wine I'm drinking tonight… #WIYG

Facebook: Wine = Love ♥

YouTube: Here's a video of me tasting and talking about the wine I'm drinking.

LinkedIn: This is where I work in the wine industry.

Pinterest: In addition to wine, I talk about a lot of other interesting stuff too, here's the photos to prove it.

Klout: Talking about wine and stuff earns me points (hence significance) here.

Instagram: This is an artsy photo of the wine I'm drinking.

Blog: My very personal diary of wine consumption. See, I'm not an alcoholic, I'm a wine blogger.

Google+: I'm drinking this wine tonight and I love it and here's a photo of it. I don't post on here much, but will once Facebook starts charging for access.

FourSquare: I'm tasting wine at this winery/restaurant right now.

Wiki: Everything you ever wanted to know (or didn't want to know) about wine and myriad other topics but were afraid to ask.

The Importance of Being #Twitter - Breaking it Down

Each of us probably knows a few rebels, a few holdouts to the pre-social media way of life, though mass numbers of people sign in daily, engaging both personally and professionally with others through the Facebook platform. I've wondered though, how many of those same people are using Twitter, and of those who aren't, how many don't because they don't understand the benefits or the basic Twitterese language?

I personally dove headfirst into Twitter several years ago before I started blogging and never looked back. I started "tweeting" just for fun and to connect with others that shared similar interests, but when I started blogging, things really exploded and I realized what I had at my fingertips. Though I'm active on Facebook, I find it's through Twitter that I've been able to connect with the broader wine world. I follow nearly 2,500 national and international wine and food people whom I've organized into easy-to-manage lists and I have over 3,000 people following me, that's nearly 10 times the number of followers I have on my Facebook page, and most of them are information hungry and industry-specific (i.e. not friends and family).

So, what started as an innocent "tweet" about how I was roaming the expansive Twitterverse instead of writing my blog, ended in a glimmer of inspiration thanks to my friends over at Wine Is Serious Business.

In less than one hour's time I had conversations (granted they consisted of 140 characters or less) with 11 different people, seven of which are West Coast wine writers or bloggers, while discussing (or promoting, because word of mouth is worth its weight in gold) seven Oregon wineries. Of my 18 "tweets", at least 10 of them were then also ReTweeted by others who follow me, making countless impressions on all their followers as well and continuing the conversation well into the night and beyond.

I've included a snapshot of the Twitter communication which led to this blog post and after you'll find what I hope is a helpful glossary to break down the Twitter language barrier, if that's what's keeping some people away. For those of you who are Twitter pros, good for you for finding a way to connect with others who have similar interests… may you tweet long and prosper.

For Oregon wineries, "tweeting" is key. In addition to the virtual and virtually untapped market of wine loving consumers, the Wine Bloggers Conference will be in Portland in August 2012. So, even if a winery is already "tweeting", they should also be engaging with the bloggers now to really building those relationships and brand loyalty prior to the bloggers' visit. And the place to find them is on Twitter. I'll make it real easy, start by following my list of wine bloggers and just see where the conversation goes. If you'd like some tips or suggestions on how best to go about this, feel free to contact me, I've got ideas.

A very warm Twitter welcome to prized #Oregon winery… @DrouhinOregon - So glad you could join us! Follow them for great #wine!

@GrochauCellars The Commuter's was lovely John, hence the term of endearment "this little beauty" :) Great on night two too!

@UCBeau Enjoy your tour tasting tomorrow at @archerysummit - You're in for a real treat!! Don't get lost in the caves!! :)

@SLHousman Thanks Sherri! I got to participate in a "Sensory Tasting" at @archerysummit - fun experience! Coming back to OR soon??

@DrouhinOregon Thanks, my pleasure. Please feel free to DM me if you have any Twitter questions; it can be like learning a new language :)

RT @wineanthem #PDX peeps like the @wineanthem fb page and get prepped for the So. Oregon tasting giveaway on Thursday... facebook.com/pages/Northwes…

Big thanks to @lisasharahall for the invitation to taste with her at @archerysummit today! #SpecialTreat

@UCBeau Yes, but have you been in their caves? :) Buying too much wine is a great problem to have! :) @ArcherySummit

@SLHousman We'll have to get into some great trouble then! ;)

Words to live by… ow.ly/i/kSu8

@clivity Have you been to @nataliesestate @coleneclemens or Spangler?

.@oregonwinelover Yep, gotta love roadside philosophy! :)

Thanks, LOVE them! RT @stevens_tk: @clivity @ColeneClemons was my other suggestion. @SipwithMe is right on.

Lucky ladies!! RT @seattlewinegal: At @KingEstate with @sbroback, @lisagilpin @KelseyIvey. Dinner is PHENOMENAL img.ly/aggq

Gorgeous… blow up and frame that! RT @ucbeau: RT @BeckyBoo503: A close up #photo of a grape leaf! yfrog.com/klq9vmhj -- Awesome pic!

Tweeting when I should be blogging.

(And the inspirational response from Wine Is Serious Biz

@SipwithMe It works! How many tweets does it take to make a blog? Hmmmmmm)

@beckyboo503 Nice, I bet it will be stunning. Well done!

Really? The McRib isn't food? ow.ly/7nvQd Is anyone really surprised by this?

@wineissrsbiz Ha! Wish it worked that way for my blog!!

• Follower. This is someone who is reading your tweets. You may or may not follow them back.
• The @ symbol: Put this before any Twitterer's username to refer to them and create a link to their profile automatically (handy to track conversations or look at people you're referring to).
• RT = "retweet." If you read someone else's tweet and you want to share it, put this before copying and pasting the whole thing, including the original tweeter's username into your tweet.
• (Via): Instead of using retweet, you can use "via @username" in parentheses to attribute something you read someone else tweet about. This is good when you are not directly quoting word for word, but paraphrasing or passing a link along.
• # = Hashtag: Use this symbol prior to other words (#oregonwine for example)  as a way of assigning a keyword to a tweet so that so others can follow the topic.
• DM = Direct Messaging. This is how to send a message to someone so only they can see it. The person has to be following you in order to receive messages from you, though. (No DMing Robert Parker unless he's following you, k?) 

So Many Pinots… Too Little Time

There she was, in a position she never thought she’d find herself in. A lavish Pinot party was being thrown and she alone would be host to five very seductive guests, five sultry strangers. How the night would play out, no one could be sure, but she planned to indulge in each of them. And she meant to talk about it… a lot. She even intended on judging them and how they measured up and would tell everyone she knew.

She welcomed her guests to her home; two native Oregonions, one from California and two from Argentina, adding some international flavor to the group. She knew which guests were planning to be there, she had invited them all—and she attentively prepared each of them for the pleasure they were about to share. Undressing each one slowly, focusing solely, intently and deliberately on one while the others watched with Pinot envy, she exposed a hint of their essence and breathed them in slow and deep. Their heady aromas filled her body and teased her with delight as she patiently moved from one to the next, opening them up, releasing just a glimpse of their unique promise. She sighed, looking at them all with wonder, “What ever will this one be like and what is it that you have to share with me?”

She tenderly touched each, stroking and then gripping their smooth necks, unsure where she’d exactly start… what she’d explore first. That exotic Argentinean was giving her hot and heavy “do me” eyes, so she decided then and there, Argentina would be last. She’d begin with the local flavors first, and venture out from there; though she had a wild side, the safe and familiar sometimes holds a certain allure. At some point, a feeling of decadence washed over her like a powerful ocean wave and she found herself drenched in emotion, feeling blessed with abundance no one person should know.

She would make the first move, but things degraded quickly. The ratio was five-to-one: them against her, her against them, her drinking them in, them waiting for her, her lips on one and then another, each of them teasing her and tormenting her with their lustiness… one after the other, individually and collectively, until eventually they all came together in what some might view a frenzied climax of indulgement… a pinotrgasm (the ‘t’ is silent) if you will. She’d never enjoyed five at once… wow. And then she put it down in words:

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2008 Pinot Noir Founders Reserve: The nose of this wine immediately calms and soothes you with its smooth and silky aromas… almost as if it were Al Green whispering in his deep and throaty voice, “Oh yeah baby, just drink me in and let me take you over, I can show you a night like no other. Stop thinking, just open up and let me in for a soulful experience of the vine.” The strawberry and floral notes draw you in, while the tart cherries, smoked meat, earth and funk provide an “anything but vanilla” experience of Pinot Noir.

Panther Creek 2007 Shea Vineyard Pinot Noir: The deep ruby color of the wine captures your attention the same as a pretty girl might. You wonder about what’s beneath the surface, surely there’s more than meets the eye. The fragrance is captivating… expect this wine to press you against the wall with its beautifully balanced, harmonious, yet detectable juicy black plum, tart cranberries, cassis, earth and violet notes that add subtle notes of femininity and grace to an otherwise powerful and dominating wine.

Consilience 2006 Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir: The deep ruby color of this wine immediately sets the stage and you know you’re in for something a little bit different. It will lick your lips and flick your tongue with sweet blueberries and blackberries, though there’s still a bit of that Northern California “earthiness”. Know what you’re getting into with this one though: it’s pretty hot, will get you drunk and finishes quick.

Alpatago 2007 Pinot Noir (Patagonia, Argentina): Deep and dark, you swirl thinking you may have discovered something complex and mysterious only to discover it’s about as misleading as a man on a first date. The wine lacks structure, is fairly viscous and overly tastes of American oak.

Alpatago 2006 Reserve Pinot Noir (Patagonia, Argentina): Rico Suave—pure charisma, this wine could be the life of any party with bright and playful acids and its strong backbone. More rich and intense than your typical Pinot noir, it fills your mouth with ripe plums, figs and black currants.

Until we sip again…

Cheers!

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Read more about the #PinotNoir Twitter Tryst 2010 from fellow bloggers:

Wine Tonite — and The 2010 Pinot Noir Smackdown Award Goes to…

Suburban Wino — P-Day 3

DRINKnectar — Keep Your Hands Off My Pinot

The Wineing Woman — Pinot Noir Wrap-Up

The Vino File — 3 Pinot’s Head to Head for #PinotNoir

The Amateur Gastronomer — Taste, Talk and Tweet: Pinot Noir

Kramer Vineyards Blog — Tweetup Roundup: Pinot Noir Twitter Tasting

Get Ready to Drink and Tweet #PinotNoir (and vote #WV)

If your idea of a Tweet-up or Twitter tasting is a bunch of nerdy people sitting around their basement drinking wine, then you're about to be proven wrong (yeah, I'm talking to you). Events are taking place all over the country; in wineries, wine bars, wine shops and individual's homes—and not one of them could be considered nerdy. For one night only, people everywhere will be drinking and tweeting… and Pinot Noir will the common connection bringing them all together. Since people are excited about wine in general and seem to enjoy having a platform to share their thoughts with other like-minded people, Twitter events like these have opened the door to a whole new way of communicating about wine.

The biggest and greatest online #PinotNoir Twitter tasting is looming anxiously on the horizon (this Thursday, July 15th) and I’m really looking to the Willamette Valley to show the world the bounty of wines this fair region produces. I may be somewhat biased as I have the pleasure and privilege of consuming a good deal of the tasty and hedonistic fermented juice coming out this area and I’ll tell you first hand, there’s a whole lot more great wines than swill.

The soil’s fertility can be traced to a foundation of old volcanic and sedimentary soil and the massive ice age floods that occurred approximately 15,000 years ago, periodically flooding the area, depositing the land with silt, rich volcanic soil and non-native rock.

Oregon has many different wine regions, but the state’s most popular and abundant is the Willamette (rhymes with damnit) Valley, also home to 70% of the population. The area, located at the foot of the Oregon Coast Range, is named for the river that runs through it and the fertile valley stretches from Eugene in the South to the Columbia River just north of Portland.

As an AVA (American Viticultural Area), the Willamette Valley is 150 miles long, up to 60 miles wide, is the state’s largest and includes six sub-appellations: Dundee Hills, Eola-Amity Hills, McMinnville, Ribbon Ridge, Yamhill-Carlton District and the newest addition, Chehalem Mountains. Oregon wine pioneer David Lett of The Eyrie Vineyards, was the first to cultivate and commercially produce Pinot noir and Pinot gris in the Willamette Valley, earning him the nickname “Papa Pinot”. The Valley now hosts approximately 200 wineries and grows over 12,000 acres of wine grapes.

Open a bottle of your favorite Willamette Valley Pinot noir on Thursday, July 15th from 5-7pm PT and share our secret with the world—there’s over 200 to choose from. Make your vote count and don’t forget the #WV hashtag!

Here’s a list of hashtags my buddy Joe Herrig of Suburban Wino put together for you to include with your tweets, you don’t need to memorize the list, just keep it handy for a cheat sheet. But remember, all you really need to know is #WV – go Willamette!!

#CA (California)
#NC (North Coast)
#MN (Mendocino County)
#AV (Anderson Valley)
#SO (Sonoma County)
#RR (Russian River Valley)
#GV (Green Valley of Russian River)
#SN (Sonoma Coast)
#NV (Napa Valley)
#CN (Los Carneros...yes, we know it's Sonoma AND Napa.)
#CC (Central Coast)
#SC (Santa Cruz Mountains)
#MO (Monterey)
#SLH (Santa Lucia Highlands)
#SLO (San Luis Obispo County)
#SB (Santa Barbara County)
#SM (Santa Maria Valley)
#SY (Santa Ynez Valley)
#SRH (Sta. Rita Hills)
#OR (Oregon)
#RV (Rogue Valley)
#WV (Willamette Valley)
#CM (Chehelam Mountains)
#DH (Dundee Hills)
#EA (Eola-Amity Hills)
#MC (McMinnville)
#RB (Ribbon Ridge)
#YC (Yamhill-Carlton)
#WA (Washington State)
#NY (New York)
#FLX (Finger Lakes)
#VA (Virginia)
#FR (France)
#BU (Burgundy)
#CDN (Côtes de Nuits)
#CDB (Côtes de Beaune)
#CCH (Côtes Chalonnaise)
#NZ (New Zealand)
#CO (Central Otago)
#MT (Martinborough)
#ML (Marlborough)
#CAN (Canterbury)
#WP (Waipara)
#BC (British Columbia)
#ARG (Argentina)
#CL (Chile)
#SA (South Africa)
#GM (Germany)
#IT (Italy)

For more information about Thursday, July 15th's larger than life Pinot Noir Twitter event, visit these blogs:
Vinotology covers New Zealand
The Oregon Wine Blog Talks Smack
#PinotNoir Hashtag Decoder Rings on Suburban Wino
Breaking it Down on Wine Tonite

My Pinot is Bigger than Your Pinot

Come on, who's Pinot's really bigger? Do you think one area in the world, hands down, makes the very best Pinot noir? You know you have an opinion. Well, on July 15, from 6-9pm (PT), this varietal's gonna duke it out on Twitter once and for all and we're placing the fate of the winner in your hands. The whole world will be watching on July 15, 2010 from 5pm-7pm PT/8pm–10pm ET, when, for the first time ever, Pinot lovers gather from far and wide to participate in a #PinotNoir Twitter Community Tasting.  The online community will have the rare opportunity to taste, tweet and vote for which ever Pinot noir appelation they think produces the most mouthwatering, perfectly balanced and complex wines. The people will decide which region they want to see crowned winner at the end of the night. Talk about bragging rights. 

For those new to the Twitterverse, a Twitter Tasting is just a simple online tasting party. For two hours, people from all over will be tasting and talking about Pinot noir in various settings—from bars, restaurants, tasting rooms—even the comfort of their own home. For more information about Twitter Community Wine Tastings, visit http://www.facebook.com/TasteAndTweet

You should know though that this isn't just an ordinary Twitter Tasting. This is the ultimate Pinot Play-Off! You may remember some of the successful tasting events of the past, beginning with Rick Bakas of St. Supery's brainchild #Chardonnay and continuing with Josh Wade of Drink Nectar's #WAMerlot and then his ingenious follow-up #WAwine. According to Josh, 370 people on Twitter and about 50 people on Facebook contributed 1850-2000 updates about #WAWine. Additionally, it's estimated between 1000-1500 (approx) people attended various tasting events across the state. Well, the Pinot Play-Offs are going to blow those away!

What sets this event apart from any other Twitter Tasting? People everywhere will have the unique opportunity to determine which Pinot producing region reigns supreme simply by tweeting and using an additional two-character hashtag after #PinotNoir. For example, if you’re favorite Pinot is from Oregon, simply tag the end of your tweets with: #PinotNoir #WV and voila voila, you've voted… easy breezy.

Some examples:

#WV – Willamette Valley, Oregon

#NV – Napa Valley, CA

#RR – Russian River Valley, CA

#CN – Carneros, CA

#SB – Santa Barbara, CA

#SN – Sonoma Coast, CA

#MN – Mendocino, CA

#SC – Santa Cruz, CA

#BU – Burgundy, FR

#NZ – New Zealand

#?? – Add your own!

The evening will culminate with tallying the votes and giving the winning wine region the hearty pat on the back they've worked so hard to earn—right there, directly in front of the online world, for millions of people to see! And yes, we will really be counting the votes. No, nobody's for sale (right Joe?). Definitely YOUR VOTE COUNTS, so vote (Tweet) often!  Which region will emerge as the champion? You can probably guess who I'm rooting for, but who knows, maybe I'll surprise you and open myself up to a little gem from the Russian River Valley.

For more detailed information, please visit the invitation created by my Pinot-partner-in-crime Ed Thralls of Wine Tonite at http://pinotnoir.eventbrite.com/. Ed's even been helpful enough to include some basic instructions on how to get started on Twitter (so no excuses!!) and this blogpost by him could help you truly maximize your sales for this event! 

All eyes will be on Pinot Noir between now and July 15th, so don’t miss the opportunity to have your brand in the spotlight and your region a contender for the title. If you have any questions or need any help, please don't hesitate to contact me (tbelgard@gmail.com). Spread the word and share this invitation with all the Pinot players you possibly know. This is one party the cops won't break up and one brawl that won't end up with pepper spray (well, not unless you want it to). It will however end with countless bottles of Pinot Noir being opened, consumed and talked about around the globe. My fickle Pinot noir will be the center of attention. As it should be.

If you're a winery, there are a number of ways you can make sure you're involved. First of all, I can't encourage you enough to try and get your wine into Tweeters hands. If you're on Twitter, you probably have a good idea of who the wine Tweeters and/or bloggers are. If not, we need to talk. Seriously. Another way to be involved is to organize Twitter tasting events with your cellar club and fan base. Invite these people in during the tasting time and offer them a little something special, they will be Tweeting (talking) about your brand with their entire following (which could be anywhere from 100-100,000 or more people who actually care about what they have to say). Oregon wineries, this could be just the easy kickoff into IPNC (International Pinot Noir Celebration) you're looking for. Wineries and retail establishments everywhere can offer discounted "Taste Packs" for sale at retail or on their websites. If you're not sure how to promote this event, please contact me, I'm here to make it an overwhelming success—let me help you.
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One of my favorite women in wine, Andrea Robinson, Master Sommelier (whom I actually got to see speak at the Wine Bloggers Conference last week), is the designer of the new TheOne stemware collection and is also participating in this event. She's provided a a very special offer to participants, so be sure to take advantage:

50% off a 4-pack or single red stem of TheOneTM

4-Pack ($24.96 + s/h) Offer Code: PinotTweetupBox

Red Stem ($6.25 + s/h) Offer Code: PinotTweetupSingle

Order Here