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…
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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…
Some Early Posts About TasteCamp EAST 2009
TasteCamp is barely in the rear view window and already several blog posts have been written about the weekend-long event. To make it a bit easier for those interested in the event to read what the bloggers are saying, I'm going to do my best to pull together (every few days) a list of links to various posts. Today is the first installment: 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 Rob Bralow from Wine Post: Absolutely and Totally Geeked Out Walking…
TasteCamp 2009: An Interview with Rob Bralow
By Lenn Thompson, Editor and Publisher All told, we had 30 bloggers and spouses/friends take part in this debut edition of TasteCamp EAST, each with different backgrounds, tastes and impressions of Long Island's wineries, people and wines. Over the course of the next several weeks, in addition to my own posts about the weekend, I'll be asking some of the attendees for their honest impressions and experiences with Long Island wines both before and after TasteCamp. We'll kick things off with Rob Bralow from the Wine Post blog, out of Manhattan. Rob has been in the wine business for the last…
TasteCamp EAST 2009 is Off to a Great Start
I think that it's safe to say that everyone had a great time tonight at Raphael as we kicked off the inaugural TasteCamp EAST in style with a tasting and dinner sponsored by the Long Island Merlot Alliance and Raphael. With so many, and so many great, wines poured, it's difficult to pick a favorite, but the Wollfer Estate 1998 Estate Selection Merlot was singled out by several people as their wine of the night. Hard for me to argue. Personally, I liked the Pellegrini Vineyards 1997 Vinters Pride Encore (a red blend), which showed very very nice tonight. The…
TasteCamp EAST 2009 Starts Tomorrow
Time sure does fly when you're having fun planning a weekend-long wine jaunt for 30 bloggers and spouses. As early as tomorrow morning, TasteCamp EAST 2009 attendees will start descending on the North Fork of Long Island. The plans have really come together nicely and despite a grey, rainy weather forecast, I think we're going to have a lot of fun. Check back over the weekend and next week for posts about the goings on, but you can also keep up with all the TasteCamp fun on Twitter. Of course, TasteCamp wouldn't be possible without the help of the local…
Announcing TasteCamp EAST 2009 in Long Island Wine Country
After weeks (maybe months) of preparation (much more than I ever anticipated), I'm finally ready, willing and able to announce the newest endeavor I've undertaken — TasteCamp EAST 2009, a wine blogger event that will bring more than a dozen wine bloggers to Long Island wine country May 1-3 this spring. The concept for TasteCamp is a simple one: getting enthusiastic bloggers together in a region that is new to them to taste as much wine as possible and speak to as many winemakers as possible over the course of a weekend. Most smaller, lesser-known wine regions in the world…