May 19, 2010
Why should you, the reader, give any credence to what I write on this blog? Why indulge in my version of reality by giving my words the time of day? I'm not a professional writer? I don't get paid to write this blog. I don't have an editor that I have to satisfy. I think the reason I have a decent readership is because it's pretty clear I have some sort of expertise in what I choose to write about,…
Apr 15, 2010
Recently in Washington State at TASTE Washington I gave a talk on ""THE TEN THINGS EVERY SMALL WINERY MUST KNOW TO MARKET IN TODAY'S WINE MARKETING UNIVERSE." That talk was summarized in an earlier blog post here at FERMENTATION. This is the second post in a series that expands on that earlier post. RULE # 2: LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION The single biggest change in wine marketing that has occurred in the past 20 years is that consumers are talking…
Apr 8, 2010
There are roughly five spaces still available for the 2010 North American Wine Bloggers Conference from the 300 that were originally available. What does this mean? It means a number of things, not the least of which is that this conference, now in its 3rd year, is attracting numerous people who take their wine blog very seriously, but also others who are serious about learning about wine blogging and the wine blogging world. Why in the world is this the…
Mar 29, 2010
There are treats to be had by working in the wine industry and I'm not talking the food and wine that does indeed flow so copiously. Rather, I'm talking about the opportunities I'm fortunate enough to have to share ideas with colleagues and learn from the best. I had such an opportunity last week when I spent time in Seattle at TASTE Washington. I was invited to sit on a couple seminar panels at the annual celebration of Washington wines….
Mar 11, 2010
It has been a while since I've highlighted a new wine blog that has come across my radar in a positive way. But I couldn't help writing today about SWIRL, SMELL, SLURP, a newish wine blog that is every bit as fun to read as it is hard to say quickly. The blog is maintained by Sacha Baumann and Jason F. King. Sacha spent a great deal of time in the wine world, primarily at restaurants, but also with the…