WBC 2010 In Short

So the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference has come to an end. I'm back in the car, not driving, but passengering back to Portland.

I'm sure everyone is writing similar summary posts on their respective blogs, so I'll keep this brief. Aside from seeing some good friends, meeting new friends, and trying a lot of wine here are some of my highlight moments:

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The Road to Walla Walla

So that time of year has come again - it's time for the annual American Wine Bloggers Conference. This year we're convening in the city of Walla Walla over the Washington side of the Columbia, the same river that runs through my new home in Portland. I drove past the area on my way to the Willamette Valley, and now I'm headed back, seeing the scenery from another angle.

It's a four hour drive from Portland to Walla Walla, but well worth the trip. The views and changing landscape along the Columbia are just amazing. And since Lynnette is driving, I can type on my new iPad!

The conference will offer a chance to reconnect with many people I met last year (and more importantly make a human connection with all the Facebook/Twitter wine folks I follow).

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New site has launched & stuff

So my attentiveness to my writing here has been horrible this month. I've got some interesting wines to try tonight that I'll take some notes on, and tomorrow I'll be joining a bunch of other bloggers for Wine Blogging Wednesday. We're pairing wine and desserts, which I'm super excited about.

In other news, I've launched my personal website - www.ryanreichert.com. This will be a central place for me to showcase all my writing (concerning wine, food, travel and whatnot), photos, and to post news about what's going on in my life. I hope you'll all check it out soon and please let me know what you think.

Here's to drinking more wine and writing about it!

Cheers

Ryan

Fast and Dirty... I mean, Dark & Delicious!

Okay - so this is sort-of, kind-of last minute... but I've got two tickets to give away for Dark & Delicious, a super fantastic event featuring Petite Sirah (with an I!) put on by PS I Love You.

The event is taking place on February 19, 2010 from 6-9p PST at The Rock Wall Wine Company in Alameda, CA (just outside Oakland). If you're a) a local or b) are going to be in the area then I would highly recommend going! 41 different producers are being featured alongside 26 SF/Bay Area restauranteurs and caterers. Tickets are $60, so this prize is worth $120 total.

So here's the deal - to qualify you must head over to Twitter and send a message (140 or less!) about why you (LOVE) Petite Sirah. Make sure to send it to @oenoblog so I see it. Given the crunch on time though, I'm going to limit this to entries through Sunday February 14th 2010 (Valentine's Day). This way I'll have time to mail the tickets to the winner.

I'll assign each entry a number as it comes in and use a random number generator to get the winner.

Good luck!

Other stuff:
1) You must be 21 to attend
2) No ticket refunds or exchanges
3) Please drink responsibly! (because abusing good Petite Sirah is a crime!)

Patz & Hall Twitter Taste Live: Pinot, Chard and Tofu!

Patz & Hall
Chardonnay & Pinot Noir
Sonoma Coast, California

Last night was the launch of the Patz & Hall Winery page on Twitter Taste Live. They divided the country in two and had bloggers on both coasts do a tasting of two of their soon to be released wines. I was really pleased to see how seamlessly the upgraded TTL is working, and we had an enjoyable time tasting the wines.

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Spanish Wine Dinner at West Cafe

Tuesday night I headed out with some friends to Portland's West Cafe. There we enjoyed a six course dinner paired with different Spanish wines. Our group had two vegetarians (me included) and one vegan. So we really got the full gamut of offerings at our table. Overall the pairings were very well done, and so I'd like to share the menu with you and some of my comments.

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Twitter Cheap Wine Challenge

So this week Wine Ophelia (Raelinn Schmitt) proposed that a bunch of bloggers all post notes for one of their favorite under $10 bottles of wine. Then after everyone has posted, we should gather (locally) to do a big blind tasting via Twitter (à la Twitter Taste Live) to share these great buys with our friends and followers. So it took me a while, going through some of the notes that I have from the past year, and I was able to narrow my selection down to TWO bottles.

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What?! Wine bloggers don't make any money?!

Well, for the most part it's true. Very few of us actually do what we love because it pays well. Sure, some have ad revenue, and some get sent samples... but really very little of the compensation in wine blogging is of the monetary sort. Many of us have regular jobs (in technology, marketing, healthcare, consulting, etc.) that pay our regular bills.

With those bills and such, I can tell you there isn't always a lot left over to go towards our hobby and passion, wine. Just last year I found myself in this very situation after learning about the 2nd Annual Wine Bloggers Conference in Santa Rosa, and knowing that it would be a great event for me to attend to network, meet other wine bloggers, and to learn. Then, as if the clouds parted and a shining bottle of Pinot Noir (likely held out by friend and chairperson, Thea Dwelle) descended towards me, I found out that there was a special fund for bloggers just like me! A bloggership if you will aimed at helping Citizen Bloggers get to attend WBC.

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Welcome 2010 - and all new wines!

Hope everyone has a fantastic New Year. Though we've focused mostly on Pinot Noir this week, but never fear - I've got a bottle of Banear Prosecco chilling in the fridge for midnight (or 9pm PST if you're on the East coast!).

Here's to drinking lots of great wines in the coming year.

Cheers!

1 Year Anniversary - and not a bottle of bubbles in sight

So today will be one year that I started writing oe•no•phile, and here I am busy with some other work and I've not even thought about having some wine today.

For shame - I shall see what is in stock post haste and take some notes.

Thank you to all of you who have supported and followed the blog over the past year. I hope you'll find what the future holds both entertaining and edifying enough to stick around.

Cheers!

Welcome to Wine Bloggers Conference 2009

While there are lots of updates coming soon, stay tuned all this weekend for updates from the American Wine Bloggers Conference being held in Santa Rosa, California. Me and 200+ other wine bloggers, industry mavens, and wine producers from all over.

Great stuff is happening - follow hashtag #WBC09 on Twitter.

Internet is kind of stable... American Wine Blog Awards are currently being announced. Next? Sonoma Grand Tasting.

Cheers!

Ryan

monthly wine tastings

Just another event update. I will be presenting a series of themed wine tastings at Grand River Cellars over the next few months. We have scheduled January through April and are expecting these to be a lot of fun. Please check them out if you're able to.

WHAT: Exploring the World of Wine

Each tasting will be a chance to taste 5 wines from around the world. I will be selecting these from a number of different regions and countries. All will be available exclusively at each event. Additionally we will provide a spread of gourmet appetizers and small plates to pair with the wines.

Janaury 29th - Cool Climate Reds

February 26th - Fruity Whites

March 26th - Merlot "Madness"

April 23rd - Blends: How many grapes are in there?

WHEN: 6:30-8:30pm
WHERE: Grand River Cellars (440.298.9838)
COST: $15 per tasting or $50 for all four


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Please call the winery or e-mail grcinfo@grandrivercellars.com. Advanced registration is required.

Cheers!

local wine & food event

Hi everyone,

If you're local to the Cleveland area (or visiting for some reason!) be sure to check out this new weekly event at Whole Foods Market!

WHAT: 5x7 Food & Wine Tasting
WHEN: Every Friday – Beginning January 16th, 5:00-7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Whole Foods Market Cedar Center (phone: 216.932.3918)
COST: $5 cover – no advance registration necessary


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FIVE world-class beers or wines
FIVE sensational sampling stations
FIVE dollars

Guests of this event will delight upon a world-class weekly spread of five wine, beer, and food pairings. Guests will also take home a complimentary reusable wine glass, good for discount admission on a later date.

A complete listing of January’s events and other cooking class descriptions can be found online at http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/cleveland/storecalendar.php.

Cheers!