As a wine “expert” and a confessed “techie” I thought I would share with our loyal fans a few websites I use in the wine industry on an everyday basis to make life easier. Marquee is no way related to any of the sites and my recommendation is just that, a recommendation… if anyone has other sites they would suggest, drop me an email at cjcribb@marquee.com or post a comment to the blog and we will keep adding to the collection. To keep it simple you will find below a category and then the site that I routinely use for that purpose, thanks for tuning in and remember, if you have any holiday wine needs, don’t forget the Marquee!
Wine Events in your Hometown – If you are looking to find out what is happening in the wine world for your enjoyment in your home city start with Local Wine Events. This site is based around consumer events, charity tastings, wine dinners, wine classes, etc… and is a totally free service. If you are a wine professional this is also a great tool to help get the word out about what is happening about your upcoming events. For the people that like to be fed their information instead of searching it out, their newsletter, The Juice, allows you to get an update about wine events in your city every month! This site also keeps track of the national food and wine festivals in case you want to get out of town for a great food and wine event. If you are looking for a great getaway trip, come down to the Miami Wine Fair during the fall, you will not be disappointed!
Wine Reviews and Expert Opinions – Marquee works to have all of our bottles in the hands of the top review companies and magazines with every vintage because we are confident that our selections beat and exceed our competition in terns of value for the price. I use all of these sites regularly to find out more information about the wines, to keep up-to-date on reviews/ news and over time find which wine writers have a palate that is similar to my own. If you can find a particular writer that loves the same style of wines that you love, it will really help you with stocking your cellar with wines that you want to drink! Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast (also has a good shopping site and catalog), Wine & Spirits, Robert Parker, and The International Wine Cellar are my top review sites. They all have great free content if you are not a magazine subscriber and a ton of extra content if you are a subscriber.
If you are looking for less “expert opinions” and more, peer reviews, social networking style check out Snooth, Cork’d, Cellar Tracker (see collecting software below) and The Wine Lovers Page (they are experts, but the presentation is low-key and more informal than the large magazines). I expect that there will be some new tools crop up on Facebook and Twitter shortly that help with this space as well, but for now, make sure and become of Fan of your favorite wineries and importers (like Marquee Selections!)
Wine Industry News – For the latest industry scoop I take five minutes daily and check and see what is on the wire at Wine Business Monthly. A great site that aggregates data from press releases, industry news, the top wine blogs and more in one place. Their original content that appears in the Magazine with the same name is top notch and is my most reliable source as to consumer purchasing macro trends.
Wine Collecting Software – When it comes to a website or tool for managing your own inventory of bottles, cases, differing vintages with tasting notes and tools to help keep track of your collection I utilize the Cellar Tracker website. After graduating from my Excel spreadsheet this site allows me to access my collection when out on the road, has a great price tag (normal usage is free)! There are some bells and whistles you can get if you sign on for their premium service, but the basic works just fine for me. There is a collaborative feature that allows you to share your tasting notes and read others tasting notes that is also helpful, especially with some of the older bottles that you may want to know what others think about the wines maturity level and peak drinking age.
Finding Unique Wine Bottles Online – Just read a great review and want to know where to get the wine, had a bottle out a restaurant that you don’t see in your local store but want to get a few more of, I go to Wine Searcher as the start of my pursuit of where to find a single sought after unique/esoteric bottle. If you are lucky enough to live in a state that allows wine to be shipped directly to your home you will find this option available and in most cases you will see the prices so that you can find the best deal possible.
Wine Podcasts and Audio Shows – This category for me is really a tie so I am offering up two shows that I listen to on a regular basis that come from differing perspectives to the world of wine. The first is The Three Wine Guys, a humorous collection of wine professionals based in the Chicago area that do what I do in regards to wine; have fun with it. The shows are not PG rated, but all three of the gents have a good sense of humor and know a lot about wine. If you have never heard somebody use terms like Tootsie Roll, Listerine, and Kirsch liqueur you are in for a treat with these guys! On the more educational side of things I really enjoy listening to Grape Radio, a podcast that focuses most every episode on a key interview and subject matter expert to share with the team. There list of processional interviews includes some of the greats in the wine world, and their archive is growing, if you have a vineyard, wine writer, etc… that you like, check and see if the Grape Radio team has done an episode with them, you will be impressed!
Please let me know what other great resources you use to keep up-to-date with the wine world and have a Happy New Year!
With kind regards,
~CJC
Today’s Cribb Note – Great Writeup of “Grazioso” a wonderful pick for the Holiday’s on The Kansas City Examiner!
Christopher J. Cribb, CSW
GM - General Manager
Marquee Artisan Wines - http://www.marquee.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment