Wednesday Wraparound
Did she really say that?
Washington governor Chris Gregoire, at a public event: “Someone asked me what about California wine, and I said they make jug wine. We make fine wine!”
Who writes her lines, Paul Gregutt?
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“Wine investments: how to avoid the £100m scammers” is the headline on this Yahoo Finance story out of the U.K.
Seems “A recent BBC investigation estimated that as much as £100 million may have been lost by investors over the past four years.” So, the writer asks, how best to protect yourself from getting ripped off? The solution is–ta da!– “…critic Robert Parker [who] is the Warren Buffett of the wine investment world. What he says goes.”
Gag me with a spoon.
Here’s my advice on how not to get ripped off: Stop looking at wine as an investment and start drinking it!
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Go spruik yourself
The headline of an online article from thewest.com, an Aussie pub:
Wine growers spruik new law
Not being of the Australian persuasion, I had to Google “spruik.”
To promote a thing or idea to another person, in order that they buy the thing, or accept the idea. e.g., Lennon spruiks laptop 28 years after his death — Headline, Sydney Morning Herald, December 30, 2008
Now, if I could only get Elvis to spruik my blog, it might actually make money!
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And finally, some advice to “Bachelor Ben” Flajnik: I love you, baby, and your pals Mikey and Danny, but dudes, that Bachelor thing is so over! I mean, Ben, you’re still milking it even after nobody remembers a thing about the actual show, except that those grrrrlz were really baring their claws all season while you just, well, looked cute. It doesn’t help to grant an interview and then play make-believe by saying (as you did to Peg Melnik, at the Press-Democrat) that you’d only talk to her on “wine-related” issues, when you knew fer sher she’s gonna go there because, Ben, Peg wouldn’t have asked to interview you in the first place if you hadn’t starred in The Bachelor!
You guys should stop all interviews now. Immediately. Concentrate on the business. Make great wine. Get your s**t together. Then wait for the reporters to come to you cuz you’re making killer wine. I will, if you do. Promise.
Per the Bachelor – Steve, very amusing as well correct.
Didn’t he also play a Neanderthal on an auto-insurance commercial?
These polymaths!
Kind of disappointing that you even mention the Bachelor here, as I consider this a great wine blog, first and foremost, and Ben Flajnik’s wine company seems to not be about wine, ironically.
I saw those guys at Unified and they walked around like they were on Entourage. And, for all of the bravado they demonstrate in interviews about social media and how they plan to be very involved that way, all they do is tweet to each other about how much Fernat they drink.
And, their Facebook page is not at all dynamic or interesting. If you’re going to position yourselves as cutting edge in social media, at least do something less formulaic.
Anyway, that whole project is kind of an affront to those of us who really make wine and struggle to sell it. These guys are having a cake walk right now, but give it a few months and their brand will start to stall because there’s no real substance behind it.
Liked the last bit, call it like you sees it!
Roger, you may be right. That’s why I wrote about them. I like them and wish for their success, but they need to hear some truthful talk, even though it may be painful.