Marriage, WIne and Social Media

The wine will flow and the vows will be said on the 18th of August. Karen and her man are getting married in Napa County, California. Trouble is: they want to get married in the vines but they don't have a location yet.

In a test of social media, Karen is hoping one of the winery/vineyard operations (or still some other) we visited during the Wine Bloggers Conference last week will step up and fill the bill. This isn't some elaborate set-up with hundreds of guests and music and food. It's just Karen, the groom, a photog and the vow-sayer. As I write this, the word is going out among the Twitterverse, the blogosphere and the interwebs. The experiment has begun.

She's got a few essentials to cover but really, it is simplicity in itself.

The bonus is: the winning wine operation will get international coverage. Lots of eyes read Karen's Winebard blog and you know she will relate (dare I say 'gush') all the details.

It's a win-win for all.

So if you run a Napa vino scene or know somebody who does, let them know about the Winebard's quest. When they get hitched, the winery gets pitched. It's that simple.

Here's a link with more details.

Karen's K.I.S.S list:

1. Rose bushes at the end of the rows of vines


2. Picturesque location for Wedding photos


3. Can accommodate four people for about one hour on Aug 18th


4. Preferably in the Napa Valley

A big bonus for the couple would be if you could hold a vid camera for 10 minutes.

Spread the word!

2009 Wine Bloggers' Conference July 24 -26

Just a few weeks now until hundreds of enthusiastic wine types will converge on Santa Rosa, California for the second wine blogger conference.

This is a rare and excellent opportunity for any winery operation to see how it works and how blogging and social media can work for their operation.

As new media and social media begin to carve out their own turf in the world of information transfer (our world of ideas), wineries are beginning to make some interesting discoveries.

Like many businesses, the give and take between customer and producer in the wine world has always been present. Now with blogging and other forms of social networking, wineries and their fans can feel like they're one step closer to each other.

For some, it means they can skip the role a large media conglomerate plays. They don't have to worry about censure, interpretation or house policies. Bloggers are citizen winedrinkers who simply post their opinions about something they enjoy and, in some cases, feel very passionate about.

Wine bloggers come in many styles. Some work for wineries; helping to link the consumer directly with the producer. Some are pure reviewers; they drink the wines and post their scores and thoughts for anyone to read. Others deal with the business side whether that be growing grapes or devising clever sales campaigns.

So where do I fit in?

I've been blogging about my wine making life since about 2005. At times it's lacked focus. And it's always been haphazardly scheduled. I'd be surprised if I blog more than 3 times a month on average. Others are much more productive like this one. I think she's posted at least daily for the last half year! WTG, WannabeWino!

There are not a lot of wine maker bloggers. Some are ghosted by other writers and some wineries have other staff doing the company blogging. Until recently, I was independent. Now, of course, I blog to promote my own label Black Cloud . Despite this change, I'm still one of the laziest bloggers I know.

At the conference I hope to: find out if another platform will be better for my blogging, discuss ways to monetize the efforts, discuss collaboration projects with other bloggers, and try to determine if the knowledge I've acquired is worth anything. Or should I just leave it to the experts?

One thing I do know, it's time to engage! I urge wineries, wine marketers, wine writers and food people to attend or sent their representative. It's a great deal for the dollar, too!
Here's the link:
Wine Blogger's Conference

Wine Bloggers' Conference - It's a GO!

Looks like I'm headed to California in late July.

I signed up and paid for the second-ever Wine Bloggers' Conference to be held in Napa and Sonoma counties this summer.

Last time they did this, a couple hundred wine nuts (more or less attached to the internet) showed up and traded ideas, got up to speed, tasted an enormous amount of wine and generally had the opportunity to understand each others' unique perspective.

Participants travelled from all over North America and the world. They were extremely well treated by conference organizers and sponsors.

I was not able to go. (insert pout here)

It was in late October. Around that time, we here in the Okanagan are buried scrotum-high in grapes. It behooved me to remain at my post.

Other people in more gentle climes on the production side of things made some noise and voila! - summer in California for this version.

I'm really looking forward to this. That's the essence of understatement. I will have the opportunity to show off my wines and indulge in the following recipe.

Blend:

1/4 geek

1/4 webjourno

1/4 wine maker

1/4 Californiaphile

Top with sun, pool, hikes, bikes and good food.

Serve.

I strongly encourage my readers and associated wine folks to consider attending. Attendance is capped at 250 and I understand the sign-up has been brisk.

Wine and a Hike in the redwoods

It's not news to most people but here it is anyhow: California is full of things to do. For wine lovers, California is a diverse growing region with thousands of wine-related activities. But to return home after a truly rewarding experience in wine country is not always an easy achievement.

A lot of the time there is a cookie-cutter feel to many attractions. There pre-packaged tours and winery visits that start to look pretty typical. Most of the big name tours could be lifted from anywhere. Just insert different names where applicable.

Among the packed tasting rooms, the parade of buses and the drunk-filled limousines is a California wine country experience that really stands out as unique and fun. California Wine Hikes takes two great activities and combines them for some special memories and genuinely exclusive glimpses of the Golden State.

I've talked about California Wine Hikes in this space before as being something different I had heard about. Back in late May, I got to experience it firsthand.

My wife and I have our best hiking years behind us. We weren't looking for a death march with tough technical sections. So we were delighted with the trail chosen for us by Russ Beebe, owner, operator, guide and all-round great guy. We spent about half a day in the mountains at the south end of the San Franciscan peninsula, somewhere between San Mateo and the ocean. We saw huge redwoods, quiet ravines and an array of wildflowers. The traditional fog off the coast started the day. We ended it in full sun for our mid-afternoon lunch.

Of course, our walk was punctuated with visits to wineries like Thomas Fogarty and Savannah-Chanelle.

Russ' knowledge of the area, his running commentary on the flora and fauna and his contacts within the wine business makes for a memorable day out. Nowadays, I can't think of a trip to California without a wine hike in the itinerary.

(top photo: me and a redwood. Sorry about the focus. bottom photo: Me (left), my wife Audralee and Russ Beebe at Savannah Chanelle)

It's only a matter of time that this kind of thing shows up here. I'm sure BC is ready for one of these businesses dedicated to showing off the scenery and the wines in the various regions of the province.

Until then, make sure you book one of these hikes on your next trip to California.

Please Help Me Identify This Man

When I was in California I met this solemn creature at a bookstore. I'm the one on the left.

He implored me to purchase his book.

I did so and he proceeded to give a talk for a good part of an hour about wine and it's place in our collective lives. An excellent speaker but damn if I can remember his name.

Oh wait! Here it is. Right on the book!

Okay . . . nevermind. Got it.

Wine Leads To Criminal Activity

Is there anything more grasping and greedy than a government monopoly denied?

On my trip to California I truly enjoyed some marvelous foods and wines. Being a winemaker, I was naturally drawn to the tasting rooms and the wine lists that I encountered. Always, in the back room of my mind, there was a voice, "Even if you wanted this wine, you can't take it home."





Sure, I could actually take it home. But at the border, after clearing immigration, there would be customs. And customs is charged with collecting the cash that the government figures it is due. This is determined by whatever the provincial mark-up is on a particular product. If they don't actually have the product on their shelves then there is a formula to arrive on the 'proper' dollar figure.





"Surely," you say," you must be allowed something?" Yes, true, we are allowed something.


But no matter how long I stay, I am limited to 1.5 L of wine. That's two standard bottles. After 48 hours, I can bring $400 back in goods. But the wine volume stays the same. After 7 days, I can bring back $750 in goods. But the wine volume stays the same. It's all here in it's ridiculous splendour. If I only stay 24 hours then I have to pay the formula on everything.





The taxes, duty and mark-up or whatever euphemism you want to use is almost always in excess of 100% of your purchase price of the wine in Canadian dollars.





I have heard all the arguments for this kind of policy. Protectionism and public safety, control, maintaining the public coffers. Frankly, in this day and age, none of those tired old arguments are worth a thing.





What this policy leads to is the most elaborate and deceitful schemes by otherwise law-abiding citizens bent on getting a few extra bottles of wine or liquor back into the country. We're not talking about truckloads. We're talking about a half dozen or a case of something special, often not available at home, something that was picked up on vacation or on a business trip.





I know it may be necessary to draw the line somewhere, but this country has turned into a country of amateur smugglers. With the dollar virtually at par with its American counterpart, I imagine there's plenty of temptation.





Hell, I know there is. Here's what I had to do.





After 11 days in the U.S. I settled on 8 bottles of wine and not the 8 cases I really wanted. Sorry, U.S. wine sellers. I put two into my luggage. The other six I packaged and sent to a Washington state border town about 1 hour from my home. Good thing you can ship from California to Washington. I told the UPS guys on Sutter in San Francisco it was olive oil anyways and we all had a good laugh.





Today it arrived. My wife went and picked it up. She drove it to within 400 meters of the border and dropped in on my Mom and step Dad (Canadian citizens) at their lakeside summer place. There she gave them each two bottles and appropriate receipts. They had been stateside for 48 hours so they were entitled to two bottles free of border charges.


The other two bottles are stashed in the crawlspace of the cabin. Tomorrow my people will drive back across the line and into Canada with my wine I will meet them at the donut shop in Osoyoos before they head home. There, in the parking lot like a gathering of of criminals, I will accept the goods.





My next plan: I'm going to head south again soon. I'll stay for at least 48 hours and I'll buy two bottles of wine worth $400 together that are not available in BC. Then I'll bring them back and dispose of them as I see fit.





Tsk. Just sad behaviour I'm capable of. Almost as sad as a monopoly so fearful of revenue loss from cross border purchases that it has to impose these draconian rules on the masses. Isn't it time we used our overworked Border Service to protect our citizens from pedophiles, armed criminals and other threats to society? Isn't it time to stop searching Joe and Mary Sixpack's luggage and car for that extra bottle of White Zin?





I think so and so do a lot of my fellow Canadians.

Wine, San Francisco, Giants, Jazz, More Wine

Only a few days before my wife and I begin our trip to California. Our 11 day excursion will be centred around the San Francisco bay area but we will be travelling to some other points as we taste and sip our days away.

This is a significant trip. This is the first trip since our honeymoon that is a) longer than three days and b) does not have a kid, dog, relative or friend travelling with. And it roughly coincides with our anniversary (9th). We were married in early June in New Zealand's Bay of Islands.

We're planning on a jazz concerts, have tickets to the Giants versus the Mets June 2, there's a spa thingy arranged and on May 31st we're going wine-hiking with California Winehikes in the mountains and redwoods of the south penninsula. We're inviting all Cal wine types to join us on the wine hike. It should be a gas! Contact Russ at his website for details.

If you're in the area, we'd love to get together for a drink. Call my cell 250-490-7314 or cooper.bradley@gmail.com

Global Warming - Let's Just Call It Climate Change

Had a question from Paul at Inertia asking what sessions at the Unified W & G symposium I thought were best.
First I have to fully disclose that I did not attend all the sessions as I was in transit for day 1 ( Sorry, Paul) and running around Wednesday and Thursday trying to cram in as much as I could.
Second, some sessions I skipped simply because they were fairly narrow in scope. They were Californiacentric. Winery folk from outside California have to realize and accept - this is the Golden State's big show. There is an effort to cast the net of appeal wider but you still have to translate some of the data into something you can use in the jurisdiction where you make your wine.
I found the State of the Industry general session to very informative. The speakers were from diverse wine industry sectors and it was stimulating to hear their varied opinions. I'll be posting about this soon.
My favourites were the two sessions dealing with global warming. One of the take home messages was: Yes, the globe is warming and No, that doesn't mean it's going to get hot everywhere all the time.
What is does mean is that there will be some fairly rapid changes. Some places will become wetter. Some places may see wider shifts in seasonal temperature means.
Models presented by the expert speakers showed varying results but, for the most part, consistent outcomes. With a focus on western North America, for example, it would appear that an enormous section of the California's central valley will undergo "desertification" making it too hot over too long a time for all but the toughest grape varieties. Time frame? Could be as short as 30 years.
Washington State seemed to benefit most from the climate change (and BC even though the study quit at the 49th parallel). But that would hinge on other factors like pests and water.
That's right: bugs and rain.
Too much of the former and not enough of the latter.
It may get warmer and there may be more growing days but it won't be worth a thing if new pests, encouraged by the climate change, are invading new vineyards/ territory. Same goes for water. Should the climate change create extended drought conditions, access to irrigation will be essential in some areas already stressed for water supplies.
So climate change is not an 'end-of-the-world' scenario. But it will require sharp adaptive skills and canny investment practices.