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 –

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.

Before wine diet

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.

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.