Hence, I will be attending the first ever European Wine Bloggers Conference to be held in La Rioja at the end of August. It is being organised by Gabriella and Ryan Opaz of Catavino.net and Robert MacIntosh of The Wine Conversation. I hope to meet other wine bloggers, share experiences and, above all, learn, learn, learn all I possibly can.

This is the press release that has been sent to the media in several languages:-

Old World Wine Meets New World Marketing at the First European Wine Bloggers Conference, in La Rioja, Spain.

London & Barcelona, 16th July 2008. Leading wine bloggers from around the world will gather in La Rioja, Spain this August 29-31, 2008, to participate in the very first conference of its kind. Participating wine bloggers who collectively represent a growing number of wine lovers, will discuss the impact wine blogging is having on the wine world, and its benefits to winemakers and wine consumers.

Catavino’s goal in co-organizing the first wine bloggers conference is simple, “We want to bridge the communication divide between Iberian winemakers and wine lovers around the world”, says Ryan Opaz, co-founder of Catavino. Recognizing a wine lover’s constant quest for a great bottle, Catavino is on a mission to educate and spread the word about the great Iberian wines, while also helping winemakers understand the connection and value that technology and blogging can have on their business.

European sites are still hampered by lack of scale, language issues and limited commitment from retailers. But Catavino believes, “wine bloggers circumvent this impasse by writing in multiple languages, using the latest technology and social media to get the message out, all the while creating a more intimate relationship between wine producers and wine consumers” says, Gabriella Opaz, co-founder of Catavino.

The 30 or so wine bloggers attending this event generate, together, around 200,000 unique readers every month which is a substantial reach if you compare it to, say, Decanter Magazine’s 40,000 monthly printed copies. Bloggers are also building relationships with these readers who increasingly interact with the sites.” says Robert McIntosh, of The Wine Conversation. The First European Wine Bloggers Conference is a perfect opportunity for wine makers to engage with this highly influential group.

“We are excited to work with significant partners such as Amorim, Dinastia Vivanco, La Rioja Turismo and Vinus TV, all who are interested in bringing a new level of appreciation to the high quality of Iberian wines we have here in Europe”, says Gabriella Opaz.

Catavino is looking forward to working with Iberian wine makers to spread the word about Spanish and Portuguese wines, and making the European Wine Bloggers conference an annual event, hosted in key wine producing locations throughout Europe, “This is really just the beginning of an entirely new chapter in wine appreciation. Technology is finally touching the world of wine, this gives wine makers enormous potential to reach wine lovers around the globe, faster and more economically than traditional advertising ever could”, says Ryan.

At the moment blogging is still a new concept to many, but those wine makers who are quick to understand the benefits and leverage the new way the world is communicating, will certainly fill more wine lovers’ glasses than any competitor who is slow to adapt. The European Wine Bloggers Conference provides an open door to this highly influential group, wine makers who want to learn about this new medium are invited to get in touch with Catavino.

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But even this trusty reference has now failed me. Yesterday, I was popping up a bottle of rosé that I have painstakingly carried with me from Spain up to the summer house in northern Sweden. I thought it would be the perfect drink before dinner, as we watched the sunset (that is one great thing with sundowners here up north; the sunset lasts about 6 hours so there is plenty of time for going through a wast selection of different sundowners). As I poured wine in the glasses my mother-in-law came up with a snide remark involving rosé wine and blue-haired old ladies. My father-in-law chuckled, but of course helped himself to another glass of the wretched stuff. To counter this attack on my manhood I triumphantly brought up John as an example of a real man who enjoys his rosé wine.

My wife Anna then of course quickly backstabbed me with the question if I was referring to John, the man who holds his glass with his pinkie sticking out and who happens to own an electric lawn mower entirely made out of plastic…. I had to admit to that I was referring to that very same John. It obviously did not help to convince my in-laws that rosé wine is a drink also for men and women with hair on their chest.

Why is rosé wine so maligned? It doesn’t matter if it’s still wine or sparkling. Even one of the noblest of wines suffers the same stigma - pink champagne. Even though I often find pink champagne the most intriguing and full-bodied of champagnes it is invariably associated with words like “decadent”. Is it just so simple that wine of roughly the same colour as the walls of many 6-year old girls’ bedrooms is deemed incapable of being of high quality?

Fredrik

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It started raining again at lunchtime and we didn’t venture out again until it stopped at about 5 pm. As soon as we stepped out the door, we were hit by the cold air. The temperature had dropped dramatically over the previous hours and it was now positively COLD.

Then we noticed that one of the mountains that can be seen from our house, the Peña Collarada, had a dusting of snow at the peak! On the 12th of July!! This is sunny Spain – how can it snow in July? No doubt there have been other years when it has snowed in July and possibly even August but we couldn’t believe it. We had brought our swimming gear with us expecting to go to the pool and nobody had more than a light jacket.

Still, as we had a couple of Brits with us and we had planned for a barbecue, we went ahead and had an English Barbecue, i.e. we cooked under an umbrella. And very good it was too (eating indoors, of course, even the English aren’t that daft).

We started with some guacamole with excellent, fresh, Spanish bread washed down nicely with a bottle of Montenovo 2007. The guacamole was slightly hot and the tangy Godello from D.O. Valdeorras went surprisingly well with it. The rest of the carnivorous meal was helped along very nicely by some Condado de Haza 2005, a Ribera del Duero wine that never fails to please.

Next time, let’s hope we get some proper summer weather.

Ane Miren

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Since basically all the Priorats I have drunk so far have been fabulous wines I was more than happy to help them out with this task. This time the wines were not from any bodegas that I have heard about before but since I never really tasted a bad Priorat I looked forward to a nice lunch. For comparison they had also opened 2 Priorats already in their range; Martinet Bru 2005 and Pasanau Finca la Planeta 2003.

In all honesty, I also quietly wondered why they suddenly asked me for my view on this batch of wines. Usually they don’t care too much about my opinion when it comes to wine (or about much else, for that matter). And of course, after the tasting they asked me, since I anyway happened to be in the neighbourhood, if I could move some of the heavier stuff in the warehouse for them. My lingering suspicion is that this was the whole reason for them to invite me.

But with a gut semi-full of fiery Priorat I happily toiled away in the back of the warehouse. While I did this I thought about the wines I had just tasted. Usually I, for some reason, equate “fiery” with words like full-bodied or powerful, words that for me are positive when it comes to wine. But I had just found all three new wines in varying degrees inaccessible due to their high alcohol content. The Martinet Bru and Pasanau Finca la Planeta both managed to balance the high alcohol content with smells and tastes you typically encounter in good Priorats; smoke, spices, strawberry, leather, red fruit, coffee. They were really powerful but well balanced (even if I would guess that none of the two will suffer from a decade in the cellar).

The three new wines were a tougher lot. Their labels said that the wines contained 13.5%, 14% and 14.5% alcohol respectively. But I wonder if that really was correct in all cases or something that had been put on the labels to comply with the DOQ rules. Especially the 14.5% bottle was almost ridiculously fiery, something that effectively killed off most potential subtleness. Suspecting that the wines had not been aired sufficiently, the girls brought a bottle each home but, after letting it breathe for several hours, the alcohol was still quite dominating but the wines clearly benefited from the airing.

The new bottles were from 2003, 2004 and 2005 respectively and from different producers. When it comes to Priorat they are quite cheap; the prices range from 14€ to 20€ on the street. My unscientific conclusion after this little tasting was that you get what you pay for in Priorat. The better wines are truly magnificent but the cheaper ones (in relative terms, of course) can take a bit of getting used to if your preferred taste is not for really fiery wines.

Come to think about it, there is one exception to this rule and it is a magnificent exception: Finca la Planeta’s “kid brother” Ceps Nous sells for around 10€ but is at least as good as Priorats twice or three times that price.

Fredrik

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After a bit of digging on the Internet, I found that these glass corks are made by CSI Closure Systems International, a manufacturer of screw caps for beverages, a branch of Alcoa Inc., USA. They went into production at the end of 2005. The glass corks are being marketed as Vino-Lok in Europe and Vino-Seal in the US. Apparently there is a slight difference between Vino-Lok and Vino-Seal. According to the Alcoa website. The only difference between the two glass stoppers is that Vino-lok uses an aluminum cover cap, while Vino-Seal(TM) uses a tin capsule over the glass cork.

As far as I could find, it was first blogged by The Wine Rack back in August 2006. Recently, Wino Sapien from Australia also blogged about it. The comment from Anonymous, a wine maker, was very informative. He or she said, “….50 cents per top for Vino-Lok, the same or less than the price of a high quality cork. The price per case of the German made Vino-Lok finish bottles is lower than the price per case of comparable quality cork finish bottles. Stelvin is about 17 cents a piece, but the stelvin finish bottle is the most expensive per case.”

The glass cork has a ring which I thought was silicon. But it was actually some substance called DuPont™ Elvax® eythylene-vinyl acetate. It is supposed to be durable and insoluble in alcohol and resistant to weak acids and other wine constituents.

A glass cork definitely carries a more upscale image than a screw cap. The manufacturer claims that the wine that uses Vino-Lok or Vino-Seal will develop more slowly than in a traditional cork sealed bottle giving it longer aging potential. The Sicilian wine we ordered was too young for us to judge.

Has anyone tasted any wine sealed with a glass cork that has been shelved in a bottle for a few years?

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I always take my visitors to the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta where one can take in breath-taking views of the Grand Harbour and the three cities on the other side of Valletta. Valletta has one of the biggest natural deep water harbour. From here, one can see the cruise ships stopping in Valletta for a day. The visitors from the cruise liners can reach the center of Valletta in about 10 minutes by walking uphill. It is very impressive to see some of these huge cruise ships so closed to the city.

The other day I took one of our guests to the Upper Barrakka Gardens as usual. I was busy taking pictures of the cruise liner that was departing the port when I saw a small seaplane flying in. The seaplane was so small that I could hardly see it along side the huge cruise ship. I believe it was a passenger plane operating between the island of Gozo and Malta. It was really amazing and and scary at the same time to see how close the seaplane was flying to the cruise ship. I snapped a few photos to share with you here.

I wonder what I saw happens on a regular basis. Perhaps what I saw was something very normal that happens in an airport or seaport everyday. Or was I just lucky that day to catch a few moments that might not be allowed in some countries?

sandy

The cruise ship was leaving the Grand Harbour of Valletta.

In this picture, you can see the seaplane flying in (in the middle of the picture).

The little seaplane was on the left of the cruise. I wonder how the passengers on the ship felt.

The seaplane has almost passed the cruise ship (it is parallel to the back of the cruise ship).

In this picture, the seaplane has completely passed the ship and was preparing to land.

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The last really memorable occasion was probably six or seven years ago when a friend, after a couple of drinks at a dinner party, casually opened a Chateau Grillet and generously poured it into any glass that happened to be close by. It was unfortunately not chilled enough but was still a beautiful wine, probably around 4-5 years old, and all that you would expect from a wine with such a famous name.

Then there was a lull when I did not drink, or hear much of Viognier for a couple of years. As with most other things in life nowadays we get bored faster and faster and need to with ever shorter intervals find the new, new grape (and perhaps more importantly, triumphantly introduce them to our less knowledgeable friends). Today if I am looking for a delicious Viognier I will most likely go for a wine from California or perhaps Spain. Compared to the French ones I find them generally more refreshing and certainly a lot better value for money. In Aragon, Spain you have Venta d’Aubert, an interesting wine after 7 months under oak. My personal favourite is from Lodi, California where Clay Station is making an excellent varietal Viognier with delicious hints of citrus and apricot, and at a good price at that.

Fredrik

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To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine.. And those who don’t…As Ben Franklin said: In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.

In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E.. Coli) Bacteria found in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of Poop.

However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, Rum, whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a Purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.
Remember: Water = Poop, Wine = Health

Therefore, it’s better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of shit.

Anna

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My daughter is called Naia because, as we live in the Basque country, we thought a Basque name would be nice and it’s one of the easier Basque names to pronounce for our non-Basque relatives and friends. (It rhymes with “tie a” as in “Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree”!). My husband and I feel that it has a nice ring to it and its meaning is “desired” or “wanted”. Or, at least that’s what I thought until I started to look at online dictionaries and see that it may actually mean “wave”. I’ve asked a few Basque-speaking friends and they all agree that it does, in fact, have the first meaning. Either way, we like it.

The Naia wine is a D.O. Rueda from Valladolid province, in “la España profunda”, in other words, deepest, interior Spain. This is quite a distance from the Basque Country so I was also curious as to why a wine from that region would have a Basque name. I rang Bodegas Naia and asked them but they couldn’t tell me why the wine had been given that name.

So, anyway, I got hold of a bottle of Naia 2007 and we tried it with some friends on a sunny Sunday afternoon sitting out in the garden. The label is an unusual choice, consisting of a series of orange squiggles with the name of the wine printed in a white square in the centre in lower case letters. It’s a nice mix of geometry and artistic design and suggestive of good weather, bright summery clothes and picnics.

The wine itself is 100% Verdejo and, as is usual for Verdejo wines, it is a crisp, fresh, tangy wine. There’s a definite citrus note, grapefruit and lime, but then other softer fruit flavours come to the fore: peach, apricot, melon, which round it off very nicely. There’s an excellent balance between the initial acidity and the sweeter finish. This is a wine that is great for sipping on its own but would also be the ideal accompaniment for seafood, particularly shellfish, and for summer dishes such as salads, vegetable and chicken dishes, paella and gazpacho. If you are interested in trying something a little different from the usual Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio, this is the wine for you.

If we had known when Naia was born that there was a wine of that name, we might have thought about it twice. At least it’s a delicious wine and, like this particular namesake, has both its sweet and its not-so-sweet side!

And if she ever complains, we’ll point out that it could have been worse – we could have named her after some other great Rueda wine such as Palacio de Bornos or José Pariente or even Marqués de Riscal!

Ane Miren

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So I decided to put it all out for you to help us to turn around the numbers.

I started with putting the question out at the Open Wine Consortium and Twitter. Unfortunately the response was very mild so I decided to investigate a bit further.

That’s when I came across Leslie Sbrocco and her book Wine for Women. According to her book women make up 64% of the wine consumers in the USA (data from 2003). The numbers also points towards the fact that women buy wine more often but in smaller quantities. Sbrocco also highlights a huge difference in the way men and women buy wine. Women tend to put less weight on ratings, awards, expensive labels and vintage tables than men. Instead women put a lot more emphasize in personal recommendations and who they are going to share the wine with. It is very important that the wine matches the food, situation, and the guests’ wishes. Which makes me laugh thinking of how the ads in papers and internet look like! They are full of talk about ratings, stars and the harvesting process…including our site…

Sbrocco sums it up: Women are more interested in how the wine tastes than men, who in general are more interested to impress his guests with an expensive wine.

Having read this I thought…is this really one of those times where women actually act rational and not only on pure emotions?:-)

So I continued to search and found another article about Marketing wines to women written by a Marti Barletta in 2006. (All this is of course a bit old info but I think women, men and wine marketing people have not changed much since 2003 having read these articles.)

Barletta –

“Women focus on “We not me”, and whether she’s planning a family dinner or a special event, you can be sure she is going to go the extra mile to serve the perfect wine so that her guests are happy and fulfilled. Perhaps she’ll seek out a Greek label to accompany a spanakopita appetizer or serve California chardonnay that reminds her of a Napa outing”

she continues

–“The messages that are going to resonate with women are those that focus on people and place the product in context. Women are not going to respond to messages that boast you have the finest grapes or the most accomplished wine master. Ads that position “product as hero” won’t get your message across. Forget about ratings and focus on experience. Remember that women are your best customers and that while men may be in search of a bottle with a high rating, women shop with the final experience in mind.“

Don’t know about you but I found this really interesting. Both Sbrocco and Barletta analyze this further and give recommendations for marketing people how to use this knowledge.

It makes me understand why all these “new” sites that do wine and food pairing are so successful, sites like cooksister.com, spittoon.biz, foodandwine.com, matchingfoodandwine.com. If anyone of you read this it would be great to find out the ratio men/women using your services or purchasing your products..

Looking at our own site I must say we are probably more aimed towards men at the moment, the emotion is not there…..yet! But watch out girls! We miss you on our site and we will walk the extra mile to get you to our site!

Anna

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