Bottle Recap - 1 of 3

Had a request to revisit some bottles that were popped during the ol' 3-oh a few weeks ago...your best bet to buy any of these 3 would be online; the only label I've seen in stores in Atlanta is Kokomo. I'll be breaking this report up into 3 posts, due to extreme laziness. So, onto part 1 of 3:

Pandering to the masses...

I asked for feedback on what you, the readers want to see on the site. Repeatedly (from one person), I got "more boobs."

Tweet like you've never tweeted before

Kicking around some ideas for marketing at work, and decided to practice on my site. So, I set up a Twitter page, which is supposedly the hottest thing since the fish taco and/or Argentinian Malbec.

Check it out at http://twitter.com/suburbanwino. Here, you can make quick (in my case, likely stupid) comments. It will be a lot less wine-oriented, but we'll squeeze some in there. Tell me what your drinking, what Michael McDonald song you're listening to at the moment, how many times you've watched Predator, etc.

Take Me Home Tonight (to a wine cellar near you)

Thanks to my pal Van Burin for sending this my way...he's making this "quality content" thing way too easy for me.



IT'S OFFICIAL. IT HAS HAPPENED! Just as Nostradamus likely predicted, De La Montanya winery in Healdsburg, CA and Eddie Money have teamed up to create "Wanna Go Back" 2005 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir.

It's obvious that the MoneyMan has been "shakin" things up in the wine world, and it's quite apparent that he's got "no control" over his love of this famed Burgundian varietal.

Pinot Noir is notorious for being a finicky, thin-skinned grape that requires careful attention and pampering to achieve its most haunting, transcendental presence by the time it reaches your glass. Some might say this about Eddie Money on stage, but by the time he reaches your glass, you've likely had your socks rocked off at a local Ohio rib burnoff by the sweatsuit-clad balladier. And if you don't think "Two Tickets to Paradise" is haunting and transcendental, then you're like most people: wrong.

Babies, hold on, because I will be purchasing this wine, and reviewing it for you. It sells for $35, or $75 for an autographed bottle (only $40 for the autograph...no respect!). If I could walk on water, I'd be doing that to make the $75, but (like Money in his hit "Walk on Water") I can't, so I'll have to go for the cheap one. Stay tuned!

One ad NOT to click

Listen, I really appreciate when you click my ads on the site. It helps the sponsors, and it helps me make a little scratch, which I invariably spend on wine to drink and review.

However, I don't choose the advertisers at this point. They're generated by Google to "match" the content of the site.

I saw one that said "How Rachael Ray lost 28 lbs" Frankly, I don't give a damn how Rachel Ray lost 28 lbs, and you shouldn't either. If you click on that ad, I will take the penny that I get for the click and drop it off the top of the Sears Tower, sure to- according to urban legend- cause certain death to a bystander. So, then maybe you'll think before you click that link. Or, maybe they'll change the link to say, "Wanna learn how Rachael Ray lost 28 lbs? Hope you don't mind having the blood of an innocent Windy City tourist on your hands..."

YUM-O! YUM-O! (actually, I better be careful. I will probably be dead soon at the hands of Rachael Ray's minions). The funny thing is, now that I've written a post about Rachael Ray (due to the ads being generated by content), all the ads will probably be about Rachael Ray, and then you won't click them, and the system will grind to a halt.

Rachael Ray - 1, Joe Herrig - 0. Curses!

The state of the site: I'm super, super cereal!

I'm feeling bad about not posting more often...I've decided that I will do my best to pump out good content on a (week)daily basis: like a meat grinder that is stuffed with bits and scraps of wholesale distribution marketing in the HVAC/R market, only to- on the other end- produce a delicate and delicious sausage of questionable knowledge, incriminating photographs, shameless linking to Wikipedia, and hopefully mild amusement to hasten your journey from the morning's bowl of Nintendo cereal to that sweet, sweet MGD at a participating happy hour near YOU!




"Cereal System"...awesome. Super Mario Brothers was way better than Zelda, but I prefered the citrus fruity goodness of Mario and the gang vs. Link's supposed "berry-flavored delight".

So anyways, I'm going to augment the site to facilitate comments, hopefully allow reader-driven postings, organize the posts into wine, food, travel, other, etc. I'M COMMITTED TO COMPETING FOR YOUR LACK-OF-PRODUCTIVITY HOURS AT WORK, so don't be surprised if some serious changes come sooner than later.

I hope you like what you see in the next few months! But more importantly, back to the Nintendo cereal:

Booze College?

Made the decision to go for my CSW (Certified Specialist of Wine). Will be attending the Atlanta Wine School starting April 19th, hoping to "graduate" in July. From there, I'm interested in pursuing Certified Sommelier Status, then maybe (a big "maybe") Master Sommelier someday...even though there are only 171 in the world. Zounds! (I've been saying "zounds" a lot lately).

Why? Because of you! I want the best content possible for my literally tens of loyal readers. I will dedicate myself to getting content out to you every weekday, and see if I can come up with some better feedback mechanisms, site organization, etc. And if you don't read it, then I at least get to put some letters after my name. I always wanted to refer to myself as an "esquire", but I'll take this.

Let's face it: this is the image of a the true wine expert you deserve for your education and entertainment: