random musings

The missing link

When I first saw that Marcy Gordon had tagged me in her 7 links project, I was a bit trepedatious. How would I ever live up to this lofty goal? how would i pick posts that were meaningful, amusing, and that you wanted to read? Acccck!
As you may or may not have noticed, this year my blogging has fallen off a cliff and I struggle with both inspiration and motivation to keep on the wagon. some days are better than others. So actually, now that I reflect on it more, I’m really fortunate that Marcy tagged me – because it gives me a built in blog post! Beyond that, I do believe it’s time to pull out my Creative Whack Pack for some new ideas.

Now, back to my 7 Links. This project asks bloggers to select seven lnks (posts) from blog posts past that exemplify certain categories. Once i pick my 7 posts, then I get to take 5 bloggers. Though personally I think I am going to tag 7 bloggers since, well, it’s 7 Links!

And the nominees are –

Most beautiful post:

How does one define beauty? It is beautiful writing, or is is beautiful pictures? That’s an interesting one to choose.

When I think about it, this post is my most beautiful meal, with the wine and food pairings at Artisan, Paso Robles.

Most popular post:

According to Google Analytics, in my blog’s nearly five year history, my most popular post was about my local wine bar, Barrique.

Most controversial post:

Are you certifiable? Why wine bloggers should (or should not) be “certified”.

Most helpful post:

Google+ through a wine bloggers eyes

Post whose success was most surprising:

One bad experience a firestorm does create: Hospitalit-eed Off

Post that maybe didn’t get the attention it deserved:

Why are RSS feeds such a pain?

Post most proud of:

There are actually two that are really in a tie for me, and they both cover a similar topic. I am passionate on how blogging matters and what it means in the larger scope of things so, feast your ears on this:

It just DOES matter!

Where is the ever blurring line between bloggers and traditional media?

As I looked back on my blog posts, I see a clear theme; the things that matter to me, that inspire me to spout poetic, are the things that you are talking about. What is a blogger? Why do you blog? What is the most controversial wine right now? And then, there is always bacon. I think I might need to bring back my Bacon Fridays theme – where I make one recipe with bacon and pair it with wine – on Fridays (or perhaps Sundays).
What do YOU want to hear from me? Inquiring minds want to know!

So I now nominate 7 bloggers (and yes, they are all women, because I think we need to support each other more) who I admire and enjoy reading:

Liza Swift – Brix Chicks

Michelle Lentz – Wine-Girl

Megan Kenney – Wannabe Wino

Gwendolyn Alley – Wine Predator

Mary Cressler – Vindulge

Melanie Ofenrich – Dallas Wine Chick
Gretchen Neuman – Maman des Filles

Crushing it in Dogpatch

Jun 29th, 2011

by winebratsf.

2 comments

Oh no you say! Not another “do it yourself” urban winery! Ok, I’d have to agree – that was my first reaction when I got the press release about Dogpatch Wine Works. Since Crushpad abandoned their urban winery projects and effectively dumped its consumer based wine program after its move to Napa (and subsequent move to Sonoma Valley), I’ve had a bit of a bad taste in my mouth for community crush projects.

But, Dave Gifford’s email intrigued me. A Crushpad alum, Dave knows first hand how to (and frankly, how NOT to) do an urban custom crush operation. Moving in a scant block down from Crushpad’s former headquarters on 3rd Street in San Francisco, Dogpatch now operates a 15,000 square foot urban winery with a missing “to enable wine enthusiasts to realize their passion for all things wine”. I’m hoping that this enthusiasm is somewhat more friendly than Crushpad’s seeming lackadaisical consumer program. As a former Crushpad customer, I got to know them well as I wandered through three winemaking projects with a group of wineaux. If you’re super nice I might let you come over for a tasting of the zin, cab blend, and freshly minted BeezleBubblez! I got to know the team well, and in fact, and pleased to see former head winemaker Mike Zitzlaff joining the Dogpatch crew.

While I fully understand the economics of operating a micro winery and custom crush, a good business plan requires you to commit and focus on your core audience. A business bill yourself as a “community based winery”, then you need to be…well, community based. Crushpad’s failing was that they lost focus and weren’t interested in pursing the consumer base. The primary goal was to be a custom crush and attract premier winery partners. That’s fine, but please don’t tell me you care about me and send me an email halfway through the full winemaking cycle that says “oh hey yeah we moved to Napa”. Please note these opinons are NOT AT ALL reflective of any experience with DPWW, simply my observatoins as a disgruntled Crushpad customer.

Anyway…back to Dogpatch Wine Works. Taking a note from Crushpad’s premium vineyard plans, DPWW allows you to choose from terrific grapes including – I’m very happy to report – Windsor Oaks Pinot Noir. Hey Julie, you ROCK! As a big fan of Windsor Oaks fruit, this could yield some interesting stuff. Add in the requisite equipment, a bonded winery, and expertise (yeah well ok so I didn’t go to Davis and chemistry isn’t my strong suit so Mike, i NEED you!), you hopefully have – a winery in a box, in a fun urban environment. Some additional vineyard offerings are Sonoma Coast Pinot, Atlas Peak Cab, and Anderson Valley Pinot. Ohh AV pinot? Count me in!

All of these seems familiar, and I get a buzz of excitement that the beast is alive. The goal of community based wineries is to allow you, for a fee (well yeah they need to make money) to participate from head to toe in the winemaking process. Theoretically, you will learn a lot, have fun, and get purple with it. Oh, and you get wine when you’re done!~ Yay!

One feature that Crushpad was missing whilst in the city was a tasting room, where we could actually TASTE some examples of wine they produced. While in Napa, they did indeed have a microwinery tasting room, but well, it was in Napa. This alone will add a unique feature which will be a draw; while there is a wine bar in Dogpatch (Yield) a tasting room is going to add interest and attract visitors.

Giving Crushpad it’s due, some of my favorite brands were launched there. I just wish they had been clear about their goals from the start.

I salute you Dave, for being willing to revisit a space that Crushpad ~~screwed up~~ abandoned, and taking on the challenge with a renewed focus. This a huge space and one that I see a lot of potential in; avid wine lovers want to learn and experience the full lifecycle. This is how we can do it. Please check out Dogpatch Wine Works if you’re in the city – I know I will be! I am starting to think I might need to make some more wine…Pinot anyone?

Cheers!

**Wordpress ate my homework** I’m sorry to say that 2 of my best paragraphs ran away. arrrgh! I will repost if I remember them. Yes, yes, I know. Write in Word, archive, paste. Bugger.

Secrets revealed! Lose weight with wine!

Apr 1st, 2009

by winebratsf.

14 comments

Dateline – Biggest Loser Ranch, Tustin CA

Source say Gillian is now force feeding her team red wine. That’s right, that mystery concoction that everyone told you will make you fat, will make you thin! I found this proof on the internet:

Before wine diet

Reverse-It-All, the secret ingredient in red wine, has been found to increase your endurance as well as cut weight and reduce the risk of diabetes. Reverse-it-all also activates the wonder twin powers, in the form of the longevity gene. Reverse-It-All is only found in the skins of red wine grapes, so I encourage you to use your red and pink wine intake accordingly.

After wine diet

While skeptics state that you would need to drink hundreds of glasses of red wine in order to reap the benefits of Reverse-It-All, I am here to prove them wrong. According to the renowned Bacon expert, Rick Bakas, “Wine doesn’t make you fat, it makes you lean…..against a wall, a chair, the floor, other people….”. Therefore, I am going to experiment with the Red Wine Diet.

The key to this diet is the judicious use of a good red wine. For my first week of dieting, I meandered through Chile, starting with the Viu Manent Secreto Malbec 2006 You can see the full review by clicking through. This Malbec is a chewy wine, that brings notes of smoked meats and leather. Chewing your wine 40 times before swallowing has been shown to fill you up faster.

First, you start with this rich red wine. Pour yourself a glass. Sip it slowly, enjoying the full flavors. If you are having trouble picking out taste profiles, pour yourself another glass. Repeat. At NO TIME may you eat real food while on this diet. It is very important that you drink an entire bottle each night, in order to get the correct amounts of Reverse-It-All flowing in your system.

If you are having hunger pangs, I would suggest that you try a critter label, such as Pink Goat. The critters on the label are actually steeped in the wine, which should help you get your protein levels stabilized. This wine hails from Chile as well, and is made from the blood of real goats. This will provide you some protein, and help tide you over until you can eat real food again.

Alternatively, if you are searching for divine inspiration with your wine diet, try the Montes Cherub Rose of Syrah. This traditional Syrah Rose is refreshing and will help fill you up, while having a cherub sprinkle you with good luck.

For the complete details of The Red Wine Diet, please refer to the user guide, which is available on Amazon.com.

Am I certifiable?

Jan 14th, 2009

by winebratsf.

13 comments

There has been an interesting conversation going on for a while now, about how we measure wine bloggers. This question is not without controversy and it sparks a lot of thought. The folks at Vintank, and new powerhouse in the Wine 2.0 world, have even challenged us to create an experiment on how to measure the ROI of social media and blogs.

How exactly do we measure a blogger’s success or contribution to the webiverse? That’s the key question that is being asked by many wineries and PR agencies as they strive to determine who they should send samples to, give special treatment to, and dole out perks to.

Should we have a Wine Blogger Seal of Approval? Should there be some sort of credential? I am divided on this issue.

A credential is a badge of honor. Think of press credentials. You don’t have to necessarily be a good journalist to get one, you just have to be a journalist. That gives you access to crime scenes, events, and trade shows with the expectation that you will do something in return – report on it.

On the other hand, certification implies that your blog must meet a certain set of standard criteria in order to gain access to the elite group. This is where i have an problem, as I don’t know how you create a specific set of standards for a group of people that are essentially writing Op/Ed pieces. Yes, there are professional bloggers out there, in the likes of Alder Yarrow of Vinography. However, the vast majority of bloggers are hobbiests with a passion for wine. If i write something that you don’t agree with, does that make me wrong? I hope not. An opinion is an opinion. I don’t have to like the same things you do.

The issues that have come up are one of access to a privileged elite of wine. These benefits have been taken advantage of, much like in traditional media. Clearly, a few bad bloggers spoil the merlot.

How do we prove our worth to these industry peeps that are we are worthy of the perks? I am all for weeding out the leeches, those that write a post once and expect to get free tastings for 10 or free passes to every event. The question is how do we accomplish this without being exclusionary? The wine industry is finally starting to tune into the importance of the bloggersphere. By placing barriers to access, aren’t we taking one step forward and 2 steps back?

Michael Wangblicker of Caveman Wines and Lisa de Bruin of California Wine Life have posted thier ideas on this subject as well. Some of thier suggestions as well as mine are below, with my comments in red.

Age of blogs – There is high turnover on blogs. An older blog may indicate that the blogger is here to stay. This might be true, but an old blog might be stale. This needs to be used in conjunction with other measurements to be effective.
Average Number of posts per month – The more frequently a blogger posts, the greater likelihood that their audience will be larger. This is true in general, but how do we set the bar?
Other Social Media channels – Does the blogger have a good following on Facebook, Twitter, etc.? It may indicate that their readership is larger than implied by visits to the blog. I think this is important for the bigger picture. A blogger who is not hooked in to other social media avenues is not getting the full picture.
By Readership? This might be the strongest option, but i still question how you measure readership. Do we need a central hits per day list? If I post on a holiday instead of a weekday, will i be penalized for not hitting prime time?
Quality of writing? How do you measure this? I think I am a good writer, but you may not. This is too subjetive. These guidelines have to be objective to work.
Their own level of wine education? Measuring bloggers on their knowledge of wine is putting the cart before the horse. There are many bloggers, including myself, who started their blog in order to educate yourself. Rating based on knowledge is going to increase the blogger vs. trad media war that is still going on and the elitism that is perceived witll be exacerbated.
A Blogger Organization, such as Wineblogger.info, can be helpful in identifying those that want to be part of the bigger collective. If you take the time to associate with such an organization, chances are you are more interested in writing and your blog than the free tasting at Winery X.

I’m not sure that any of these are the answer. I personally don’t want someone telling me my blog is good enough to be part of the club, because that’s not why i blog. The more technical KPI’s are tricky and somewhat difficult to ascertain, as the analytics tools are still being developed. In addition, some people blog on a common site, and you cannot truly gauge visitors.

My feeling is that we need to be INCLUSIVE and not EXCLUSIONARY. It is important to have open communication with the industry. Clearly, bloggers don’t like people that give us a bad name any more than the industry people do but we need to figure out how to weed them out of the bigger mix without alienating the masses.

I’m curious as to your opinions!