As I gear up for two big competitions where I’ll be judging in the coming months, http://www.fairplex.com/wos/wine_competition/ in May and http://www.sunset.com/marketplace/sunset-international-wine-competition-details-00418000074753/ in July, I’ve been reflecting on why wineries should participate.

I’m a fan of wine competitions and if you’re a winery, or an olive oil or spirits producer you should be a fan too.   I’ve been judging wine for close to 12 years now in California, an exercise that keeps my palate sharp and my frame of reference broad.   Each year, as the spring arrives in Monterey County, I head down to King City for the first judging of the season. Some people have daffodils and croci to remind them of spring, I have the Monterey Wine Competition which kicks off a series of 4 yearly  events at which I judge.

Many wineries over the past few years have pulled away from entering wines in competitions, largely due to budgetary reasons and sometimes due to a lack of a consistent gatekeeper internally to share the wisdom of participating in many (not all) but many of the wine competitions out there.   Several competitions tie in with wine & spirit retailers such as the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition, which is a great service to wineries that enter.  Here’s another list of reasons why wineries should enter competitions:

- The buzz if your wine makes it to the sweepstakes is the best 3^rd party endorsement you could want.   50 to 80 different professional palates sent your wine forward and concur it has the chops, that’s more significant than a single critic’s review.

- If you get a gold or a silver medal, that has a lot of weight so to speak at retail or in your marketing campaigns.   If you don’t medal, hardly anyone knows that unless they want to study 2000 + wines that were entered and didn’t advance so your risk is a low one

- You’re serving consumers; in the sea of choices consumers have, a shelf talker or medal stickers are often the only life-raft they have in an overwhelming situation, do them a favor!

- More and more competitions are getting sophisticated with their software, this year the 1^st annual Sunset Magazine Wine Awards lets wineries enter online so that they can track their results immediately once the competition is over.  I predict this will be the wave of the future.

http://www.sunset.com/marketplace/sunset-international-wine-competition-details-00418000074753/

- Wine competitions are a relatively modest investment when compared to other marketing spends a winery could make, and the returns are great.

- Many of the judges are renowned journalists, and we know they get inundated with wines to sample and try, many of which never even get to be tasted as it’s a full time job critiquing wine.   Here, if your wine proceeds forward, you can certainly get their attention a different way.

One aspect of wine competitions I’d like to see change is the marketing of the power of their panels.    I still subscribe to the fact that 50 to 80 palates liking a wine is a more powerful tool to a consumer than the proclivities of one critic (all due respect).  Also, the regional names of competitions in California only mean something to the people who run and organize them and not that that’s not important, but what is more important is for the consumer to understand the purpose and focus of that competition.  I wish there could be a little more differentiation in the larger competitions and that they could brand themselves with a terminology that is more broadly accepted, perhaps that day will come.

What happens when you put all the Bay Area’s hottest chefs and vintners into one room? A literal explosion of deliciousness. The non-profit organization, Meals on Wheels San Francisco, which benefits homebound seniors in the San Francisco area, hosted the 25^th Annual Star Chefs & Vintners Gala the other week.

Chef Matt Greco of Wente Vineyards and the handsome Andrew Freeman

The evening was a complete success, raising $1.9 million, that’s 420,000 meals for seniors! Out of the 110 chefs and 70 vintners present, Charles Communications Associates was proud to support two of our clients in attendance, Parallel Wines and Wente Vineyards’ Executive Chef Matt Greco. Both Chef Matt and Parallel served their specialties during the reception, Chef Matt offering his famous lamb pastrami appetizer and Parallel pouring their distinguished Bordeaux Blend, Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and newly released Chardonnay.

This event was a testimony to how food and wine can come together and give back to the community. We live in a world of luxurious delicacies, and we feel it’s imperative to reflect on the wonders in our every day lives. Meals on Wheels reminds us to take action and support those less fortunate.

Thank you to all that participated!

As we commemorate Earth Month, as more and more people are calling April, we reflect on one of the fundamental reasons we love the wine business. Being focused on agriculture as a business, naturally responsible farming for both the winery staff as well as consumers plays a big role, but there is much substance to the term sustainability as it relates to wineries and vineyards. We were proud to work on the launch of the Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing (CCSW) launch 2 years ago http://www.sustainablewinegrowing.org/swpcertification.php, and most recently to meet the good folks of Sustainability in Practice team http://www.sipcertified.org/our-story/as we dug deep to understand more about the pioneers of Monterey County.   One of the fundamental tenets of Charles Communications Associates and most of our clients is an embracing of a sustainable business philosophy which extends to the mindful way one conducts one’s business i.e. choosing vendors, saving water and energy, giving back to community among many other initiatives.  In honor of Earth Day which we just celebrated, we’d like to highlight some of the cooler projects our clients have embraced:

• Wente Vineyards, who was one of the first 18 wineries in the CCSW pilot program just hosted an Earth Day event highlighting local sustainable businesses, giving gardentours of their organic garden by Master Gardener Diane Dovholuk, touring the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Course at Wente Vineyards, teaching children about composting and of course enjoying the sustainably farmed wines of Wente Vineyards, Murrieta’s Well and TaMAS Estates.

• Pine Ridge Vineyards has a delicious Chenin Blanc-Viognier blend that the press are raving about http://wine.about.com/b/2012/03/28/wine-of-the-week-pine-ridge-chenin-blanc-viognier-2011-ca-12.htm.   In addition to being a great tasting wine, the winery has supported a worth cause for several years, helping American Forests plant up to 5,000 trees a year with its Buy a Bottle, Plant a Tree program http://www.charlescomm.com/bignews/2012/02/pine-ridge-relaunches-buy-a-bottle-plant-a-tree-campaign-with-american-forest/

Also for a little nostalgia, a previous post you may have missed from CCA about the importance of cause-related marketing http://www.charlescomm.com/blog/?p=167.  A re-issue of the book Kimberly Charles contributed to years ago, has recently come out highlighting her chapter on the subject.  Copies are now available on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Spinning-the-Bottle-Again-ebook/dp/B00784UB3C

A few weeks ago, I represented Charles Communications Associates at what has to be one of the largest conventions in the nation: the Natural Products Expo West. Over 60,000 people attend this event, with thousands of vendors showcasing their new products, and let me tell you, every kind of product imaginable is there. In the late 1970’s, the natural products industry was estimated at $2.4 billion. Today, the industry is worth nearly $68 billion,

Owners of Bunnery Natural Foods, father and daughter, Gerard Yvernault and Caroline Labbé

according to Natural Foods’ Merchandiser’s 2009 Market Overview.

I was lucky enough to go with one of our clients, Bunnery Natural Foods. Our booth was located in the heart of the ‘Hot Products’ floor, right next to Ziggy Marley’s diet supplement drinks table. Each day of this three-day trade show, thousands of people bustled through the aisles, discovering new foods, skin-care products, toys, cooking supplies, beverages and more. There was a vivacious energy at the Anaheim Convention Center, where the event took place. Distributors, buyers and media were the majority of attendees.

After a full weekend, literally, of eating, drinking and talking, we felt confident our artisanal granola brand made an impact on those who came by our booth. It was a phenomenal experience unlike any other. Being surrounded by others with the same kind of excitement and enthusiasm for the sustainable and natural world was inspiring. Hope to be a part of it again next year!

Last Monday however, CCA decided to join in on the fun. In support of our favorite baseball team we threw on our winter jackets, fingerless-orange gloves and FEAR THE BEARD T-shirts and trekked on over to the stadium on the bay. After a few beers and far too many garlic fries, the Giants beat the Oakland A’s 4 to 2. Nothing like some old fashioned team-bonding at the end of a busy work day.

Go giants!

Wow, it’s March already? What a start to the year. We’ve kicked off 2012 with some road tripping on the wine trails, with stops in Napa, Sonoma, Livermore, and even a quick flight to Monterey.

As CCA’s new Social Media Director, I’ve been sharing snippets from our travels on our Twitter and Facebook accounts in real time.

Check out some of the highlights below!

Sipping sustainably in Monterey: We started February with a trip to Salinas Valley to check out how our friends at Carmel Road are making certified sustainable wines. Turns out that they’re using all kinds of unique practices to stay green, including bringing falconers in to help chase away the starlings that eat grapes, planting cover crops like barley to promote biodiversity in the vineyards, and also saving water in the winery with innovative tools (like a Zamboni-style cleaner for the winery’s floors!).

Here’s a shot of Carmel Road’s Vineyard Manager Grant Cremers, explaining some of his team’s innovative, sustainability-driven practices —like using a double-headed pruning machine, for instance, which reduces time and fuel needed to get the vines in tip-top shape for harvest. 

Napa Valley Premiere: CCA proudly took part in Napa Valley Premiere, a weekend of wine tastings, fun and festivity culminating in an auction of wine futures from several renowned Napa producers. This year, the auction raised a record $3.1 million, which will go to fund the nonprofit Napa Valley Vintners Association. The organization supports a number of activities, including educational programs for masters of wines and master sommeliers and efforts to protect Napa Valley’s natural resources.  We enjoyed seeing our clients Pine Ridge Winery, Parallel Napa Valley and Hourglass strut their stuff.

Hourglass' Five Element Theory being poured for the thirsty crowd at one of the pre-Premiere wine tastings.

Discovering new tasting venues in Livermore: Who says wine tasting need be a formal, stuffy affair? We sure don’t! CCA recently joined Wente Vineyards’ winemaker and fifth-generation owner Karl Wente and 1WineDude.com’s Joe Robert’s for a front-porch wine tasting at Karl’s Livermore home. We tasted through the newest Wente releases while Karl explained the inspiration and production behind each wine, including Wente’s famed Riva Ranch Chardonnay.

CCA toasted on Karl’s porch to Wente’s fabulous wines and to the 100^th anniversary of Chardonnay in the U.S.—a birthday made possible because of clonal cuttings brought to America’s shores by the Wente family! Check out Joe and Karl kicking back in Livermore in the photo below.

Stay tuned to AllTheSwirl for exciting events and news ahead!

The Charles Communications team is a mix of all different cultures; we therefore get the opportunity to celebrate the full spectrum of holidays! This holiday season, the CCA team is sharing the various traditional recipes that represent each one of our incredible staff. What are some ritual dishes that you make during this wonderful time of year?

Kimberly Charles, aka Crème Brulée, Honorary Francaise

The Buche de Noel for Christmas

Emily Aschbrenner, Western European(?)

 Yorkshire Pudding for Christmas

Kristin Namimoto, Japanese

Ozoni Soup for the Japanese New Year

To view the recipe, click here.

Skye Morgan, Jewish

Latkes for Hanukkah

While we can always appreciate a press release that oh-so-eloquently tells the story of a brand, let’s be real: Who has time to spend more than five minutes reading press materials anymore? Photos, videos and information graphics (infographics) are taking over traditional public relations and marketing strategies. Here’s a round up of some of our favorite infographics from around the web this week. What do you think about graphic/visual representations of information? Do you think it can take the place of traditional media outreach or do you think it should only be used to support it? We’d love to hear what you think!

We also love this website for its cool infographics: http://www.good.is/infographics

Two weeks ago, Charles Communications Associates organized an event to raise awareness on the pending ban in California of foie gras. We worked alongside such top U.S. foie gras producers as Sonoma Foie Gras, Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Bella Gourmet and D’Artagnan, one of the world’s main suppliers of foie gras.

The San Francisco restaurant, Incanto, hosted the event, which also included noted Bay Area chefs and key food industry representatives. Chef Chris Cosentino put together various treats; a favorite was his  foie gras popcorn. Wine importer and distributor Martine Saunier, of Martine’s Wines, donated and poured exceptional wines.

The event was more of an informational meeting, garnering support against the ban from within the industry. D’Artagnan founder Ariane Daguin emceed the event and began the discussion by explaining how foie gras is made. Mark Pastore, owner of Incanto, spoke next on the topic of freedom of choice, a crucial issue this ban brings up.  Foie Gras has been targeted, and sadly since it has so few small producers vs. larger concerns such as poultry and beef with big lobbies and big budgets, it can’t really easily defend the producers. We feel it’s been unfairly singled out.

Some of the key facts that were presented during the discussions were:

- Ducks and geese do not have a gag reflex

- Ducks and geese are defenseless birds of prey that have to quickly capture their food and eat it elsewhere, in shelter. So nature provided them with an insensitive esophagus and no gag reflex, so they are able to store copious amounts of food before actually digesting it

- The job of boutique foie gras producers is to get wholesome food from their ducks and geese and provide top quality foie gras. In order to do so, they must treat the animals humanely. Stressed out animals don’t produce top quality products. The key is not to stress the ducks and geese. They are kept in the most stress-free environment possible.

- After 9 weeks of roaming, ducks and geese are fed 3 times a day for 5 seconds. The first day of force feeding is stressful for the ducks and geese because they are not used to man. However, from day two onward, they are perfectly content being in close proximity to man because they are feeding them.

- The ban on foie gras was voted on 7 years ago.

- It is still possible to modify or repeal the law: no state can forbid a perfectly legal good from other states.

- Twitter is a powerful tool to recruit supporters.

To learn more about the ban or to sign the petition against it, please go to: http://artisanfarmers.org/.

The air has turned crisp, pumpkins grin from their stoops, the distinct scent of Snickers minis wafts from the local Safeway…Halloween is here, dear friends! By far the best celebrated holiday in San Francisco! In our city, tricks and treats aren’t just for the kiddies. Just about every club, bar, and local haunt will be filled with costume-clad revelers this weekend and, in true SF style, can boast some truly wicked concoctions to satisfy our libation lust. My CCA ghouls and I got together to share some of our favorites here:

Blood & Sand
A sinful blend of Scotch whisky, blood-orange juice, cherry liqeur, and sweet vermouth. This lightly sweet, bright red, and balanced choice is just the thing to vamp up your evening. Find a great one at Comstock Saloon.

The Black Widow This temptress will put you under a dangerous spell with Blavod black vodka, lime juice,agave, crushed blackberries, and basil. Our friends at Cantina know how to brew this one best.

El Diablo 
Beware this devilish (and delicious!) treat- a combination tequila, lime, ginger, agave, and cassis for a fresh and zingy twist on a margarita. Beretta makes a perfectly evil version.

The Corpse Reviver #2
This creepy, yet classic, concoction of gin, Cointreau, Lillet Blanc, and absinthe will raise the dead. A great variation substitutes Square One Cucumber Vodka for the gin, for a cool sweetness that marries perfectly with the licorice-laced absinthe. Don’t say we didn’t warn you though—one too many of these babies and you’ll feel like a zombie long after your night is through. The Alembic shakes up a great one.

The Dead Reckoning
Our resident pirate, Sam, suggested this one. Private reserve rum, tawny port, pear liquer, chocolate mole bitters- a potion that’ll bring you face to face with the Grim Reaper. Or the ground. For dramatic effect try one at Smugglers Cove in a flaming scull bowl.

Whatever mischief you may find yourself in, we wish you a monstrously good- and SAFE- Halloween!