By Lenn Thompson Photo courtesy of Dale Cruse When Megan Witherspoon attended TasteCamp EAST 2009, she didn't have a blog. She was simply the better half to Virginia-based blogger John Witherspoon (that's the wine blogging power couple at right). But, not long after the event, she started her new blog, Wine Conscience, one of the few blogs that I read every day. She uses her blog to support and celebrate environmentally friendly winemaking. Megan is a fine artist-turned-corporate workhorse, who maintains her sanity with the help of fine wine. Megan's family also owns, Woodland Vineyard, a small vineyard and winery in…
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TasteCamp 2009: An Interview with Nick Gorevic
Forgive the gap in getting this TasteCamp interviews posted. There are still a few to come, but I'll probably space them out a bit, now that we're relatively distant from the event itself. Today's interviewee is a fellow New Yorker, Nick Gorevic. As with many of the East Coast-based wine bloggers, I had to go to Santa Rosa, CA last fall for the 2008 Wine Bloggers Conference to meet him. Nick is works in a retail wine store in Manhattan, and runs Homewineschool.com, a business that provides everything you need to educate yourself about wine in the privacy of your…
TasteCamp 2009: An Interview with Becky Borichevsky
Becky Borichevsky, who is better known in some circles as Taster B, is our TasteCamp interviewee this Monday morning. Becky started Smells Like Grape with her husband Steve (Taster A) in 2007 to document their exploration of wine. Becky felt that wine and blogging were a natural fit because good wine is endlessly inspiring. When not twittering, or blogging, Becky works in QA on Boston’s North Shore. Was this your first time to Long Island wine country?Yes, it was. Had you ever had any Long Island wines before? And if so, what was your impression of them?Yes, I’d had a…
TasteCamp 2009: An Interview with Remy Charest
I keep forgetting to mention that TasteCamp EAST 2009 was actually an international wine-tasting event… thanks to today's interviewee, Remy Charest. While doing a gazillion other things, Remy began writing about wine in 1997, with a monthly magazine column on Canadian wine and spirits, and kept on writing about food and wine since, notably as the Quebec City restaurant critic for Montreal daily Le Devoir. He started blogging about wine in July 2007, both on The Wine Case, in English, and on À chacun sa bouteille, in French. Remy lives in Quebec City where he works as Arts Editor for…
Updated List of TasteCamp EAST 2009 Posts
I just wanted to post an updated list of TasteCamp-related blog posts written by attendees. New ones are being published every day, so check the permanent TasteCamp page that I've created to get the latest and greatest. The list, as of around lunchtime today: Becky and Steve Borichevsky of Smells Like Grape Back From TasteCamp East The Way I See It Richard Auffrey from Passionate Foodie: TasteCamp EAST: Initial Highlights Taste Camp East: Long Island Wines Rob Bralow from Wine Post: Absolutely and Totally Geeked Out Walking into the Tsunami - TasteCamp East 2009 Day One Taste Camp – Roanoke…
TasteCamp 2009: An Interview with Tom Mansell
This morning's TasteCamp interview is with one of my favorite new bloggers and someone who brings something unique to the blogosphere. Tom Mansell's blog Ithacork is one that I visit every morning and is one of the blogs that I learn the most from. You see, Tom is a PhD candidate in chemical engineering at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Last spring he took a course in wine chemistry and since then has been borderline obsessed with the science of wine and winemaking. His blog focuses on Finger Lakes wines and always includes a "Science!" section, which is where I…
TasteCamp 2009: An Interview with Lyle Fass
Today, talk with the one, the only Lyle Fass about his experiences at TasteCamp EAST 2009. Lyle has been in and around wine since he was 19. Of course he started drinking it when he was 21. Most of his background is in retail buying for Crush, Chambers Street Wines and The Wine Shop in Manhattan. Before he arrived in NYC he he learned the ropes of retail in Boston at The Wine Press, Brookline Liquor Mart and The Wine Bottega. His blog Rockss and Fruit has a loyal, devoted readership and has been featured numerous times in the paper…
TasteCamp 2009: An Interview with Erika Strum
Today's TasteCamp interview is with Erika Strum, who I've had the pleasure of hanging out with more than any other blogger at TasteCamp (a whopping 3 times). Erika works in her family business at Wine Enthusiast Companies where she is involved in many aspects of online marketing. She writes for 3 blogs: the Wine Enthusiast Magazine blog (UnReserved), the Wine Enthusiast Catalog blog, (Winstons Wisdoms) and her personal blog, StrumErika.com Was this your first time to Long Island wine country? No, I visited last summer for the first time. Had you ever had any Long Island wines before? And if…
TasteCamp 2009: An Interview with Dale Cruse
For this, our second post-TasteCamp interview, we talk to Dale Cruse, a website developer from Boston who is "helping to change the wine world." He likes to eat, likes to drink, and likes to write about both at his blog Drinks are On Me. Was this your first time to Long Island wine country?Yes. Had you ever had any Long Island wines before? And if so, what was your impression of them?Very few. I had the Bedell Cellars First Crush Red and a few of the Bouke wines. The Bedell was tasty but a bit soft. The Bouke wines I…
The State of Long Island Wine
By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher As expected, TasteCamp EAST 2009 has initiated a flurry of blog posts by some of the best and brightest in the wine blogging world. I've enjoyed reading through all of the posts and commenting on many of them. I'd encourage you to do the same — especially if you are one of the wineries that poured for the group last weekend. One thing that has become clear is that I was blind to one pitfall as I put together the TasteCamp format — it sent attendees away with only a snapshot of Long Island…