Happy Holidays!

See you all real soon.

1. 

   Jim says:

   December 25, 2008 at 4:50 pm

   Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas, Steve.

   Have you ever tasted any Portalupi offerings? I had their wonderfully complex 2006 Pinot Noir in October on a trip to Locals in Geyserville. It was a bargain at $45. Only 300 or so cases made. The Portalupi Biancho Fusion was also very nice and reasonably priced at $14.

   I loved Locals, by the way. Also the folks at Hawkes. Some wineries push too hard, but I thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere at both. Have you ever written or blogged about the way folks market (low key vs. aggressive)?

   Cheers to WE and your blog.
2. 

   steve says:

   December 26, 2008 at 3:29 pm

   Jim, never had Portalupi. Blogging about marketing? Well, I guess a lot of my posts touch on marketing and PR. It’s an interesting area that’s always fascinated me. What do you mean by aggressive marketing?
3. 

   Jim says:

   December 28, 2008 at 7:50 am

   Steve,

   My October visit to Northern Sonoma was my first to the Wine Country … a wonderful experience tasting great wine, noshing at Santi and Jimtown, the scenery in Dry Creek Valley … .

   Aggressive marketing, to me, means it’s more about them when you walk through the door, not you. At Locals and Hawkes, they listened to what I liked and offered more tastings and information on those varietals. At some wineries, I felt like cattle the moment I walked through the door. The questions were steering, pun intended. Nothing heavy-handed, just not customer-focused.

   The 92 you gave the Hawkes 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon was well deserved. It’s one of the better wines I’ve had this year. The 2006 Portalupi Pinot Noir was simply spectacular.

   Cheers.